MUSIC
S
ince Destiny’s Child, I
have not really been a
fan of Beyonce. It may be
an unfair bias and judgment on my part, but I always found Beyonce to
be a mediocre pop artist
and mediocre soul singer.
I found her material to
be safe and calculated.
Rarely did I feel the sincerity in her music that I found
in her contemporaries. It is
not that I have anything
against her music. I just
found myself uninspired
to spend my money on it.
Inspired by music documentaries and the telling of an artist’s journey
from humble beginnings
to superstardom, I was
intrigued and curious to
know how Beyonce rose
to fame and deals with
fame. When the HBO
biography came out
I watched that. There
was one scene where
Beyonce was in the studio recording a personal
song after firing her father
who used to be her manager. The song had so
much heart, honesty and
emotion that I was able
to see a different side to
Beyonce. This vulnerability
in her voice helped me to
see Beyonce in a light that
I had not seen her before.
fact, I have had the record now for well over a
month and I play at least
a few tracks every day.
So when her fifth record
entitled “Beyonce” was
released, combined with
the fact that this release
was so popular it crashed
iTunes servers, I chose to
jump into my first Beyonce
record.
I called the record a classic R&B album, yet in so
many ways it pushes the
envelope of R&B to a
new echelon where R&B
is edgy, atmospheric and
futuristic. I now see Beyonce in a new light, moving from the pop hooks of
“Single Ladies (Put A Ring
On It)”, to telling the music industry to put a cork in
it because Beyonce can
do whatever she likes.
Like it or lump it, this pop
diva has shaken things up
and I like it a lot.
I first scanned through the
tracks and then listened
to each one. From the
raw honest vulnerability
of Pretty Hurts to the indie
sounding yet incredibly
fresh and innovative drum
programming on Ghost, I
could not help but find my
attitudes shaken by what
I had heard. This record is
an R&B classic!
Clearly Beyonce did not
care about writing pop
hits and wanted to write
something for herself. At
the same time, she did
not allow the album to
become so self-indulgent
that it would not translate
to the listener. There is so
much here for a listener
to sink their teeth into. In
Since 1994, Rishi Gerald, founder and CEO of RishiVision and
entrepreneurial coach, has empowered thousands of businesses.
Rishi has an MBA in marketing and entrepreneurial studies and a BBA
in accounting. He has spent nearly twenty years coaching, consulting,
managing and supporting thousands of businesses from new startups
to active global leaders.
For more information on Rishi, please visit www.rishivision.com.