Beyoncé’s Formation is Her Best Thing Yet and it’s the IDGAF Anthem
I have always been a fan of Beyonce and respected her work. I’ve loved many a song. But I’ve never been a member of the BeyHive. I was in that group that liked her enough but stood on the sidelines as people debated if she ruled just Earth or Venus too. I have watched as people lost their minds every time she even took a sneeze. I have documented this phenomenon in my Stages of Twitter Dealing with a Beyoncé Event post.
Well, now, I’m considering visiting a BeyHive meeting because this Formation video (directed by Melina Matsoukas) that she dropped on everyone in the middle of a Saturday is the best thing she’s ever done. I absolutely believe that.
What makes this her best work are the layers. Bey has been long criticized for not saying substantial things in her music, but Formation is undeniably loud about its love of Blackness and loud in its statement to protect it.
I also loved this so damb much because it is Beyonce showing that she is fresh outta fucks to give. Her field of fucks is barren, and this is a 4.5 minute essay on how fuck-deficient she has become. She doesn’t give a damb about hurting the feelings of her haters, white gaze or the system that doesn’t love us.
Watch the video (again) because I bet you’ve already seen it 5 times because there’s so much to unpack.
This was incredible, and is the IDGAF anthem that we need right this moment, right at this time.
How few fucks does she give?
Beyonce told her haters to STFU immediately
She came out the gate swinging with “Y’all haters corny with that illuminati mess.” In case folks were ready with their dumb ass theories about the squad she rolls with, her first words were to tell them to get a hobby. OOP. She said she wasn’t here to play with you heauxs as she twirled on her haters. Girl, tell them.
She told us she’s country as hell.
“My daddy Alabama. Mama Louisiana. You mix that negro with that Creole make a Texas Bama.”
As she embraces her Southern roots. In case y’all been fooled by the polished Beyonce brand. This is a proud belle, and you better know it. She’s mixed with Black and mixed Black.
Oh and she told us she got hot sauce in her bag to further prove it. Somebody’s gon write a thinkpiece about how spicy food is unhealthy and Bey’s promoting acid reflux. She didn’t care, though.
She told us she’s Black as hell and you will deal.
“I like my negro nose, with Jackson 5 nostrils.” TELL THESE GOATS! And then she twerked with her crew of bad ass Black women with big ass afros in a long formation. Because she’s Blackity Black and there’s no denying it. Someone might want to write a thinkpiece on how it’s promoting hypersexuality and folks will be all “SO? AND? MAYBE IF YOU HAD A YANSH THAT COULD BOUNCE, YOU WOULDN’T HATE.”
She thinks cheddar bay biscuits are a gift
Beyonce said “When he fuck me good I take his ass to Red Lobster, cause I slay.”
I mean, in case you ever wanted to question Bey’s Blackness, she told you to shut your mouth when you’re talking to her! Anyone who finds Red Lobster to be the place for a congratulatory post-coital meal is a sisthren of mine. That person is a kindred soul. Because you know what you do to bless the person who has blessed you with plentiful orgasms? Delicious, cheesy biscuits.
Who needs to go to the Signature Room to eat cubes of fancy caviar and blocks of cheese that taste like bad decisions? Give me a good all you can eat shrimp and lobster pasta so I know it’s real. And if you’re Bey, afterwards you take a chopper ride. Because you are a cultured lady.
She has Blue Ivy being a carefree, confident Black girl
The cameo by her daughter (who has grown so much. OMG where has time gone?) Blue Ivy, serving face to the camera, knowing that she will rule the world one day. Blue, in her free afro, looking like Solange’s mentee in all her fierceness, and flanked by an equally adorable posse. I loved it.
YES, BLUE!
This little girl has been much critiqued. People talked about her when she was a baby, and talked about her hair always being out. Beyonce is like “BEHOLD AND FEAST YOUR EYES UPON MY HEIR, WHO WILL ONE DAY RUN YOUR SHIT. AND SHE’S BEAUTIFUL.” and I was all “you’re right.” And all the haters had to collectively jump off a first floor balcony of their misery.
She said Fuck Humility.
