Juneteenth 2020 saw the return of Public Enemy, a fresh batch of projects from artists such as Wale, Skyzoo and Black Eyed Peas and now, a new Beyoncé song. On Friday evening (June 19), the multiplatinum-selling superstar resurfaced with a single called “Black Parade,” exclusively via TIDAL (because, of course).
The song surfaced hours after the Houston native announced an initiative to support black-owned businesses in an Instagram post.
“Happy Juneteenth Weekend!” she wrote in the caption. I hope we continue to share joy and celebrate each other, even in the midst of struggle. Please continue to remember our beauty, strength and power. Being Black is your activism. Black excellence is a form of protest. Black joy is your right.”
The 4:41-minute offering finds Beyoncé singing about black love, her ancestral roots, “charging her crystals in a full moon” and the current civil unrest in the United States.
“You could send them missiles, I’ma send my goons/Baby sister rappin’, hear me out, hear me out/Trust me, they gon’ need an army (Ah)/Rubber bullets bouncin’ off me (Ah)
Made your picket sign, I’m your picket fence (Ah) …. Lay down, face down in the gravel/Woo, wearin’ all attire white to the funeral/Black love, we gon’ stay together,” she sings.
The song marks the mother of three’s first solo music since her contributions to The Lion King companion album The Gift last year. More recently, she appeared on Megan Thee Stallion’s chart-topping remix of “Savage.”
Stream “Black Parade” below or find it on TIDAL here.