Beyonce

Beyoncé Thanked Frankie Beverly For ‘The Most Inspiring And Uplifting Songs’ In A Heartfelt Message From Parkwood Entertainment

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The news of R&B legend Frankie Beverly’s passing at age 77 today was a little like hearing a favorite uncle died for much of the Black community. His songs entertained and brought families together for generations — especially after Beyoncé covered his signature hit, “Before I Let Go,” in 2018 for her Homecoming Coachella concert film. Beverly himself said the rendition helped to revitalize interest in his career, and today, Beyoncé paid homage to the lost legend with a heartfelt message posted by her Parkwood Entertainment.

Thank you, Frankie Beverly, for bringing us all together with your music. You’ve written some of the most inspiring and uplifting songs for the world to enjoy. With your lyrics, you have humanized our experiences, through joy and pain. Thank you for teaching us about the importance of community, family, and togetherness. We will never forget you. May you rest in power.

Fortunately, Frankie was able to receive some of his flowers while he was still around to smell them. In March, he was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the NAACP Image Awards. And, of course, he got to see the cross-generational relevance of his biggest hit thanks to Beyoncé, saying, “She’s done so much, this is one of the high points of my life… I just thought it was a great little song, but I never thought it’d be all this… it’s one of those things this band will be able to carry on forever.”

Beyonce Posts Heartfelt Tribute To Frankie Beverly Following His Death

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Beyonce is an elusive presence these days. She doesn’t have Frank Ocean levels of mystery, but has become so lionized within pop music that it’s rare to see her make public statements. Queen Bey made an exception on September 11, however. Frankie Beverly, an R&B icon dating back to the 1970s, died, and the singer decided to issue a statement paying homage. Beyonce not only praised Beverly’s talents as a vocalist, but his ability to imbue his music with inspirational feelings.

Beyonce released her statement through her production banner, Parkwood Entertainment. She kept it short and sweet, while at the same time stressing how much Beverly meant to her. “Thank you, Frankie Beverly, for bringing us all together with your music,” she wrote. “With your lyrics, you have humanized our experiences, through joy and pain.” Beyonce also praised Frankie Beverly for the sense of bonding and kinship that was present in his lyrics. “You’ve written some of the most inspiring and uplifting songs for the world to enjoy,” the singer added. “Thank you for teaching us about the importance of community, family, and togetherness.”

Read More: Beyonce’s Mind-Blowing Feature Price Allegedly Revealed By Lil Durk Hacker

Beyonce Covered A Frankie Beverly Classic In 2018

Beyonce’s appreciation for Frankie Beverly is well established. The singer opted to cover Beverly’s classic single “Before I Let You Go” during her iconic Coachella set in 2018. The performance was then made iconic by the accompanying concert film, Homecoming. Beyonce’s cover actually plays during the closing credits to the film. It was a surprising yet powerful choice of song to cover, and gesture was not lost on Frankie Beverly. He told Billboard that he didn’t know about the cover until very late in the game, and considered it an honor.

Beverly also told the outlet that his friendship with Beyonce dated back years before she covered his music. “I guess she really liked Maze and the song even then, so her mother brought her to our show at the Houston Rodeo,” the singer recalled. “We wound up working together a few times since and she’s always been very, very nice to me.” Beverly also dubbed Beyonce an “amazing” talent, and cited her cover as one of his career highlights. “This is one of the high points of my life,” he asserted. RIP.

Read More: Pharrell Firmly Shuts Down Kelis’ Complaints About Beyonce’s Use Of “Milkshake”

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Beyoncé Names Some Of Her Current Favorite Artists, Including Victoria Monét, GloRilla, And Chappell Roan

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Between recording, touring, releasing her own whiskey, spending time with her family, and watching clips from Austin Powers In Goldmember on YouTube (oh wait, that’s me), Beyoncé lives a busy life. But the “Texas Hold ‘Em” singer still finds time to keep up with contemporary music, as she revealed to GQ.

When asked to name some of her current favorites, Beyoncé replied, “I love and respect all of the female singers-songwriters who are out right now. Raye, Victoria Monét, Sasha Keable, Chloe x Halle, and Reneé Rapp. I love Doechii and GloRilla, and I just heard That Mexican OT, he’s from Houston… he goes hard!”

Beyoncé is also a fan of “Please Please Please” by Sabrina Carpenter, and she thinks “that Thee Sacred Souls and Chappell Roan are talented and interesting. I’m obsessed with my backseat baby…. I’m a Smiler.” (I believe that’s a reference to Miley Cyrus; her fans are known as Smilers, and they worked together on Cowboy Carter standout “II Most Wanted.”)