The song’s refrain is “I slay all day.” There is no arguing that here, and there are no lies to be detected. Please #kontinu. Then she tells us “I dream it, I work hard, I grind till I own it.” Own it she does. How many of you already made this an instagram button? 6,263 I bet. Everyone is using their brand fonts and logos right now to create their own version of that button. They will drop it on us on Monday with the hashtag #MondayMotivation. And then afterwards, for the week after, they will use her other quote: “I just might be a Black Bill Gates in the making.” Look at Bey inspiring the masses to possibilities.
Looking like Beyonce the Redeemer
Oh and “You know you that bitch when you cause all this conversation. Always stay gracious, best revenge is your paper.” ALL THE WELPS.
The entire video is a study in BITCH I’M A BOSS and if there’s anyone who has earned the right to do that, it’s the biggest woman in the entertainment business right now. And in case y’all want to argue that fact, Beyonce gives you a middle finger as she’s wearing a giant black hat in the middle of the video. That’s what happens when you’re the giver of no fucks. When you evolve to become the Matron Saint of Fuck Your Feelings. This is what happens.
She let a Black boy win
Beyonce has a little Black boy dancing freely in front of a line of police in riot gear and it was beautiful to me. Him, in his black hoodie, just celebrating. Then the camera panned to a wall that said “Stop Shooting Us.” Later in the video, he stopped dancing and those police, in their formation, raised their arms in surrender to that little boy.
Whew. I got in my feelings momentarily. Because for that moment, he won.
COME THROUGH, UTOPIA!!! Come through, dreams. It’s not justice, and we might not know what that looks like but in that bit, he won. That visual was important. This video dropped a day after Trayvon Martin’s 21st birthday, so the reality of this juxtaposition made me all verklempt.
She drowns a cop car
The video was filmed in New Orleans, and starts with Messy Mya’s voice. The first shot is of her squatting on a cop car that is half immersed in water, reminding us about Hurricane Katrina. New Orleans is as much of a character in this video as she is, because it is there that we realize that Black people are one bad flood from refugee status in the United States. Lest you forget.
And then she drowns the bitch ass cop car in the last scene of her video as gunshots go off. Because: FUCK IT.
WHEW. TELL EM, BEY. Homegirl SNAPPED in the best way.
This video is Blacker than onyx (the color AND the rap group from the 90s). It is Black pride, Black love and Black people being brilliant and bold. And the fact that it dropped 6 days into Black History Month is the cherry on the sundae of deliciousness. What they did there? I see it. And I appreciate it.
It is so unabashedly NOIR that it is bound to piss off some white folks. If you are a white woman or man and you’re about to write a thinkpiece about how any part of that video offends you or put you off, please put your pen down because we do not give a nary of an ounce of damb. We are not here for it. And you should just sit this one out. Phone a friend if it made you mad because it wasn’t for you. Take a ride elsewhere, chile.
So yeah. This completely interrupted my Saturday. I couldn’t even fight it, because Beyonce is showing growth, and with age comes chill-deficience. Those of us (I am CERTAINLY included), who sometimes wonder what celebs feel in this time where many of us loudly chant #BlackLivesMatter and they’re silent just got years worth of statements from Bey. She turned her silence into a video celebrating her Blackness, while calling out some bullshit. And she does it all with visuals that make your eyes cross in glee.
She is a woman who has made history many times over, breaks ground pretty often, and she’s just dedicated to doing things that make people lose their shit in the best way. So for me to think this is her best work yet? I mean that shit.
So yes, I will come to the BeyHive orientation. But I’m not sure I can commit to paying dues yet or anything. Either way, give me the secret password for the week because I’m here for it. And let me know what types of chips to bring to the meeting. I don’t wanna come empty-handed.
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105 Comments
I fell in hard love at the open, when she took back the braids Rachel Dolezal stole.
For real.
????????????????????????
LOL!!
I’m a white girl, I know it wasn’t made for me, I know it isn’t for me, and I’m okay with that because hot damn I’m still in awe of it.
And that acknowlegement is exactly why you can sit with us and I’ll share my chips with you.
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!
cameo of Blue is the best part!!!!
Bey had to remin folk just who she is and how she gets DOWN. She officially upgraded my ass! #Formation #Flawless #KILT IT
I’ve played this twice!!! Love it!!! I’m just waiting for it to show up on Apple Music. Bey better push through here!!!
