Everything is Love by The Carters
- curated by autumn
- Jul 6, 2018
- 4 min read
Artists: Beyonce & Jay-Z
Album: Everything is Love
Genre: Hip-Hop & R&B
Released: 2018
Okay so Bey and Jay decided to drop an album out of nowhere and ruin all of our sleep schedules and moods getting us all hype and shit! I mean, the disrespect is real. Beyonce is a queen at the marketing game. College courses could be taught just based off her technique. She pushes the music industry forward with every album, video, and single release. I am just amazed at how brave she is and how she never limits herself as an artist after all these years. She's been making me proud since I was 8 years old, and the excitement train is still comfortably on course.
The opening track, "Summer", was a lovely shock since the first song we heard from the album was "Apeshit", a bragadocious trap influenced song. People on social media included that Bey gave hardly any vocals and that she had become a trap rapper with an overuse of autotune. I must say, these claims were and still are ridiculous.
That impression was immediately contrasted when playing "Summer" because Bey uses her soft tenor to sing about making love during the best season of the year. This is a huge slap to those claims cause Bey is giving us Lauryn Hill inspired baking vocals along with production that makes you want to slow dance romantically with someone you're dangerously in love with. "Summer" is the perfect lead into an album about the couples love for one another after the drama and classic albums. I am curious to know how this trio album idea conceptualized. Lemonade and 4:44 were both phenomenally received by fans and music critics alike. However, the whole process seems so calculated it is hard to see the authenticity coming from these two as far as album releases and content.
Anyway, I am definitely impressed by the marketing value, and I am happy to have an album like this since I am both a fan of Beyonce and Jay-Z. It is good to have an album with them both that is as cool as their personas. It is not corny at all or predictable aside from Jay's brag raps. It is refreshing to have an entire project dedicated to black love, black pride, excellence, success, and acceptance.
"Boss" has dope production, but I wish the song had a better hook that was not so plain. Aside from that, the lyrics become fascinating when Bey mentions that her grandchildren will be on the Forbes list in the future. I guess you can say that she and Jay invested their money correctly. It is nice to see a black couple have money ready to inherit for generations to come cause that does not happen a lot for us.
"Nice" is one of my favorites! As soon as I heard the beat, I immediately wondered if Pharrell produced it cause the beat reminded me of "Neon Guts" by him and Lil Uzi. My favorite part of this one aside from the beat is when Bey coolly sings "fuck you, fuck, you're cool, fuck you" like a beautiful ass bird. I also like when her and Pharrell rap in the last verse. Their voices sound really well together. I cannot lie though, I was thoroughly confused by the hook when I first heard it because the "I can do anything" is very inspirational and positive but immediately contrasted by the repeated "hell nah" afterwards. I'm like can we do anything or nah? Rap Genius had an interesting take on this lyrics and said that the hook refers to fact that Black American kids are told through the American dream that anything is possible, but it is clear that they will have obstacles based off their skin color.
It was difficult deciding which track was my favorite, but I had to go with the one that made me feel the most. "Friends" became my friend anthem as soon as I heard it cause it's so real! I have some of the best friends in this world! "Pull m up, never let me drown" is so true in my case. Beyonce and Jay Z showing appreciation towards their friends and saying that their closer than kin is so cool cause it further humanizes them. Every person on the planet should have at least one good friend that can pray for them and see their strengths. Friendship is one of the best relationship we can have as people. Oh and Bey's vocals at the very end gave me so much life. I was like
Award for best lyrics goes to "Black Effect"! This is my second favorite song! It is very simple, anything that is very black is destined to give me so much life and energy! When they said "I'm good on any MLK Boulevard" I believed it. Plus, a sign for a Martin Luther King Boulevard is usually where some black folks are, so they are saying they will be feel comfortable on any of these streets no matter the city. Beyonce mentions Sarah Baartman hips and hopping into her jeans like she hops into her whip. I really like these lyrics since they deal with black woman hood and pride.
"713" is just dope for the Snoop Dogg reference! I am here for any Snoop or Slick Rick reference cause they are just legendary. The beat for this track was also dope and it could bump in the whip. Shout out to Feefo.
Overall, I enjoyed this album. I think it is mainly because i am a fan of both Jay Z and Beyonce, so I really had no issues. I want them to pt out some more work, and I actually like that they, well Beyonce, stepped into some modern sounding music without overdoing it or being corny! So, if you're a fan, give it a listen. If you like what's on the radio, give it a listen. If you're not a fan of either, don't waste your time. Like, why are you here?!
My Favorite Songs: "Friends", "Nice", "713","Summer", "Black Effect", "LoveHappy"
Quotables: "I will never let you shoot the nose off my Pharaoh"
"ApeShit"
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