On April 23, in the year of our Beyoncé 2016, Queen Bey created a cauldron of steaming hot tea and called it “Lemonade”. And it was very, very good. The HBO exclusive shocked the world through 12 songs and a holistic visual experience, complete with gorgeous gowns, celebrity appearances, social justice, spoken word poetry, black girl magic, and a national forest’s worth of shade.
Two months later, Beyoncé has released a standalone clip from “Lemonade” as her video for “Sorry”. While it’s hard to pick a favorite moment from “Lemonade”—it’s a tough call between every time Beyoncé wore vintage lingerie in an abandoned mansion and every time Jay Z had to look really apologetic on camera—“Sorry” is by far the most iconic single.
The song's Warsan Shire-penned intro promises “ashes to ashes, dust to side chicks” and Beyoncé delivers. “Sorry” is a middle finger to cheating husbands and the trifling wannabes who love them. It features an abandoned school bus, about fifteen outfit changes, Beyoncé cussing and Serena Williams twerking. Plus, “Sorry” will always have a special place in the hearts of the Beyhive as the track that introduced the world to Jay Z’s most infamous alleged mistress, “Becky with the good hair.”
Hopefully, in addition to “Sorry” and “Formation,” more bits and pieces of “Lemonade” will hit YouTube in the coming months. So cancel your Tidal subscription—or in my case, stop creating fake Gmail accounts for 30 day free trials—and let this music video usher you into the summer of “boy, bye.” Not you, Becky.
