Lemonade was the Beyoncé album released in 2016 and shaped in part by the Black Lives Matter era.
Released on April 23, 2016, Lemonade is Beyoncé’s sixth studio album. It was accompanied by a one-hour film broadcast on HBO, and its songs and visuals explore themes of betrayal, grief, anger, reconciliation, family and Black womanhood.
The project draws on multiple musical traditions, including R&B, rock, country, blues, pop and hip-hop. It also includes poetry by Warsan Shire in the visual film. The album’s cultural context includes the Black Lives Matter movement and wider conversations about race, identity and police violence in the United States.
Lemonade debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and received a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year. It is not Beyoncé’s debut visual album; that distinction belongs to her 2013 self-titled release.