Beyoncé’s Mother Warned Her That Her Coachella Audience Might Be “Confused By All The Black Culture”
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On Saturday night, Beyoncé headlined the second night of Coachella by performing an absolutely staggering set. I watched the live feed of the set, when I should’ve been sleeping, just flabbergasted. If someone were to release that unedited feed as a live-concert film, it would be right up there with Stop Making Sense among the best movies in the genre. It was a true artistic achievement.
One of the most incredible things about Beyoncé’s set was the way it artfully incorporated all these different nods to black culture. Beyoncé sang James Weldon Johnson’s “Lift Every Voice And Sing,” often called the black national anthem. Her set incorporated Nina Simone’s “Lilac Wine,” Dawn Penn’s “You Don’t Love Me (No No No),” and a clip of a Malcolm X speech. She also built the set around a marching band and a crew of dancers like the ones often seen at historically black colleges and universities.
Writing on Instagram, Beyoncé’s mother Tina Knowles admits that she was worried that a mostly-white Coachella audience wouldn’t be able to understand what Beyoncé was giving them. She also writes that she warned Beyoncê about this:
I told Beyonce that i was afraid that the predominately white audience at Coachella would be confused by all of the black culture and Black college culture because it was something that they might not get. Her brave response to me made me feel a-bit selfish and ashamed. She said i have worked very hard to get to the point where i have a true voice and At this point in my life and my career i have a responsibility to do whats best for the world and not what is most popular
And then she eats her words. Here’s Tina Knowles’ Instagram post:
