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- "The Carters"

Songs of the Issue: The Carters: “LOVEHAPPY”

Zach Williamson ’21

Beyoncé and Jay-Z had a whirlwind 2018. A month prior to Beyoncé’s ground-breaking Coachella performance in April, the pair had announced their second joint tour, “On The Run II,” which ran from June to October across fourteen countries, grossing over $250 million.

Following one such show in London, the duo surprise-dropped their first joint album, EVERYTHING IS LOVE, a triumphant declaration and reassurance of the long-lasting relationship between the two superstars. The album is credited to THE CARTERS as a duo. The album is a conclusion to the trilogy begun with Beyoncé’s Lemonade and Jay-Z’s 4:44, both of which saw the couple grappling with Jay-Z’s infidelity and its repercussions.

A standout track from EVERYTHING IS LOVE is its closing, the boisterous “LOVEHAPPY,” on which the duo trades verses about Jay-Z’s cheating scandal. The lyrics speak for themselves, with the two re- counting the process of forgiveness. Beyoncé sings in the song’s hook, “Love is deeper than your pain / And I believe you can change, baby / The ups and downs are worth it / Long way to go, but we’re workin’.”

“LOVEHAPPY” reflects a greater theme of EVERYTHING IS LOVE. Songs such as “Sorry” from Lemonade (“better call Becky with the good hair”) and “Family Feud” from 4:44 (“nobody wins when the family feuds”)

find the Carters at differing stages of acceptance of his infidelity, anger, and contemplation. Respectively, “LOVEHAPPY” sees the couple in a state of, as the title suggests, happiness in love. “LOVEHAPPY” and EVERYTHING IS LOVE serve as a reminder to listeners that marriage and relationships take effort and compromise, but also serve to solidify Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s status as the ultimate power couple. As Jay-Z himself said about the recording of his first album with his wife, the pair “used [their] art almost like a therapy session and [...] started making music together.” The Carter family is no longer divided.

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The Razor's Edge reflects the opinion of 4/5 of the editorial board and will not be signed. The Razor welcomes letters to the editor but reserves the right to decide which letters to publish, and to edit letters for space reasons. Unsigned letters will not be published, but names may be withheld on request. Letters are subject to the same libel laws as articles. The views expressed in letters are not necessarily those of the editorial board.

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986 Forest Road
New Haven, Connecticut 06515
(203) 397-1001