Stylistically, the big break with the past is that Beyoncé raps more than she sings, and, in a nod to Atlanta rap, with a very obviously Auto-Tuned voice.īehind the scenes, the production involved renowned names like Tony Maserati, Leslie Brathwaite, Young Guru and Chris Godbey, all of whom have featured in the Inside Track series but the main unsung studio hero was Beyoncé’s regular engineer and mixer Stuart White, who recorded large parts of the album, and has a mix credit on all but two of the album’s 10 songs. Beats were supplied by the distinguished likes of Pharrell Williams, Cool & Dre, Boi-1da, Mike Dean, Nav and David Sitek, as well as many lesser well-known writers and beatmakers. The Carters: Beyoncé and Jay-Z.The album is sonically and stylistically an extension of these solo albums, particularly Beyoncé’s experimental and widely lauded Lemonade. It comes on the heels of the pair’s most recent solo albums, Beyoncé’s Lemonade (2016) and Jay-Z’s 4:44 (2017), which in part trace their well-publicised marital discord. Beyoncé and Jay-Z participated equally in its making, and it’s released under the married couple’s shared last name. There are many celebrated break-up albums, but the Carters’ Everything Is Love is perhaps the first great make-up album. Stu White was the engineer who made it possible. However, "Apesh*t" makes a point to spotlight non-white images in the museum and highlight their significance.Beyoncé and Jay-Z topped charts worldwide with their album Everything Is Love. Many of the pieces in The Louvre (and that have made throughout history), as the article points out, have defined white European culture.
The artwork is just another powerful vehicle in getting the message across.Ī Rolling Stone article titled "How Beyoncé and JAY-Z Defy Western Art Tradition in 'Apesh*t' Video" discusses how the couple stake their claim among mostly white art by white artists. As proven by the lyrics (such as, "I can't believe we made it/Have you ever seen the crowd goin' apesh*t?"), the song reinforces their place and influence in society. And who would deny the king and queen?īut the "Apesh*t" video does much more than give Beyoncé and JAY-Z some gorgeous and historic backdrops. “The deadlines were very tight but the Louvre was quickly convinced because the synopsis showed a real attachment to the museum and its beloved artworks," they said. Even though Bey and Jay seem to have been brewing up this idea for years now, it was actually a tight turnaround for the Louvre team, according to its spokesperson. Fans may recall that in 2014, Bey and Jay seemingly rented out the museum (as the Carters would be expected to), and they shared a bunch of photos from their experience.īey put up a peace sign with "The Mona Lisa," posed with a statue, and shared a photo of Blue having a ball at the Louvre too. They reportedly presented their idea for the "Apesh*t" video to the establishment during a visit they had - wait for it - last May.īut this goes even further back.
As the Louvre spokesperson pointed out, Bey and Jay visited the historical Paris museum four times in the last 10 years. In this case, not even over a few months. And it's clear this concept wasn't created overnight. In it, the power couple stands strong and united in front of "The Mona Lisa," rap in front of an Egyptian sphinx, and Beyoncé and a group of black women poetically dance in front of "The Coronation of Napoleon." That's in addition to the rest of the iconic artwork that appears throughout the video. Maybe fans should've seen this coming for a while now, because hints about a Beyoncé and Jay-Z's Louvre-set music video have been lingering for years. On Monday, a Louvre spokesperson explained how Bey and Jay locked down the location to Vulture. A major part of the video's appeal comes from the gorgeous and loaded imagery provided by its Louvre Museum setting. To no one's surprise, the album's debut video "Apesh*t" is breaking the internet as we speak. Distracted by the couple's lit OTR II tour, fans didn't see Beyoncé and JAY-Z's surprise album Everything Is Love coming when it dropped on Saturday, June 16.