Ladies and gentlemen, Beyoncé has done it once again and stopped the world with the surprise release of Everything Is Love – a joint album with her rapper beau Jay-Z.
The 9-track record, which dropped on Saturday 16 June, was announced at the end of the pair’s second night stint at London Stadium as part of the OTR II Tour.
The couple thanked the 60,000+ capacity crowd for being the loudest audience of the tour thus far and told them that they had to decided to showcase their latest project to the London audience to thank them for the support. As the crowd counted down from 10, Bey & Hov left the stage, and the visual to the duo’s new single ‘APESHIT’ was played on the screen before the words ALBUM OUT NOW appeared, driving the crowd bonkers.
https://twitter.com/BeyLegion/status/1008108210157473792
If you’re a member of the BeyHive, you’ll know that a collaboration album between the two has long been rumoured and the timing of the release seems quite apt. However, we can’t help wish the album dropped just before the UK dates so we could have seen some of these new tracks performed live. Perhaps OTR III is coming, after all?
Everything In Love is for now unsuprisingly a TIDAL exclusive, which you can listen to it here
As we’re stans for the Queen B, the album is on heavy rotation for us at the moment and we bring to you our thoughts on each track:
Summer – As soon as the bass kicks in, it’s clear to see that this album is not for those looking for the next pop radio hit as it’s much deeper than that. Sounding like a hybrid between B’s debut album Dangerously in Love and Lauryn Hill’s The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, this soulful ballad is a great opener for this body of work.
APESHIT – TrapYoncé is back in the building y’all! Excuse our stan lingo but the best words to describe this masterpiece is SHOOK, WIG, SLAYED, and repeat etc. It’s no wonder why the pair chose this as the single because aside from it being the most obvious radio hit on the album, it’s everything we ever needed from the pair and more. Bey goes back to her Yoncé alter ego she first showed on her self titled album and demonstrates better bars than your favourite rapper with her hood lingo, whilst Jay spits fire and calls out Superbowl and the Grammy’s because he can, basically. This monstorous record was written by superstar Pharrell Williams and Offset and Quavo of Migos, and the lavish video was filmed at The Louvre of all places. A grand venue for a grand pairing!
BOSS – The Carters have delivered on the bluesy ‘Boss’, a beautiful and laid back number to help us recover from APESHIT. The horns and harmonies make us want to play out this song loud.
NICE – Pharrell Williams comes through again with his midas touch of production and even contributes vocals himself on this understated joint.
713 – Yoncé pays homage to her hometown Houston and interpolates the lyrics of Dr Dre‘s ‘Still D.R.E’ in this future classic.
FRIENDS – Jay’s remarkably candid verse on his closest friendships complemented by B’s sublime vocals make this one of their deepest songs ever.
HEARD ABOUT US – The King & Queen of Hip Hop royalty put the haters in check in this ethereal collab.
BLACKEFFECT – Taking us back to Jay-Z’s most recent album 4:44 and reminiscent of his earlier sound, this proud and uplifting song is a nod to the culture that makes our heart smile.
LOVEHAPPY – On the final track, they continue how they stared with a soulful and earnest sound once again akin to a Lauryn Hill production, and continue to wax lyrical about their relationship.
Our verdict?
Bey and Jay are at their most personal in this release, addressing issues such as their relationship and other rumours that have long prevailed. On ‘Everything Is Love’, the pair are at their most confident and are making music strictly on terms. The perfect follow up to Lemonade and 4.44, this album is strictly for the real ones.
Let us know your thoughts on the new album on Twitter @CelebMix