I have always been a Beyoncé fan. I don’t say I’m a member of the Beehive though because I feel I’m too old to cuss people out over a stranger but, if you don’t respect her, especially after this, we cannot be friends. I will be civil towards you because I have home training but, we are not friends. #Formation
Bey has created the baddest video seen ANYWHERE on earth in years, if ever! And the appearance of Blue is beyond precious. She is her Mama’s baby girl. Her confidence just explodes all off the screen with her glorious crown of free hair. I’ve never been a big Bey fan…but, oh baby, she got me now!
Still a homely kid though. Sorry, but gotsta call an ugly baby ugly.
That child is NOT ugly. She is the best of both her parents
Yes Erika!! LOLOL
Bey has created the baddest video seen ANYWHERE on earth in years, if ever! And the appearance of Blue is beyond precious. She is her Mama’s baby girl. Her confidence just explodes all off the screen with her glorious crown of free hair. I’ve never been a big Bey fan…but, oh baby, she got me now! She killed.
The white homeboy said it was the blackest thing since Kwame Ture.
As a good, Southern Christian woman, I am torn between throwing oil on the computer or trying to learn the dance moves to this! I am not a Bey fan, though she does have some songs I like and still do not want to join the Beyhive, HOWEVER…..I do believe in giving credit where credit is due! And girlfriend SLAYED, SLAYED, resurrected us and SLAYED some more! YASSSSSSSSSSSSS!
Come on ladies, let’s get in formation! This should be the national anthem for strong black women EVERYWHERE! Instead of pulling each other down! WOOOOOW! Bey did that!
Same. Never been a huge fan. Liked some songs, but don’t think she is the second coming of the Lord, like some people act. However, I will give her due for this, on the strength of her daughter. I am here for her affirming and acknowledge ing her daughter’s BLACKNESS and the beauty it entails !
I was Yaaaaaasing all thru this piece until I got to the little boy and I openly wept. I’m still crying. That visual was so important. It was important when I watched the first time and felt what you wrote… it resonates so much more now reading your words which were once my feelings… Lawd! Let me take myself up off the innanet for a sec!
Beyoncé said, “I’m black and better than ever.”
Yes!!! she is soooo black, that she’s had to whiten her skin and colored her hair blond.
Who says she whitened her skin? There are light skinned black folks if you hadn’t noticed. And, just because she dyes her hair blonde or wears a blonde wig/weave does not mean she wants to be white.
I’m a light skinned black woman too and in the winter I look much lighter and people might say I bleach my skin.
Chile, I am a dark choc brown and I have to go a shade ligher in makeup foundation in the winter so unless it’s summer we all lighten up a little. My hair has been every color of the rainbow it’s called fashion/switching it up; so this comment is dumb.
All I can say is “I agree” cuz I’m still dead from her #slayallday campagin. She won on all frots.
Bey’s video and this post was blacker than Murray’s pomade and cherry Kool-Aid and I’m here for it all. Slay! 😉
Pork rinds. You bring pork rinds because that’s what goes with the hot sauce Bey has in her bag.
Skins and hot sauce allllll day.
????????????????????????????????
Also, I loved that the styling seemed to throw nods to the creole balls of the past. All of this was a beautiful nod to who we are.
Luv I’m a pick you up for the orientation, don’t forget the password. I will blow my horn once and you betta be ready cause I don’t want to be late. Thought I was to grown for this stan shit but I may give it a hard try.
Yessss to taking our braids back! You ssid that sis and she did that.
Charlie Mat
Just sellin some rekkids to the masses (great marketing ploy)… Meanwhile she hanging out with rich white folks like Goopy Gwynneth. Mmkay then.
So because I’m pro-black I can’t have white friends?
As the child of a negro dad and a creole mom, Beyonce did me good! As soon as she addressed the Illuminati, I knew she had me… and I sat and clutched my pearls as I watched with a church rock. She took me there… and I willingly went… just in time for the Bey concert during tomorrow’s football game!
THIS…THIS…is simply everything!
Loving that AAVE: “I like my baby(‘s) hair with babyhair and afros, I like my Negro(‘s) nose with Jackson Five nostrils.” Her Negro is Jay-Z and she gives not a damb about his big ass schnoz or a possessive “s”! LOVES it! This video is black as hell.
