Celebrating Seven Years of Yoncé
The Melodramatics of No Angel -The Perfect Melding of Indie Pop and 808s. (12:34am)
Only God’s favorites were awake December 13th, at approximately 12 am PST or 3:00 am EST. Beyonce surprising the world back in 2013 with her critically acclaimed Self-Titled, was ONE of the greatest gifts she's ever given the people. Seven years and not only has the album remained on the charts, but it has made a permanent residence in the hearts of many. An album with no lead single or even an instagram post, managed to stop the entire world and turn the music industry on its head.
Soon enough the girls were singing “ Drunk in Love” and captioning every beautifully natural face with a “I woke up like dis!”. Aside from blessing the hive with 14 songs, Bey also decided to deliver 14 whole ass music videos. The traction Self-Titled wrangled makes it, as of now, her Best Visual Album.
Each of the 14 tracks means something to someone. Listeners have grown to love tracks they used to not care for, and be tired of tracks they used to have on replay. One thing for sure, is that the Album “Beyonce”, will remain as impactful and beautiful another 7 years from now.
Her song “No Angel” is especially brilliant, having been written by the Queen herself, James Fauntleroy and the amazing Caroline Polachek. Beyonce, Carolina and Boots are noted as producers on the song, a testament to Bey’s capabilities, range and overall talent.
What is so special and closely mesmerizing about this track is the haunting aesthetics, beautiful blended reverbs and the slow mellow temple. The first 1:15 seconds of the song, Beyonce is singing to us in a falsetto breathy emotion about “not being the girl he thought she was” but also recognizing that he “aint No Angel” either.
The song introduces an upbeat indie tempo composed of virtualized synthes and masterfully mixes it with the deep 808 Houstoun Bass. The world will never forget that Beyoncé is, in fact a solidified Houstonian- and she will be sure to reiterate it, just in case.
Leading the song with a strong bass, finger snaps and a falsetto, then shifting to Carolina's soft indie pop synths instantly transcends the listener into another existence. The first bridge of the song, is what sets No Angel apart, because - well it’s just an excellent piece of work. Being able to synchronize two distinct concepts and producing a sound that embellishes the entire project, is beautiful.
To accompany such a song as No Angel; Beyoncé executes a masterful visual. This video sets in none other than, Houston, Texas and has a string of creativity that organically bonds with the song. @lilinternet is credited as director after Beyoncé saw their camera work on a Diplo video. The amazing Ed Burke served as the Creative Director and followed through in abundance.
Beyoncé wanted this particular visual to pay tribute to Houston & The Tre- and emphasizing the cultural beauty of her Hometown. Legendary Houston based rappers made cameos in the video, from; Bun B, Paul Wall, Lil Keke, Slim Thug, Johnny Dang, ZRo, Trae Tha Truth, Scarface, Willie D and Kirko Bangz. The visuals captures the way of life between the Third and Fourth Ward, and makes sure to include the ordinary people from Cuney Homes, McGregor Park and V LIVE STRIP CLUB!
The video received a wide array of critical acclaim, with Brandon Soderberg from VICE referring to it as a
"touching, patient trip" through Houston's hip hop subculture”
and Jon Dolan from Rolling Stone describing it as a:
"revealingly down-to-earth tour"
