Whiskey Vibes, No Visuals & Southern Women In Hip-Hop: Three Things We Learned From Beyoncé’s GQ Spread

Beyoncé stunned the world once again with her GQ spread and cover story, which included several interesting revelations.

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Bey conducted the interview from the East Coast, where she shared that she was spending time with her children, cousins, and other family members, enjoying what remains of the summer months.  Bey quickly touched on her recent moves, specifically her whiskey brand, SirDavis. While some people have questioned her reasoning for releasing the line, she maintained that her love for the alcohol and its ties to her family run deep. 

“I’ll never forget the first day I had whiskey.  It spoke to me nice.  I remember thinking, ‘Why have I never had this before?’ It was strong and warm, just the right amount of challenge.  I loved the process, the ritual of it,” she explained. 

One of the most talked about moments in the interview was whether or not “Renaissance” would ever have visuals. Much to fans’ dismay, the Houston star revealed there would be no formal videos. According to Bey, this was done so that people could digest the music properly. 

“The music is so rich in history and instrumentation. It takes months to digest, research, and understand.  The music needed space to breathe on its own.  Sometimes a visual can be a distraction from the quality of the voice and the music.  The years of hard work and detail put into an album that takes over four years!  The music is enough.  The fans from all over the world became the visual.  We all got the visual on tour.  We then got more visuals from my film,” she explained. 

Bey famously said, “You are the visuals” on stage during her Renaissance tour.  Still, even after the concert film was released, many were still looking forward to the actual content she teased when she first announced the album. 

Another insightful moment came when Bey shared the artists she was currently a fan of.  While she admitted that she primarily prefers the old-school sounds, several newcomers have her attention.  This impressive list included Raye, Victoria Monét, Sasha Keable, Chloe x Halle, Reneé Rapp, Doechii, GloRilla, and fellow Houston artist That Mexican OT. 

The interview was conducted by Frazier Tharpe, with the spread shot by Bryce Anderson.