I’m here for those unruly southern fried chicken drenched in hot sauce fed, Red Lobster cheese biscuit eatin teet-tays bouncing in different directions like evry’bodys mama’s do!!!!
Thank you for dissection. It truly opened my eyes to the significance of many of the visuals. Great analysis!!
I’m not usually a Bey fan, but this video is Er’thang!
“I did not come to play with you heauxs!
I came to slay bitch!!!”
She did just that, took our edges, and cut!
You better believe I will be taking my bathroom break, putting my phone on do not disturb and walking my dog before that halftime show. They ain’t ready for all that beautiful blackness Beyonce will be bringing tomorrow. Side note: Don’t drink wine and read a Luvvie blog post. You will nearly choke at least 3 or 4 times.
Response to your side note: In addition to nearly choking there is also the potential hazard of liquid damage to your phone, laptop, tablet or other devices! Luvvie need to come with a warning label! lol
This video is so important for us! Blue being shown with her natural hair in a fro loud and proud, the hoodies! Everything! The Gucci outfits, the styling, dancing she slayed and with a message!
Xoxo
Christina
http://Www.styletothet.com
I am certainly a fan of yours and how you write. This ish right here??!?! *applause, bow and white (scratch that) BLACK flags on the play*!!! Very well put and yes….I’ll be at the beehive meetings next week. Salsa in hand.
Awesome, I’m definitely not a Beyonce fan. Now I’m not joining the hive…but what station is the bowl on?
With Formation I too may have crossed over into STAN territory. The video, her timing, her moves (business)…bravo!!! Best believe some will be teaching this video in 3.2.1…
Formation: Beyonce’s Perspective on Blackness in the 2016
Formation: Black Music and Black Lives Colliding
Formation: The Evolution of Beyonce from Performer to Activist
“Always stay gracious, best revenge is your paper.” All the whelps in Whelpington! Ditto on being a sideline Beyonce fan, but this right here…whew, chile I’m now down like 4 flat tires on a dump truck. Special shout out to her use of “bama”. #DC #chocolatecity
My kids and I had an hour conversation about how important this song is to us …how it made us feel and how she slayed
Qe followed up with an hour long sesh about this here piece you wrote Luvvie ….
Yah we had moments over this
It’s music. It’s what she does. She is an artist. She is a woman who loves her family the way God created them. Why is that so awesome. We really should ask ourselves that question. Ain’t ish gonna change in the black community because of this video. You all are reading away too much into this.
Stories are important. She completely blew up her own story of what her roots are and how proud she is, tying it to feminism, New Orleans, current events. Pride, especially when your community has literally spent centuries with those in power telling them they have nothing to be proud of, that what pride they are allowed is an illusion because they’ll never be white enough, is incredibly powerful. Pride shapes lives and shows possibilities.
I’m a white dude from Brazil who just got them chills reading this… congrats and thanks for translating and making more clear the Queen’s purpose of the video.
I am totally in love with it, can’t even go to sleep because I CANNOT STOP DANCING AND CELEBRATING HER COMEBACK.
Falou e disse, João Antônio!! Well said!!
Awesome post, Luvvie! (from another Brazilian)
The only white people this will piss off are racist assholes. I am white and this is absolutely beautiful!! Good for her!
Yes….I said the same thing! I loved everything about it!!!!
I agree, Tara. Funny (not!) that I was reading some comments on Facebook about the halftime show and the Formation song. One white person after another said things like “We should be afraid”, “Beyoncé isn’t one of us anymore”, and my favorite, “I’ll NEVER support her music again now that she’s making [racial slur] music.”
All that made me sad. But then I thought about all the white ones who LOVED Scandal all the way up until The Lawn Chair Episode. Then they said all the same things. Sad.
It’s a powerful video and has some strong points that I am personally glad she addressed. I’m not a Beyoncé fan AT ALL; don’t buy her music and ain’t gonna start now. But I have always loved and respected her work ethic and diligence in entertaining. The racist ones who are so “afraid” now were already afraid so I shan’t bother giving a damn since I have no damns to give.
Went to bed thinking about this – woke up thinking about this. Thematically hand in glove with M. Angelou’s “Still I Rise,” in the most beautiful, shining and proud way. Black Is Beautiful.