But when she’s not nodding knowingly to the “and a Jay-Z song was on” lyric in “Party In The U.S.A.,” Beyoncé is sticking with the classics, “like Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, and music from artists on the Stax label,” she said. “I just watched that documentary [Stax: Soulsville USA]. It’s so good! I highly recommend it.” It’s not her favorite film of 2024, however. “The best movie I’ve seen this year is Inside Out 2,” she said. “I think it’s brilliant, and I’m currently watching House Of The Dragon and The Chi.” Maybe her next album cover will ditch the horse in favor of a dragon.

Beyonce Fans Are Livid After “COWBOY CARTER” Gets Zero Country Music Awards Nominations

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Beyonce’s COWBOY CARTER is one of 2024’s big pop culture moments, due in part to the genre conversation that it created. Moreover, it wasn’t the first time that music listeners debated over Black erasure in country music and how racial bias impacts stereotypical stylistic categorization. However, it was probably the biggest discussion on this topic in a while, and it just got a whole lot spicier. Moreover, this year’s Country Music Awards did not nominate the album nor its artist for a single award despite it being one of the highest-grossing country projects of the year. Not even some of the LP’s biggest hits could get some love.

Of course, the Beyhive is absolutely outraged by this, although it’s sadly not very surprising considering the contentious genre dynamics we referred to earlier. But COWBOY CARTER and Beyoncé definitely deserved at least something. This is all pretty ironic because, while the CMAs refuse to acknowledge her work, folks like Donald Trump still try to use her music for their own gain. It’s a cyclical and parasitic relationship sometimes, but the Texas native is big enough to where she can sidestep a lot of these consequences.

Read More: Jay-Z & Beyonce Go For A Night Out In New York City After 40/40 Club Recreation

Beyonce Gets Snubbed By CMAs

Elsewhere, another source of outrage for Beyoncé fans was KAYTRANADA’s recent comments on her. “Sometimes people don’t see your worth and how important you are. I know what I mean to people,” he said during an interview of her efforts to own the rights to his “CUFF IT” remix. “Mannnn I didn’t drag her that’s just what happened,” KAYTRA clarified online. “The remix didn’t get a release and it is what it is but later that year I opened [for] her on tour AND on her Bday on top of that. Now what? I love that girl & y’all ain’t gonna make me look like I ain’t rocking with her.”

Meanwhile, Beyonce also got some criticism from Azealia Banks recently (a shocker, we know) over her whiskey brand. “I’m sorry Beyonce I love you down,” she tweeted. “But ‘SIRDAVIS’ is a horrible name for a luxury spirits brand. Its so ghetto. Its giving 1980’s hood francophile ‘Latoya, Shaniqua’ teas. Change the name to ‘Renaissance.’ That’s actually a marketing slay. Renaissance whisky gives me classy successful handsome older black man with the good cologne & the good teeth/ spent $500,000 buying out some superbowl box seats / expensive legacy d**k. ‘Sir Davis’ is giving southern comfort/ e&J with some matted dreads and dry knuckles.”

Read More: Tina Knowles Hilariously Realizes What Beyonce’s Song “Ego” Is Actually About

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Azealia Banks Goes After Beyonce Yet Again For Her “Ghetto” Whiskey Brand

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Azealia Banks is not the biggest Beyonce fan in the world, something that you’ve seen countless times thanks to countless rants. Moreover, the last time that the former dragged the latter online was through accusations of a “smear campaign” on Bey and Jay-Z’s behalf for Banks’ criticism of her new country era. Now, the New York femcee is instead going after something a little bit more light but still very, very personal to the Texas superstar. This new subject of hate is her new whiskey brand SirDavis. It’s named after Bey’s great-grandfather Davis Hogue, who was a Southern farmer and moonshiner during the Prohibition era.

“I’m sorry Beyonce I love you down,” Azealia Banks began her Twitter rant on Thursday night (September 5). “But ‘SIRDAVIS‘ is a horrible name for a luxury spirits brand. Its so ghetto. Its giving 1980’s hood francophile ‘Latoya, Shaniqua’ teas. Change the name to ‘Renaissance.’ That’s actually a marketing slay. Renaissance whisky gives me classy successful handsome older black man with the good cologne & the good teeth/ spent $500,000 buying out some superbowl box seats / expensive legacy d**k. ‘Sir Davis’ is giving southern comfort/ e&J with some matted dreads and dry knuckles.”

