The Important Message Behind Beyoncé’s Incredible Coachella Performance

Bow TF down. Beyoncé just took a couple of hours to remind the world why she’s so duly referred to as the Queen and no, we are not worthy. Coachella was blessed with the performance to end all performances and while our heads are still trying to adequately process the perfection of it all, there’s a lot to unpick from the history-making headline set that took place in the middle of the Californian desert.

Over the weekend, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter became the first black woman to headline Coachella. Albeit, an accolade that would’ve been awarded a year earlier had she not been pregnant with the twins at the time, but even then, it’s also another absurdly late honour to add to the list of ‘firsts’ awarded to women of colour these days. ‘Thank you Coachella, for allowing me to be the first black woman to headline Coachella. Ain’t that about a bitch?’, Beyoncé said to the crowd.

The entire set was a reference to the specific significance of this occasion. Beyoncé used her show to give what many would argue is one of the ‘whitest’ (and most prone to the blatant parading of cultural appropriative behaviour) festivals on the planet a comprehensive education in black culture. The 26-song set was personified by the HBCUs experience, HBCU meaning Historically Black College and Universities, and it was nothing short of magical. ‘Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Beyoncé homecoming 2018’, boomed the tannoy announcement at the beginning.

Beyoncé opened with a rendition of Lift Every Voice and Sing, which is also known on the other side of the Atlantic as the Black National Anthem. A beautiful song and a powerful opening for sure, however for those aware of its roots as a poem written for and ahead of the black American liberation movement of the early 1900s, it resonated on a different level. From there, Bey transitioned into Formation, and in less than five minutes of this long-awaited headline show, we knew that we were about to witness something of Lemonade-level potency.

The audience was taken on a 100-minute musical probate, a ceremony of initiation into her HBeyCU. In true Beyoncé style, every detail dripped in intention and cultural reference. There was the 'Bugaboo' step-team who performed, and pledged, while Beyoncé changed out of her BDK hoodie and fringed, heeled marching band boots. There was the hundred-plus marching band, choir and orchestra performing in the towering, pyramid shaped bleachers. The dancers were predominantly men and women of colour, a collective that refreshingly boasted dancers of a variety of body shapes.

Beyoncé once again bound herself to the Black Panthers and the Black Lives Matter movement within the crest on the chest of one of her five performance outfits; it featured a queen, a black panther, a black clenched fist and a bumble bee. The set was sprinkled not only with hysteria-worthy guest appearances from husband Jay Z for the Deja Vu duet, sister Solange for a dance off to Get Me Bodied, or Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams for the Destiny's Child medley we've been waiting for since the Superbowl, but with the voice of Malcolm X reading his 'Who Taught You To Hate Yourself' speech. Nina Simone's 'Lilac Wine' was sampled and Beyoncé also paid tribute to Nigerian artist Fela Kuti and performed a rendition of his track Zombie.

One of the most overwhelming visual reference points was the colour scheme: black and yellow. It's significant because, yes, bumble bees (ahem, Beys) sport the same colours and, 'wahoo! Look at the extent of that Beyhive on stage', but also because its a sartorial reference that effectively holds together one of the biggest motifs of the whole performance.

The Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity was the frat that Martin Luther King Jr belonged to. Having formed in 1906, it was the first Greek letter fraternity created by African Americans and three guesses what their colours were? They were yellow (or gold) and black. A colour scheme fittingly borrowed by the first black woman to headline Coachella with a history making, HBCU themed performance, I'd say. And we know all too well that Beyoncé doesn't do coincidences.

The message of strength, femininity and unapologetic blackness was intricately embedded within every aspect of Beyoncé's history-making performance and what was clear beyond the beautifully executed journey through Bey's 20-year musical career, was that this was a celebration of years of black excellence that has long been excluded from or overlooked in the cultural mainstream (and, in this type of capacity, from Coachella).

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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.