Review: Beyonce’ returns with smash surprise album

It’s in the Carter blood to keep everyone guessing from spectators to the fans all the way down to the haters.  Just like her hubby Jay Z who released a surprised album for download in July, Queen Bey followed suit with her not so anticipated album which was released last Friday. The album simply titled “Beyonce’” drew a social media stir as everyone was surprised to see the album being released on Itunes. The album drew such a stir that it caused Itunes to crash down. I’ve been a Beyonce’ fan since Destiny’s Child days and have saw her evolve as an artist. Her new self-titled album is proof that Beyonce’ has not transformed herself into just an industry artist, but more like an industry-artist extraordinaire.  “Beyonce’” features 18 music videos and 14 tracks each with their own personality. If you are wondering what a specific song would look like in video format, chances are, there’s a music video waiting to be viewed for the song. Unlike past Beyonce’ albums, this album actually puts you into the driver’s seat of Beyonce’s artistic mind. The album opens up with 18 music videos followed by the albums 14 tracks.  The albums opening video to song ‘Pretty Hurts’ paints a picture that too many women have encountered. Women have always been told to display a picture perfect image for men, but we were never told of the heartaches that come along with having a pretty face and trying to ensemble the perfect lady. The album does get a bit rowdy with ‘Blow’ in which Bey takes all of her sexual frustrations out and in the form of a song. While listening to this song, I had to remind myself that Beyonce’ is a grown ass woman and no longer “B” from Destiny’s Child who sang the kid friendly songs. Hubby Jay Z lends his 16 bars with ‘Drunk In Love’ which tells a funny story of how the two have their sex-capades in a very drunken way every night and wake up in a different spot from where they started. Beyonce’ fans from her hometown of Houston will love, ‘Rocket’ as the singer pays tribute to her derriere that was bred from her Houston roots. My favorite song on this album is ‘Jealous’ which speaks of how we women can get a sincere case of jealousy when the men in our lives don’t live up to their promises. For the first time in Beyonce’ history, this album had collaborations that was more than just hubby Jay Z and an occasional Reggae artist.  Drake appears on the track ‘Mine’ where he is both singing and rapping about the dangerous game of love.  In many ways, Beyonce’ is just like hubby Jay Z as she also has an odd collaboration with Frank Ocean on the song ‘Superpower.’ I’ll admit that I was a bit disappointed not to see the track ‘Dance For You’ appear on the album as the song was released earlier this year, but I was happy to see a song similar to it—‘Partition.’ I was a huge fan of Jay Z’s ‘Crown’ song so I was surprised to hear a remake of the song with Beyonce’s own version with “Flawless.” The song features snippets of ‘Crown’ and ‘Bow Down’—another track that did not appear on the album but was released earlier this year. Mrs. Carter scored big time with this album. “Beyonce’” is number 1 in 100 countries and the album sales continue to rise. Regardless if you’re a Beyonce’ fan or not, this album is a must listen, and will drastically change your perception of Queen Bey. In fact, after listening to this album you will then understand why she is the Queen Bey in the game. Rating: 10/10 -Samantha Pounds