Bow Down, Beyonce’s latest single (and her first since giving birth to Blue Ivy Carter, her daughter and first child last year) sees the pop queen delivering her music at new, self-aggrandizing heights. Not content with sneaking back onto the scene, Beyonce made a huge statement with her Super Bowl performance, side-swiped the potentially devastating criticism she received about miming at Obama’s inauguration with grace and poise and she sure as hell wasn’t going to settle for any old chart-topper as her comeback single.

The track has gotten people twitching, some are put off by her cussing, some think the track is a little too aggressive for a woman that just sang the national anthem for the President. Essentially, the word is: “who do you think you are, Nicki Minaj?” It seems that some folk out there can’t quite stomach the thought of Beyonce playing the homely matriarch, hanging out with the Obamas AND being a little fierce and cussing a helluva lot, ordering her minions to “bow down, b**ches,” repeatedly. Over and over.

 Rush Limbaugh may have led the political charge against Bey (albeit a little misguided in its interpretation), but she’s also faced criticism from Keyshia Cole, who disagreed with Mrs Carter’s use of the word “bitches” in reference to fellow women. Either way you look at it. Beyonce’s done a decent job of asserting her authority. Bow Down? You almost certainly will once she gets seriously under way on the promo trail with the new album. All that regal imagery and provocative tour-titling (She’s named the tour the Mrs Carter Show, the first time she’s used her married name on professional terms)? Bey’s not going to rest until you’re all paying attention.  

Beyonce
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