Another no fucks scene: blackgirls in the hair store getting blue and purple weave!
Not only the best shit SHE’S ever done, but this is the best shit anyone’s done in years. FACT.
She came to slay and slay she DID.
[…] pieces about how “Formation” is an unapologetic celebration of blackness (see here and here), we at Word. were impressed by how Beyonce also uses clever wordplay and African American […]
[…] Beyonce’s Formation is Her Best Thing Yet and it’s the IDGAF Anthem […]
It’s called Formation. When she says “get in formation” some folks think to get in line. I think she’s saying “get information” and it adds so much more meaning. GET INFORMATION! Even if that’s not what she meant, that’s what I got, cuz reading is interpretative and shit…
YES Denise! Thats how I heard it too…get information….and still get yo ass in line and get yo shit together! Here for it!
Change up the dance moves a minute Bey! Otherwise great video!
For her haters: “Too bad they don’t make band-aids for feelings..”
– Cam Newton
“Bitch I’m back…”
“…best revenge is getting your paper!!”
Love her!!!
What I see is this video looking like all the other ones she makes celbrating Girl Power. There is far too much going on in the world for Bey to not CHANGE UP her artistry! While she’s talking about getting her paper and her haters…..society is solely killing us off! #SandraBland, #BlackLivesMatter, #MarioWoods, and list goes on!
[…] Zandria Robinson’s thoughts on “Formation” on New South Negress. Read Awesomely Luvvie’s post, […]
Drops mic and exits stage left!! #BOOM
[…] do check out this post from Awesomely Luvvie and this post from Very Smart Brothas for some great POVs on the entirety of what Bey just dropped […]
[…] Black American blogs that I have a lot of respect for: Very Smart Brothas and Awesomely Luvvie (a Yoruba lady, you guys!) had reeeeally positive reviews over the song and the video, so if they […]
[…] have been written and published online so let Google help you take your pick. My favorite piece is Awesomely Luvvie‘s breakdown of the song and video. It’s an awesomely funny […]
[…] The writer Awesomely Luvvie ranked “Formation” as the singer’s most important work, given the confrontational stance taken on subjects that have divided Americans along racial and political lines. “She is a woman who has made history many times over, breaks ground pretty often, and she’s just dedicated to doing things that make people lose their s— in the best way,” Luvvie wrote in a piece declaring the song and video Beyoncé’s “best thing yet.” […]
Song Sucks……..
People are too dumb to realize when they’re being exploited! This rich bitch taking about police brutality? When has she experienced it or even known someone who has? She’s capitalizing on the band wagon thinking! I’m black and I find it offensive! She is making money off your ignorance! A cop saved my mothers life and almost died in the process! She will NEVER get me to be prejudiced against them. She wants people to hatd cops? she’s a dumb ass! Uneducated dummy. I have no respect for her. Stick to twerking B
I think people are so caught up in the video to realize what is actually going on. I refuse to watch the video because I don’t like the song or what the song stands for. I also don’t care for the fact that she is bringing up New Orleans horrific past to sell records. My friends from New Orleans are pissed off about it. I read an excellent article that expressed what I am feeling much better than I can. http://kelandmelreviews.com/2016/02/06/beyonces-formation-is-visually-powerful-but-the-lyrics-dont-match-it/
Exactly and 100% agree with you. I can’t believe someone would listen to that song or even take it serious. Rich bitch is talking nonsense because she can. Making stupidity a fashion is degrading. Look up Ray Charles or Louis Armstrong and educate yourself B , if your brain allows you
I took the nostril comment more about Jay than herself. It was almost a clapback to the people who clown his “camel” nose. Guess what? She LIKES that camel nose!
She’s burning it all down.
She has totally eclipsed her previous videos.
This is new, stunning, deep work. It is beautiful. Beyonce totally gets what’s going on.
We want all children to be as confident as Blue, dancing with joy like the young man in the hoodie – yup, they are Bill Gates in the making.
This video brought me to tears several times. I love her and I love the video and the little boy dancing was the best best part. My friends (white and black) are raising children of color and I pray for them and for this world to treat them as kindly as it will my little boys.
