A Controversial Song Of Beyonce “Freedom”

Beyonce is a renowned pop artist and active philanthropist whose songs are empowering and inspire confidence in young women from all walks of life. She began her career in the group “Destiny’s Child” and after going solo, her fame grew astronomically. From there she has written and sang many songs with subjects pertaining to the independence and strength she embodies as a role model. Besides her insurmountable career success, she is active in giving back. In addition to giving to charities involving the homeless, unemployed and terminally ill on a regular basis, she also has her own organization which advocates for gender equality called “Chime for Change”.

In many ways more than one, Beyonce is a admirable woman.

“Freedom” is a song from Beyonce’s newest album Lemonade in which she generally discusses current social issues and specifically those that face the African American community in the United States. It acknowledges that atrocities in our civil rights history existed and still manifest today.

Get quality help now

Sweet V

Verified writer

Proficient in: Music Industry

4.9 (984)

“ Ok, let me say I’m extremely satisfy with the result while it was a last minute thing. I really enjoy the effort put in. ”

+84 relevant experts are online

Hire writer

She calls her listeners into action, by denouncing these societal injustices and demanding we don’t shy away from talking about or protesting them. Though this song contains hard truths and subsequently may make it’s listeners uncomfortable, it is important because Beyonce uses it as a tool to unite rather than divide. It serves as an acknowledgement to those suffering, and an action call to everyone. “Freedom” discusses topics like racial inequality and how that inequality denies the African American community opportunity and the ability to thrive in today’s society.

Specifically, it describes mistreatment of African Americans by police officers in the line by the featured artist Kendrick Lamar saying, “Yeah, I keep runnin', jump in the aqueducts fire hydrants and hazardous smoke alarms on the back of ussic. ” Here he describes the fear he faces when protesting, as dangerous use of force is commonly used to calm crowds. He references how smoke bombs and water hoses are painful ways of disrupting organized protest and because of this, he inevitably has to avoid officers in dread of this treatment. He goes on by saying, “Six headlights wavin'sic in my direction” which refers to police lights pulling him over. This is significant because as an African American male, it is both a stereotype and an established fact he is more likely to be pulled over and as The Stanford Open Policing Project finds, “20% more likely to get a ticket (rather than a warning) than white drivers”. By use of this line, he calls out the obvious injustice that his community regularly faces.

In the discussion of these topics, those not faced with this kind of adversity can gain a glimpse into the life of those who do struggle in our current social climate. Besides the mere mention of these social issues, Beyonce uses her song “Freedom” to speak to her listeners directly. She uses it to inspire those listening to stand up and fight the injustices rather than accept and continue living with them. From the beginning of the song starting in the first verse, Beyonce can be heard encouraging protest, “I'ma walk, I'ma march on the regular painting white flags blue. ” Here she refers to painting a white flag which is synonymous with surrender and essentially by doing this she is rejecting the idea of giving up in the face of adversity. Given she is a strong and powerful role model, it is implied she is telling her listeners that if she as a celebrity under constant scrutiny can stand up and take a hard stance on her beliefs, then we as normal citizens should follow suit and rally behind her. Beyonce also builds this idea that the strength in her beliefs can carry her through the hardships she will face when advocating for them.

In the following line she establishes two important ideas, “I'ma riot, I'ma riot through your borders call me bulletproo. ” Firstly, the mention of police violence repeatedly throughout the song puts emphasis on how prevalent the issue is in her community. It also implies how police officers shoot at African Americans so readily, it’s as if the officers are under the impression their victims are bullet proof. Secondly, Beyonce remains determined to stand up even knowing it is a real possibility for her being an African American woman to be a victim of police brutality. Beyonce shows she is a strong and adamant woman and in the passion she depicts, inspiration can be found.

“Freedom” lets the listeners know that strength can be preserved in the face of difficulty. It is also a tribute to those affected by the aforementioned social injustices. More importantly, in my opinion is that this song is not one of “us vs them”. It doesn't pin one race against another in the fight for equality, but rather it shows those who don’t face these problems, the real agony of the situation. As a white woman, I am not being spoken to in this song. But I am being taught and educated through Beyonce and Lamar’s words, their day to day reality. This song, though it has common themes of racial inequality, I don’t feel on the outside of the issue when listening to their words. I feel empowered that I can rally for this cause as well and I become more aware of the African American experience in the United States. This song serves as a bridge for listeners with a much different experience in life.

Beyonce and Lamar depict passion, torment and hope which are all emotions we share as humans and shows that we are more alike than we are all different. Songs cannot be simply ignored because of their controversial nature. There is a naivety in only listening to songs with happy-go-lucky themes. Reality is, life is not always pretty nor is it near perfect. By writing songs like “Freedom” people like myself and others get a chance to learn about people different than us and simultaneously discover our similarities. Instead of shying away from uncomfortable topics, we should embrace the fact of the matter and work to change things that cause suffering. Beyonce’s song perfectly embodies this idea and to denounce or avoid a song because of it’s heavy topics is really a deprivation to one’s own learning.

Works cited

1. Beyoncé. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved May 17, 2023, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beyonc%C3%A9
2. Chime for Change. (n.d.). In Chime for Change. Retrieved May 17, 2023, from https://www.chimeforchange.org/
3. Destiny's Child. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved May 17, 2023, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Destiny%27s_Child
4. Lemonade (Beyoncé album). (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved May 17, 2023, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemonade_(Beyonc%C3%A9_album)
5. Lamar, K. (2017). DAMN. [Album]. Top Dawg Entertainment.
6. The Stanford Open Policing Project. (n.d.). In Stanford Computational Journalism Lab. Retrieved May 17, 2023, from https://openpolicing.stanford.edu/
7. Ali, L. (2017). The fire this time: On Beyoncé, race, and civil rights. Black Camera, 8(2), 185-206.
8. Brewster, A. (2018). “I’m doing this for you”: Audience, authenticity, and the politics of self in the music videos of Beyoncé. Popular Music and Society, 41(1), 60-74.
9. Cox, A. L. (2018). “Do what you want”: Beyoncé and the politics of experience. Journal of Popular Music Studies, 30(4), e12354.
10. Shultis, C. (2020). “Say my name”: Beyoncé, fandom, and the possibilities of popular music. Celebrity Studies, 11(1), 77-96.