Beyoncé dropped a surprise song to celebrate Juneteenth.
The 38-year-old star released the track ‘Black Parade’ on Tidal on Friday (19.06.20) for Juneteenth, the holiday celebrating the emancipation of those who had been enslaved in the United States.
She wrote on Instagram: “Happy Juneteenth Weekend! I hope we continue to share joy and celebrate each other, even in the midst of struggle. Please continue to remember our beauty, strength and power.
“‘BLACK PARADE’ celebrates you, your voice and your joy and will benefit Black-owned small businesses. Click the link in my bio to learn more.”
The song’s release comes as Beyoncé released the ‘Black Parade Route’, a directory of Black-owned businesses that’s powered by the National Urban League.
She wrote on Beyonce.com: “BLACK PARADE ROUTE. Happy Juneteenth. Being Black is your activism. Black excellence is a form of protest. Black joy is your right.
“‘Black Parade’ benefits BeyGOOD’s Black Business Impact Fund, administered by the National Urban League, to support Black-owned small businesses in need.”
While Beyoncé teamed up with rapper Megan Thee Stallion for a ‘Savage’ remix in April, ‘Black Parade’ is her first new solo music since her work on ‘The Lion King’ album last year.
Beyoncé has been vocal about the Black Lives Matter movement and recently called for action over the death of Breonna Taylor.
The ‘Formation’ hitmaker shared a letter she sent to Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, in which she asked for the officers involved in the shooting of the 26-year-old EMT to be criminally charged.
READ: Alicia Keys Releases A Heartbreaking Song Championing For Black Lives Matter
Breonna was shot dead while sleeping in her apartment in March, with her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker claiming three Louisville cops had walked in with a no-knock search warrant, making him assume they were intruders and gunfire breaking out, with over 20 shots fired, including eight at his sleeping partner.
The star urged for criminal charges to be brought against the three cops involved in the incident and urged the AG to “commit to transparency in the investigation and prosecution of these officers’ criminal conduct”; and to also “investigate the LMPD’s response to Breonna Taylor’s murder, as well as the pervasive practices that result in the repeated deaths of unarmed Black citizens.”
