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Since her number one last year, and an amazing pair of performances on the X Factor finale, Beyonce has once again been thrust into the Great British consciousness. Having religiously bought her solo albums, i generally have been a sinful singles follower and not paid as much attention to the album tracks. One of my favourite things about music is the 're-discover'; when a song that you once skipped or missed out first time round somehow re-emerges itself to you and you are forced to seek it out. An I-Pod resurrection occurs and suddenly you become very familiar with a song that is often a few years, sometimes decades old.With this in mind i always keep an ear out for old songs that i may have not 'got' (or been alive) first time round. This happened with the British public and Beyonce in December regarding 'Listen'. I had always liked the song, being a 'Dreamgirls' fan, so it doesn't really apply to the above theory. However whilst watching our newly fitted Sky + (yes, Jersey really is years behind the UK!), i was skipping through the music channels when 'Suga Mama' from Beyonce's second solo album 'B-Day' popped up. I stopped in my tracks to be mesmerised by the final minute of this black and white romp of a video. Riding a bucking bronco, rolling her head like a snake with hair flying everywhere; Beyonce was wailing like she was singing in a gospel choir. It was a case of me experiencing the best part of the video and realising i just HAD to listen to that song again. Although the song was never released as a single, the bootylicious one had created several extra videos from a re-released of said album during 2007.
'Suga Mama' is a forceful, sassy, bombastic belter, sounding just enough like 'One Thing' to be similar without being a copy. It has some excellently ludicrous lyrics about Jolly Ranchers and Waffle cones, that fits so well with the 70s funk feel of the track. When i fished out my copy of the re-release i watched the video again, realising that it had perhaps inspired her work for the recent 'Single Ladies', the black and white video, the back up dancers.
During the time re-equainting myself with the video package, i also happened to flick to 'Upgrade U', which also immediately then proclaimed its place on the 'Loving at the Moment...' playlist on my I-Pod. A year or two ahead of it's time, 'Upgrade U' now sounds like Beyonce doing Lil' Wayne, when in fact he later covered the song and then went on to rule the American airwaves in 2008 with beats not dissimilar to those on 'Upgrade U'. Take away Beyonce's dominating trumpet and your left with the 'popping' and whistling which are very 2008. The video is another sexually charged shot of pure sugar coated gloss, including Beyonce impersonating Jay-Z (who features on the track). These two tracks are about two and a half years old and quite frankly proof that she really is on top of and ahead of her game. May Queen Beyonce's reign, for now, continue.
2 comments:
B'Day is a great album. You mentioned two of my favorite songs from the album. I always loved the 70s soul sound of Suga Mama, with Beyonce belting like Aretha Franklin at the end. Upgrade U was an equally hot song. Beyonce showing that she could master hip-hop just like classic soul. Other songs that you didn't mention were Get Me Bodied and Flaws and Alls. Get Me Bodied is the precusor to Single Ladies. It also had a great dance video. Flaws and Alls is an extraordinary pop/soul ballad. A song that everybody should've on their IPods. I really recommend that everyone just go out and buy the rereleased version of B'Day.
Great Post, Very interesting a very true. I feel B'day was a great album also, My main highlights have to be. Resentment ( so much emotion), Deja vu, and Uprgrade U, they are, and the whole album is a regular on my Ipod!
Great Blog by the way keep up good work!
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