The band's sixth album, The Navigator, follows the story of a similar young girl, Navita, as she does the same. Hurray For The Riff Raff frontwoman Alynda Segarra spent much of her youth hopping trains in search of America.
Onika Maraj, best known to the masses as Nicki Minaj, has been one of rap's greatest chameleons.
More: Read Jesmyn Ward on "Formation" on Code SwitchĬlaire Boucher's third album as Grimes was like a Big Bang at the foundations of pop - fuel for the fire that has continued burning down the borders between the mainstream and underground, between genres in general.Released early in a year when overt racism and misogyny bum-rushed American politics, "Formation" remains the radical apex of a sui generis career. In this case, that meant a music video dense with references to Hurricane Katrina, racist policing and the resilience of black communities, followed a day later by dancers in Black Panther berets flanking Beyoncé at a Super Bowl performance.
Though it finds her croon flawless, the song shines when she shifts to a raspy rap and deploys a series of lethal one-liners, culminating in a masterful parting shot: "You know you that bitch when you cause all this conversation." It's a brilliant single, but Bey transcended the sonic realm with her self-titled album in 2013, and every track she's recorded since is inseparable from the imagery rolled out to accompany it. Like the album itself, "Formation" is a defiant celebration of black womanhood and the singer's Southern heritage. Beyoncé's two great obsessions - love and power - combine on her personal-is-political masterpiece, 2016's Lemonade.