In Vice President Kamala Harris' first 2024 presidential campaign video, a familiar rhythm rings out. The clip, which touches on issues of gun violence, health care and abortion, is soundtracked by Beyoncé's “Freedom,” a cut from her 2016 landmark album, “Lemonade.”
“We choose freedom,” Harris says in the clip, as Beyoncé's powerful chorus kicks in: “Freedom! Freedom! I can’t move / Freedom, cut me loose! Yeah.”
It's become a campaign song for Harris. She used “Freedom” during her first official public appearance as a presidential candidate at her campaign headquarters in Delaware on Monday, and again on Tuesday at the beginning and end of her rally in Milwaukee.
As a whole body of work, “Lemonade” has been celebrated as an instant-classic, a game-changing collection of songs and visuals that function as an examination of personal plight and societal injustice, where revenge songs about infidelity sit next to displays of support for Black Lives Matter.
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What is Beyoncé's “Freedom” about?
Omise’eke Tinsley, academic and author of “Beyoncé in Formation: Remixing Black Feminism,” says Beyoncé has performed “Freedom,” in particular, in ways that have made it clear it is a political song. “She performed it at Coachella; it segued into ‘Lift Every Voice,’ the Black national anthem," she says. It was used by activists ahead of the 2016 presidential election, and “in 2020, it was taken up by activists again. In the wake of the George Floyd killing ... It’s a song of hope. It’s a song of uplift."
Kinitra D. Brooks, an academic and author of “The Lemonade Reader," says much of Beyoncé's album “focuses on the infidelity of the partner, but it’s really about her learning to love herself and coming to her own and then being able to deal with other ramifications of coming into her own."
“'Freedom' is so important because it shows that freedom isn't free. The freedom to be yourself, the political freedom... it's the idea that you must fight for freedom, and that it is winnable," she adds, referencing some of the lyrics in the chorus: “I break chains all by myself / Won’t let my freedom rot in hell / Hey! I’ma keep running / ’Cause a winner don’t quit on themselves.”
The musical legacy of “Freedom”
Arriving in the back-half of “Lemonade,” “Freedom” samples two John and Alan Lomax field recordings, which document Jim Crow-era folk spirituals of Southern Black churches and the work songs of Black prisoners from 1959 and 1948, respectively.
Brooks calls it a kind of “inheritance." “It's necessary that Beyoncé is using, you know, the cadence and the rhythm and the foundation of spirituals and things like that in a song called ‘Freedom,'” she says, because it is part of a greater tradition of Black Americans imagining new ideas and concepts around freedom.
“Freedom” also features Pulitzer Prize winner Kendrick Lamar, the L.A. rapper at the top of his game having recently released the No. 1 hit song “Not Like Us” in the midst of his beef with Drake. Brooks says, “Lamar has that momentum, the momentum of winners."
“These are winners that Kamala is evoking,” Tinsley agrees. “How does Kamala use music and prominent musical voices to inspire people to take a black woman seriously? I think Beyoncé and Kendrick Lamar are both voices that make that message clear.”
“Harris is taking their energy and incorporating it into her own campaign,” Brooks adds. “Remember the population she wants: She wants young people.”
Does “Freedom” differ from other campaign songs?
Eric T. Kasper, academic and co-author of “Don’t Stop Thinking About the Music: The Politics of Songs and Musicians in Presidential Campaigns," says there is a long history of presidential campaign songs having a title or hook about freedom or liberty: In 1800, John Adams used the song, “Adams and Liberty" and Thomas Jefferson used “The Son of Liberty.” In 1860, Abraham Lincoln used “Lincoln and Liberty.” As recent as 2012, Mitt Romney used Kid Rock's “Born Free.”
“The use of a song with that type of title, or a hook with lyrics referring to liberty or freedom, often tries to portray the candidate as supporting voters’ personal autonomy and security from government overreach,” he says.
Is it an effective campaign song?
“Democrats across the board have been saying freedom is at stake,” says Tinsley, “And this literally makes that into a refrain. (She’s) associating her campaign with a literal call for freedom and a reminder that that’s what’s at stake.”
Kasper says there is a benefit to campaign songs where “the musical artist is popular, as the candidate may use the song to connect their campaign to a popular celebrity,” and “if the artist supports the candidate, as that can turn into a type of celebrity endorsement.”
What is Beyoncé's history with Democrats?
In 2013, Beyoncé sang the national anthem at the inauguration of President Barack Obama. Three years later, she and her husband Jay-Z performed at a pre-election concert for Hillary Clinton in Cleveland.
“Look how far we’ve come from having no voice to being on the brink of history — again,” Beyoncé said at the time. “But we have to vote.”
“If we remember at the end of Hillary Clinton's (campaign,) they were still trying to get certain populations out. They brought out Beyoncé at the last minute,” says Brooks. Harris differs, because she's utilizing Beyoncé early on, appealing to “the many populations that are Beyoncé fans, who are people the Harris campaign needs: people of color, queer folks, young people, etc.”
Last year, Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff attended Beyoncé's Renaissance World Tour in Maryland after being gifted tickets from Queen B herself. “Thanks for a fun date night, @Beyonce,” Harris wrote on Instagram.
How have other pop stars engaged with Harris?
Since President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 race for the White House on Sunday, quickly endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris to take on Trump and encouraging his party to unite behind her, the world of pop music has similarly embraced the VP.
Support poured in from Janelle Monáe, John Legend, Katy Perry and Charli XCX, whose album “brat” inspired the Internet trend of “brat summer” and many Harris memes. (As a result, Harris’ campaign quickly set its X banner photo to the striking Shrek-green color of Charli’s “brat” album cover.) On TikTok, users have remixed Harris’ speeches into songs by Taylor Swift, Chappell Roan, Carly Rae Jepsen and more.
