Song Analysis: Beyoncé's 'Formation'

“Formation” was the first single and music video that was released from the visual album on 6 February, 2016. This song and video was released the day before she was to perform it at the Super Bowl 50 halftime show. It is in this song that Beyoncé reclaims not only her beauty as a Black woman but also her “language”, using certain words that at bring about the thought of the “ignorant little Black girl”. One of the most significant excerpts from “formation” is
My daddy Alabama, Momma Louisiana/ You mix that negro with that Creole make a Texas bama/ I like my baby heir with baby hair and afros/ I like my negro nose with Jackson Five nostrils/ Earned all this money but they never take the country out me/ I got a hot sauce in my bag, swag.
It is within this modern society that the term “negro” has become taboo, representing everything that white Europeans did to the Black community, but Beyoncé’s use reclaims its definition relating to the Black community. Her use of “bama” is also significant because it can be considered part of the Black community and the “language” used within this community. “Bama” originated among Black youth in Washington DC and was used as a way of referring to someone that lacked in fashion sense, but now it has come to simply refer to a generalize people. “Bama” is apart of a whole language that has come to be defined as Ebonics and one that has come to be frown upon in its use. It is through Beyoncé’s use of this form of language in her album that represents her reclamation of the “language” of her community. She also references her daughter, Blue Ivy, and the fact that she loves her the way she is without having to transform
The message being emitted from this excerpt is to love oneself and not allow society to do away with what you find beautiful about yourself and to not let go of your “hot sauce”. What this means is that there’s no need to be ashamed of what makes you who you are whether that is appreciating your natural hair or allowing yourself to be who you really are without criticism. Not only this but she is also saying no matter how much money she is offered or earned she will never lose who she is culturally, racially, and physically.
If the lyrics within “Formation” were not enough to convey Beyoncé’s political and social stances then her Super Bowl 50 performance was enough to do so. Not only does she bring to the discussion the issues that have plagued her community such as police brutality and Hurricane Katrina but she also bring about the Black communities