Beyoncé’s 2016 visual album about marriage, identity, and Black womanhood was Lemonade.
Released on April 23, 2016, Lemonade combined a twelve-song album with a one-hour film broadcast on HBO. Its songs and imagery explore betrayal, grief, anger, reconciliation, family history, and cultural identity. The project drew on R&B, rock, country, blues, soul, and hip-hop, giving it a deliberately broad musical palette.
The visual film was directed by Beyoncé and a group of collaborators including Kahlil Joseph, Melina Matsoukas, and Jonas Åkerlund. It featured poetry by Warsan Shire and appearances by Beyoncé’s daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, her mother, Tina Knowles-Lawson, and tennis champion Serena Williams.
Lemonade became Beyoncé’s sixth consecutive number-one album on the Billboard 200. It is sometimes confused with Black Is King, a 2020 visual album connected to The Lion King: The Gift. Lemonade is the earlier project and has a different narrative focus.