Beyonce' Still Redefines Coachella One Year Later: Releases Surprise "Homecoming" Album and DVD
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles just has a way of staying on our minds. When our minds wander, she has that special way of pulling us back.
Coachella 2019 is going on, but Beychella of 2018 is on our minds, thanks to Beyonce’s release of "Homecoming: A Film by Beyoncé.”
Most concerts are just that - concerts. If you’ve ever been to a Beyoncé concert, however, you’ve had an experience. Even something about this Coachella event was different.
There was the experience of CULTURE.
“When I decided to do Coachella, instead of me pulling out my flower crown It was more important that I brought our culture to Coachella,” the artist can be heard saying soon into the DVD.
Growing up in Houston, Beyoncé was exposed to and very much a part of black culture. The bands, the dancers, the drumlines, the stepping, the movements and the feelings of black culture were all around her. She brought that to Coachella. For those of us who couldn’t attend Coachella, she brought the aforementioned to our living rooms with “Homecoming.”
A living legend in her own right, Beyoncé is still so vulnerable and exposes her fragilities with strength. Early fame didn’t allow her a black college experience. She longs for it, but in the most beautiful way possible. Surrounding her on the Coachella stage were black college students, performers, artists in their own right. While giving us televised culture, she also gave those students the experience of a lifetime.
“Homecoming” is a must see. Beyoncé gives us a brilliant performance and vocal pieces from her amazing collection of hits over the years.
Simply put, I can’t imagine having needed to go to the restroom during last April’s Coachella. Just the thought of missing a moment would haunt me.
What she did on that Coachella stage was more than any audience could’ve prepared for months in advance. She celebrated black culture and the intricacies of black performance on a platform that was never intended to celebrate all of the uniqueness and power of the black experience.
“I’m the only lady here and still the realest nigga in the room.” She said what she said.
There are so many reasons for my affinity to Beyoncé, but let me tell you why I absolutely adore her. So many successful black women, actresses and singers alike - they marry their husbands, have their children and become former artists. So many take backseats to their husbands careers and shelf their talents. Beyoncé gets better with time.
She admitted to being 218 pounds on the day she delivered her twins. She also admitted to the struggle that was reshaping her body and returning to performance shape. She balances being a mother of three, a wife, a performer and a human being in the presence of a very judgmental court of public opinion. Love her or hate her - respect what she has done and what she’s doing.
It doesn’t matter who you are, how much melanin you boast or lack; your status in the world means nothing here - watch "Homecoming: A Film by Beyoncé.” Be offended and be proud, be shaken and awakened, tap your foot or lose control. Just appreciate every single fiber of that BLACK EXCELLENCE.