Read More: Azealia Banks Continues To Taunt Beyonce Amid “Cowboy Carter” Controversy

Azealia Banks Drags Beyonce’s Whiskey Brand

All in all, not the worst or meanest rant in this saga, but certainly not the most earned or understandable, either. To be fair, maybe we’re just in the wrong for not looking into liquor branding with the same level of attention to detail. Elsewhere, Azealia Banks threw her hat into the Ice Spice/Cleotrapa drama ring by expressing solidarity with the latter. “I don’t like how everyone is trying to make cleotrapa look,” she tweeted.

“Any f***ing who @iamcleotrapa will be performing with me on Halloween Oct 31. at @Terminal5NYC,” Azealia Banks continued. “She will – be paid, have her own space to glam, whatever she wants on her rider.. because i have f***ing respect & class… Period. End Of Discussion. She can have 50 different styles of chicken salads. It’s whatever she desires.” For those unaware, Cleotrapa accused Ice Spice of treating her horribly during their ongoing tour. We’ll see what the next rant is about.

Read More: Azealia Banks Randomly Eviscerates JT Over Her Music & Fashion

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What Did Kaytranada Say About Beyoncé?

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Beyoncé’s fanbase is notorious for their intensity but also for their sensitivity. If they even think Cowboy Carter has been insulted, they’ll lash out without hesitation.

Which might be why Timeless producer Kaytranda did some preemptive damage control before his recent comments about Drake and Beyoncé could be taken out of context. So, what did Kaytranada say about Beyoncé that had the Beyhive so riled up?

In a recent interview with Vulture, the producer recounted his experience nearly producing for Drake. Elsewhere in the interview, Kaytranda also revealed why a similar opportunity to produce for Beyoncé never panned out.

After crafting a remix of Beyoncé’s Renaissance song “Cuff It,” Kaytra said he withheld the remix from streaming after being lowballed on a payment offer by Beyoncé’s team, which he called, “less money than what much smaller artists have paid.” He also noted that Bey would have retained “all the rights to the song.” “Sometimes, people don’t see your worth and how important you are. I know what I mean to people.”

Some Beyoncé fans felt this was disparaging to the original artist, and were quick to let Kaytranada know, prompting him to write a post on Twitter clarifying his statement. “Mannnn I didn’t drag her that’s just what happened,” he wrote, in the since-deleted post. “The remix didn’t get a release and it is what it is but later that year I opened [for] her on tour AND on her Bday on top of that. Now what? I love that girl & y’all ain’t gonna make me look like I ain’t rocking with her.”

Kaytranada Nearly Produced For Drake’s ‘Honestly, Nevermind’ Album, But According To Him A Short Chat Ended Things

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Kaytranada is one of the most highly sought out artists in electronic music. The Grammy Award history marker has worked with acts such as Beyoncé, Tinashe, HER, Victoria Monét, and to name a few. But the “Lover/Friend” musician’s resume could’ve included Drake.

During an interview with Vulture, Kaytranada revealed that he was seemingly approached to work on Drake’s album, Honestly, Nevermind.

While attending a Coachella after-party, Kaytranada said he was fielded to see if he would open to produce on the body of work or “make beats.” At the moment, he replied to Drake’s supposed representative saying it would be “an honor.” However, that didn’t go over well with Drake.

After time had passed, Kaytranada alleged that word got back to him to that his “Sure, hit me up” response wasn’t warm enough. “Was I supposed to be like, ‘Oh my God, for real? Drake?’ I’m not like that,” he said.

The 2022 project, which featured singles “Sticky,” “Massive,” and “Jimmy Cooks,” was Drake’s head dive into dance music. Alight the album went to debut atop the charts, a collaboration from Kaytranada could’ve helped it remain in the top spot for much longer.

Drake wasn’t the only superstar to fumble a collaboration with Kaytranada. Later in the conversation, he confessed why his beloved remix of Beyoncé’s “Cuff It” track isn’t available to streaming platforms. Ultimately, Kaytranada nixed the upload due to financial reasons.

“Sometimes people don’t see your worth and how important you are,” he said. “I know what I mean to people.” His response was after he claimed Beyoncé’s team offered to pay him next to nothing or “less money than what much smaller artists have paid” while “retaining all the rights to the song.”

It appears Kaytranada has no problem walking away from what doesn’t serve him.

Even DNC Staff Thought Beyoncé Was Showing Up, Even Though She Was Never Considered

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Last week’s Democratic National Convention was a star-studded event, with special appearances from everyone from The Chicks to Lil Jon. However, one star that folks expected to see who didn’t show up was Beyoncé. Rumors about a performance from Cowboy Carter were so persistent that some delegates were even spotted wearing sashes like the one from Beyoncé’s album cover. While it was later revealed that Beyoncé was never even considered as a performer for the DNC, earlier this week, the convention’s producers revealed that even staffers thought they might end up being part of the Renaissance.

