A Tall Glass of LEMONADE: Happy Birthday Beyoncé
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.
Yesterday was definitely the most uplifting, inspiring and most powerful experiences I’ve ever had in my life. There was a “Stop the Violence” protest march that happened on Hunts Point and ended p on Longwood Avenue in front of the 41st Precinct. My friend tagged me on the post about it the days before it happened and I was honestly the most terrified I have ever been in my life. I was feeling so terrified about the march at first because these crooked ass cops out here are really no joke when it comes to their guns and of course, I thought of the worst case scenario but of course I was completely wrong and it’s just like what they say – what you’re mostly afraid of can possibly change your life if you be more open minded and that’s exactly what happened. The march started at 4 but of course, I didn’t leave my house until 5 because it takes me a while to get ready but anyways, I walked all the way to Hunts Point with an open mind, a half frozen bottle of water, and a positive and fearless attitude. I finally get to Hunts Point and I see a crowd of people standing around with picket signs, camera people and a couple of NYPD vans. I finally caught up with the crowd and see a couple of my homies in the crowd, including my close friend who told me about the march in the first place and another good friend from high school too. We embrace one another, ask each other how we’ve been and stuff and of course as usual, everybody is good and then we continue walking. As we’re walking we’re chanting “What do we want!? JUSTICE! When do we want it!? NOW!” and “If your mama don’t get it!? SHUT IT DOWN!” and all other kinds of chants that was led by this powerful guy who goes by the name of Rodstarz whose one 
half of the political conscious and raw hip hop group hailed from Chicago named Rebel Diaz. I knew these guys about 4 or 5 years now and they’re always active in their communities by spreading knowledge and positivity through hip hop shows and protests like this one. To be around these guys is always a pleasure because I someday hope to be a hip hop artist just like them. Their brave and bold spirit to attack issues in our communities without any apologies is always so amazing to me. We ended up at the 41st precinct on Longwood Avenue, right up the street from the 6 train station and the BX19 bus stop. Rod is on the mic still preaching in front of the cops who happened to be standing around outside the precinct about what kind of injustices are going on around the world and what kind of impact they’re having on both Black and Latin communities all over America. He continued by having everyone grieve the ones who were wrongfully murdered by police brutality, calling out their names, saying “I can’t breathe!” 11 times in honor of Eric Gardner, and then after all that, they played both classic hip hop records “Fight the Power” by Public Enemy and “Sound of Da Police” by KRS-One out loud on this huge speaker. The march was pretty much over and everyone went their separate ways but when I left with 2 of my high school friends, we spent the rest of the day just talking about the march and reflecting on it. I have never felt so empowered in my life. It gave me a totally different and larger perspective on things and it even gave me creative ideas for music and image way in the future when it comes my time to finally make music. I could definitely use that experience and the social injustices that’s going on in America in my music someday, just like Kendrick Lamar, Public Enemy, KRS-One, Beyoncé and even the X-Clan.