Beyoncé’s ‘Homecoming’ Is a Testament to Her Unrivaled Genius
In 2016, Beyoncé cemented her legendary status with Lemonade, a stunning visual album that set a whole new standard. On Lemonade, Beyoncé flexed her complete command as both an artist and a mega-celebrity, proving that she could take in infidelity rumors and scandal and churn out groundbreaking art, topping the charts while simultaneously changing the conversation. Even before Lemonade, Beyoncé was effectively in a league of her own. When she raises the bar, as she always does, she’s one-upping herself; it’s not a question of intimidating challengers, but of legacy, and of proving to her incredulous fans that she can go even higher.
Last year’s “Beychella” performance was yet another example of Beyoncé being way better than anyone has been or needs to be. As the festival’s headliner, she pushed the absolute limits of the form with a spectacular, nuanced, and all-around jaw-dropping ode to HBCU culture and black excellence. As The New York Times summarized, “Beyoncé’s show brought more than a century of black musical traditions to America’s biggest music festival, with quotations and techniques joining her hits with Houston’s slowed-down screw music, Washington, D.C.’s percussive go-go rhythms, New Orleans’ brass bands and bounce artists, the Nigerian Afrobeat of Fela Kuti, the Jamaican dancehall of Sister Nancy, the Atlanta crunk of Pastor Troy, and even a moment for ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing,’ the early 1900s hymn long called the black national anthem.”
Now, a year later, the terrifyingly prolific artist and businesswoman has written, directed, and executive produced Homecoming, a Netflix documentary about her Coachella performance. She also surprise-released a live album of the festival set tied to the film, because of course she did. Beyoncé’s still-evolving legacy is one of total creative control. Homecoming is an incredible concert film, because of course it is, but it’s also a testament to the totality of Beyoncé’s vision, the fact that she gave us a groundbreaking performance and then, a year later, showed us how to watch it. The real beauty of Homecoming isn’t the incredible performance footage or the flashes of Beyoncé’s inner life; it’s the latest opportunity to see this mind at work.
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