I love that she filmed this in a flooded New Orleans. It is easy to forget what happened there and move on to the next big thing, but it is so important to remember, especially with an election this year. It would be so easy for something like this to happen again.
[…] Let Awesome Luvvie break it down for you…. Beyonce’s Formation is Her Best Thing Yet and it’s the IDGAF Anthem […]
Big Freedia the Queen Diva blesses Yoncé with her voice-over, Messy Mya (R.I.P.), passed a few years ago.
Ohhhhh wait I was wrong, Messy Mya was present!
[…] Beyoncé Formation…IDGF Anthem By Awesomely Luvvie […]
[…] dropped her latest single, Formation, on Tidal and broke the Internet. Many others have unpacked its messages about heritage, racism, and self-love. But there was a moment in her song that gave a […]
As a white lady-person of a certain age, I realize immediately that I was not the audience for this — and it was THRILLING. I’m not even sure how to explain why it was thrilling — but that someone as successful and pop as Beyonce can make something this beautiful and this black and for her folk after a lifetime of being expected to perform — it’s astonishing and … well, thrilling. Shiver up your spine thrilling. It’s the whole point. (Also, as a curly-haired person, that baby with the natural hair is so gorgeous, and her hair is so lovely). Well, I’m still unpacking it — but I for one, liked not being the target audience for once.
Repping for clueless white folk, thanks for this. =D
1st time I’ve seen it (busy white girl who doesn’t watch tv) and it’s awesome! I’m wondering if Gwen Stefani’s choice of eye makeup for the superbowl halftime was intended as resepect (the makeup in the car scene).
[…] Then read this one. […]
[…] Beyonce’s Formation is Her Best Thing Yet and it’s the IDGAF Anthem | Luvvie AjaYi at Awesomely … […]
[…] “Beyonce’s Formation is Her Best Thing Yet and it’s the IDGAF Anthem” […]
[…] Beyoncé’s Formation is Her Best Thing Yet and it’s the IDGAF Anthem by Luvvie Ajayi […]
[…] an „Formation“ großartig ist, erklären unter anderem New South Negress, Luvvie und Syreeta MacFadden. Zugleich zeigen Yaba Blay bei ColorLines und Shantrelle Lewis bei Slate auf, […]
[…] Beyoncé’s Formation is Her Best Thing Yet and it’s the IDGAF Anthem by Awesomely Luvvie […]
And some of you are paying for that crap and making filthy “artists” and rappers filthy rich, and you allow your own children get brainwashed by such hogwash… I pity you.
Bring spicy chips to the meeting. Zapp’s, maybe.
[…] Formation video and halftime performance were instantly polarizing. Some said this was her “I’m black and IDGAF” moment. She scared some folks and even seemed to set […]
I’m 71 and white — this woman is an outrage to all tight ass hypocrites! How dare she drag our national disgraces out into the light and expose our governments total disregard for the loss of black lives which expire all too often at the hands of those sworn to protect everyone. Katrina – Katrina, had the populous been white no-one would have survived being run over by rescue vehicles. God bless you Beyoncé!
Twenty-something white lady here. I am provoked by this video, this commentary, and things I don’t understand in general. When my emotions rise like that I take it as a cue to listen and learn. Thank you for breaking these HUGE issues down in the context of Beyoncé’s rad new video. Genius to drop on Superbowl Sunday 🙂
[…] show. And, just before that, she released her Formation video, about which Awesomely Luvvie wrote .. “this Formation video (directed by Melina Matsoukas) that she dropped on everyone in the […]
I absolutely love this song and video. I admire it immensely, and it’s my go to workout song every night. I wish I could move like the goddesses in the video. I put it on YouTube and dance like an idiot in my living room. Thankfully for humanity, only my dogs are witnesses to this display.
I’m the whitest white girl ever, so I won’t pretend to know or completely understand everything in the song or video, but I know enough to see its an incredible statement and piece of art.
[…] Bey done shook up the world again! It was about this time last year when Queen B released her sixth solo album put us all in Formation with a badass visual of #blackgirlpower. We drank the Lemonade, ate the lemons and swallowed the […]
[…] pieces about how “Formation” is an unapologetic celebration of blackness (see here and here), we at Word. were impressed by how Beyonce also uses clever wordplay and African American […]