Ricky Kirshner and Glenn Weiss, the convention’s producers, told The Hollywood Reporter, “We never put out anything about Beyoncé. We denied it every time the media asked us — even though, by the way, people on my staff didn’t believe me. I kept getting texts from news organizations saying, ‘When is Beyoncé coming out?’ But come on, we have the biggest star, the Democratic nominee for president. Why would we overshadow that?”

Weiss echoed Kirshner’s sentiment above, saying, “This is the internet taking on a life of its own and people taking something as fact — literally, to the point that people in my booth are saying, ‘Is she coming? You can tell me.’ And I would say, ‘I have no knowledge she’s coming.’ And they would say, ‘No knowledge? So there’s something to know!’ It was pretty crazy. But she wasn’t coming. In the end, even TMZ [which first reported it] had to issue an apology.”

DNC Producer Sets The Record Straight On Beyonce’s Rumored Appearance

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The Democratic National Convention was a star-studded event. Lil Jon showed up to perform. Kenan Thompson did a comedic bit onstage. There was even sightings of Oscar-winning director Spike Lee in the crowd. The one celebrity everybody wanted to see, though, was Beyonce. The internet reached a fever pitch during the multi-day event, determining that Queen Bey would give a surprise performance and endorse Presidential nominee Kamala Harris. This, of course, didn’t happen. Beyonce did not show up, and fans were disappointed. The producers for the event, however, are not accepting the blame.

Ricky Kirshner and Glenn Weiss, the executive producer and director of the DNC, broke their silence on the Beyonce rumors August 27. They made it very clear from the onset that Beyonce was never involved with the event. Furthermore, Kirschner told The Hollywood Reporter that he denied the rumors at every opportunity, so that fans wouldn’t be upset. “We never put out anything about Beyonce,” he asserted. “We denied it every time the media asked us. Even though people on my staff didn’t believe me. I kept getting texts from news organizations…”

Read More: Plies Questions Black Men Who Don’t Support Kamala Harris

Beyonce’s Mother Has Publicly Endorsed Kamala Harris

The executive producer never intended to recruit Beyonce, because he felt her presence would have overshadowed the star of the DNC: Kamala Harris. “We have the biggest star, the Democratic nominee for president,” Kirshner noted. “Why would we overshadow that?” To be fair to the fans, Kamala Harris has aligned herself with Beyonce multiple times. The politician praised Beyonce’s latest album, Cowboy Carter, on social media. She walked out to the Beyonce song “Freedom” when it was first announced she would be running for President. And, Queen Bey’s mother, Tina Knowles, has openly endorsed Harris.

Glenn Weiss, the aforementioned director of the DNC, laid the rumor completely at the feet of people online. “This is the Internet taking on a life of its own and people taking something as fact,” he stated. “Literally to the point that people in my booth are saying: ‘Is she coming? You can tell me.’” Weiss also pointed out that TMZ picked up the rumor, and later had to issue an apology. “It was pretty crazy,” he concluded. “But she wasn’t coming.”

Read More: Kamala Harris Unleashes Beyonce-Assisted Presidential Campaign Ad

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Beyoncé Didn’t Perform At The DNC, And Now Fans Wonder If It Was All A Ruse To Get Them To Watch Kamala Harris’ Speech

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Ever since the Kamala Harris Presidential campaign started using Beyoncé’s 2016 hit “Freedom” in its ads and rallies, rumors that Beyoncé herself would perform at the Democratic National Convention didn’t so much “swirl online” as “auditioned for the sequel to a certain weather-based blockbuster from earlier this summer.”

Alas, said rumors turned out to be bunk. According to a spokesperson for Cowboy Carter, “Beyoncé was never scheduled to be there. The report of a performance is untrue.” Naturally, fans are being very chill about this online… if by “chill,” you mean questioning whether the rumor was a bait-and-switch to get them to watch Harris’ speech as she accepted the Democratic Party’s nomination for Presidential candidate. There were also some who posited that the rumor was planted by everyone from Pink, who showed up ahead of Harris’ speech, to the Democratic Party itself.

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Of course, TMZ is certainly to blame for some of this, and that organization also offered a mea culpa on Twitter. But it wasn’t all bad; many of those who did tune in were very complimentary of Harris’ speech, and some have already set their sights on another potential date for a Beyoncé appearance: at Kamala’s potential inauguration day in 2025 should she manage to beat Donald Trump at the polls in November.

Also the Las Vegas Aces’ funniest player, Sydney Colson, said this, so it maybe it was all worth it.