It was 1997, and I was three years old at the time, that same year I remember hearing both an original slow version and a upbeat hip hop remixed version of the single “No, No, No.” It was sung by a girl group who came all the way from Houston, Texas and the group consisted of four girls and their names were Beyoncé, Kelly, LaTavia, and LeToya who went by the name Destiny’s Child. To this day, that remix version of “No, No, No” featuring Wyclef Jean, of the hip hop group The Fugees, is hands down my all time favorite Destiny’s Child joint. Then throughout the very late 90’s up til 2004, Destiny’s Child kept coming with bangers after bangers, albums after albums but it was in 2003 when this woman emerged into something the world wasn’t ready for. In 2003, Beyoncé went solo and released her debut album “Dangerously In Love” and the first joint she dropped was “Crazy In Love” featuring Jay-Z. I remember that summer like it was yesterday. When that album dropped, Beyoncé was everywhere yo! “Crazy In Love”, “Naughty Girl” and “Me, Myself and I” was played back to back, you couldn’t get rid of Bey if you wanted to. 3 years later, she released her sophomore album “B’Day.” On this album she put out a music video for every song on the album and she was on “Dreamgirls.” Songs like “Dèjá Vú”, “Upgrade U”, “Ring the Alarm”, and the biggest one of all “Irreplaceable”, that joint was written by Ne-Yo for those who didn’t know. Beyoncé still keeps getting better, still selling world tours all over, still putting out music videos, albums, she was on top of the world, and she puts out “I Am… Sasha Fierce.” This album is my least favorite from her because the songs to me, besides the singles, didn’t move me and the whole “Sasha Fierce” thing to me was too robotic to me but Bey made up for it when she puts out my favorite album vocally from her called “4.” This album, she was vocally going in. “I Was Here”, “Love On Top” and “I Care” are my top favorites on the album. Bey then disappears for a while and everybody was wondering when she was gonna put out a new album but instead she puts out her documentary called “Life Is But a Dream.” It was a documentary about what her life is like on and off the stage, life with her family, life on the road, she’s in the studios and doing rehearsals for shows, Beyoncé is a hard working woman and that documentary shows. Then in 2013, Beyoncé does a Prince move and drops her new surprise, visual self titled album. That album blew me away, it was such a genius move and hands down my favorite era from Beyoncé. The videos posted on her YouTube channel shows the creative process she did to create the album along with the music videos and she said that everything is a reflection of her inner thoughts and fantasies and she decided to create the songs with music videos that match the visions she was seeing in her head. This is my favorite Beyoncé era because to me reached Michael Jackson status as far as being an entertainer. She was taking risks, she became even more powerful on the stage and she being unapologetic about who she was and how she felt and she continues to be even more powerful with this recent album called “LEMONADE.” Another powerful album about infidelity, love, being Black in America, she shut down the “Illuminati” rumors that everyone was claiming her to be, she’s taken a more spiritual side with her art and it’s amazing to me. She came from being that country girl from Houston, Texas in a girl group with the country accent to being a woman whose not afraid to be who she wants to be. Beyoncé is the Tina Turner, she is the Michael Jackson of this generation and with a serious and enormous fan base, she definitely keeps the people and the press talking. Beyoncé is an amazing performer on the stage, her voice is powerful, her dances are fierce but clean and her energy and vibe screams “I am the greatest!” Some people don’t wanna give her props and there are others who give her too much props and treat her like a God, which isn’t so good. It’s one thing to move people in such a powerful way that makes the world fall in love with you but it’s another thing when people act like she’s the only one to do it like the way she’s doing but I salute Bey. She’s on top of the world right now and with a huge variety of albums, hits and music videos under her belt and electrifying performances, she’s doing her thing and she’s not going anywhere no time soon.
A Tall Glass of LEMONADE: Happy Birthday Beyoncé
