As planned, Beyoncé this morning (April 17, 2019) dropped a Netflix video documenting her iconic, HBCU-themed performance at Coachella in 2018. She also provided fans a surprise in the form of a 40-track album of the same name.
The music on the album is a reproduction of the concert and aslo includes an a cappella version of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” sung by her first-born daughter, Blue Ivy. There are also two bonus tracks, a cover of the iconic “Before I Let Go,” a 1981 single by Maze plus a stand-alone version of “I Been On.”
In behind-the-scene footage, she discusses the struggle to get back in shape following an “extremely difficult” pregnancy that ended with an emergency c-section and the birth of her twins, Rumi and Sir.
As game-changing as her Coachella performance was, the amount of time and effort she poured into it won’t likely be duplicated anytime soon. In the documentary, Beyoncé explained, “Just trying to figure out how to balance being a mother of a six-year-old and of twins that need me, and giving myself creatively and physically, it was a lot to juggle. It’s not like before when I could rehearse for 15 hours straight. I have children. I have a husband. I have to take care of my body. I definitely pushed myself further than I knew I could. And I learned a very valuable lesson. I will never, never push myself that far again.”
In a switch from recent launches, the album was made widely available on all major streaming channels, including Spotify, a channel’s she held at arm’s length in the past because of its position as a direct competitor to Tidal, a channel owned by her husband, Sean “Jay-Z” Combs.
Check out her performance of “I Been On” below.
