Beyoncé Has a New Video in Which She Says She Takes Jay Z to Red Lobster Post-Coitus

Culture

Out of nowhere and one day before she's scheduled to take the Super Bowl halftime stage alongside Coldplay, Beyoncé dropped a surprise track.

"Formation" is available on husband Jay-Z's Tidal music service, while the video is additionally available on YouTube.

It was apparently filmed at least partially in New Orleans, Louisiana, and opens with a shot of the singer on a city police cruiser stuck in flood waters. Alongside numerous references to her upbringing, life and family, Beyoncé drops lines like "I slay all day," "I might be a black Bill Gates in the making" and, in an apparent nod to post-coital traditions with Jay-Z, "When he fuck me good I take his ass to Red Lobster."

Throughout it all she peppers subtle nods to the Black Lives Matter movement. In one scene, a young hooded boy dances in front of a line of police. His moves force them to put their hands up, a play on the protest mantra "Hands up, don't shoot."

Beyoncé/YouTube

The video comes a day following Tidal's announcement that it would be donating $1.5 million of money raised from October's Tidal X: 10/20 event to Black Lives Matter and social justice groups. 

The song's drop is far from impromptu. Beyoncé has already released a line of Formation-themed merchandise.

Last week, the star appeared in her first video of 2016 alongside Coldplay for "Hymn of the Weekend." Filmed in India amid Holi, the festival of colors and love, the video drew accusations of cultural appropriation. Saturday's "Formation" also plays with cultural tropes in a visually imaginative way, simply those we have at home. 

Beyoncé/YouTube