LaToya Anitri
Yes, the Queen of entertainment, Beyonce Knowles-Carter, blessed her fans with a little Netflix nugget that we didn’t see coming, until the official announcement was made about 10 days ago.
Homecoming, Beyonce’s concert/documentary detailing her 2018 Coachella performance, went live yesterday (April 17) on the Netflix platform, and I was highly upset. Yes, pissed off because I had to travel all day for work, and wouldn’t get to see it until hours and hours and hours later. But, once I finally made it home from my 14-hour day, showered, and prepared some snacks, I settled in on my sofa to devour the two hours and seventeen minutes of what I knew in my heart was going to be some Beyonce goodness. Oh, yes, honey, I was excited to the core.
Homecoming… opened up just as her Coachella 2018 set did, paying homage to the historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) around the country. Beyonce strutted her Nefertiti-esque perfection down the catwalk to snapping drums and booming bass, in full sexy drum major mode. Then, she switched into a custom Balmain cropped hoodie, denim hot pants, fishnet stockings, sequined fringe boots, while she belted out her hits, “Crazy In Love” and “Freedom“. Then, she slapped everyone with the Negro National Anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing“. (I heard that there were some people in the audience who thought that this was a new joint that she was premiering for Coachella… Woooo, child!)
But, I still wanted more from this concert/documentary. Was I being greedy and unreasonable? Probably so.
In Homecoming, Beyonce took us through her full Coachella AKA Beychella set. But, I'd seen this before, and I just wanted more Beyonce. Click To TweetI was one of the millions who woke up in the wee hours of the morning last spring, with one eye opened, taking in the Coachella live stream, waiting on Post Malone to exit stage left, so I could see my Queen put on the show of a lifetime. And dammit, she didn’t disappoint when she hit that platform.
Seeing Beyonce get up on stage and do her thing is truly an experience; but I’ll admit that I wanted more from this concert/documentary. I wanted more than the grainy behind-the-scenes footage that was shown. I wanted interviews from more people selected to participate in this epic performance. I wanted more than the quick few-second clips of Blue Ivy, Rumi & Sir, Jay, Miss Tina, Solange, Angie, etc. I wanted more than off-camera commentary from this musical maven; I wanted Beyonce to peer into that camera and speak to us. At the end of the day, I wanted her to just let us in a little further. I know that I can be a little gluttonous sometimes; but, I can’t help it when it comes to the Queen.
But, overall I enjoyed Homecoming. I had a chance to see Blue shyly singing, “Lift Every Voice and Sing“, while her mom whispered the lyrics into her cute little ears. Beyonce also opened up a little on her experience carrying and delivering her twins, in which she stated that she gained over 100 pounds and had developed high blood pressure while she was pregnant. She allowed us to witness part of her weight loss journey as she prepared for Coachella.
In addition to all the musical goodness, Beyonce discussed why it was important for her to do a set that mirrored the Black college life. She wanted to bring something to the Coachella stage that the festival-goers weren’t going to expect, but were going to go crazy for.
Although she didn’t attend an HBCU, Beyonce had learned the importance of the culture from her father who graduated from Fisk University (Nashville, TN). She stated that when she was a teen, she would do most of her rehearsals on the Texas State University campus and attend battle of the bands events often. She relished the thought of attending a HBCU, once she finished high school. Instead, she let a little thing like achieving superstar status get in the way.
After all those years of admiration that she’d built up, Beyonce decided to put the HBCU experience on full display during her Coachella set. With the greek letters resembling the Black sororities and fraternities, the step teams, the band in the bleachers, and the dancing majorettes, Beyonce brought the crowd to its feet, while she took pleasure in waking the rest of us up out of our sleep.
Beyonce Knowles-Carter is a true gem and she won’t be stopped any time soon. Hell, if this documentary was 5 hours long, most of us would’ve still been watching until the last credit rolled up the screen.
Beyonce has made it her mission to stop the world every now and then. And, boy, do we stop. You can say what you want about Beyonce, but you can’t deny that she is and always will be that powerhouse. From her music, to her moves, to her humbleness, to her charm, Beyonce is the total package and then some.
Who’s doing it better than her right now? I dare you.
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