More than 100 million people watched on as Queen Bey took centre stagefor the Super Bowl’s infamous half-time show.
After dropping her latest single ‘Formation’ just 24 hours before, the crowd were expecting a debut performance - and that's exactly what they got.
Looking fearless, flawless and unapologetically black, Beyoncé delivered her new song, dubbed as a rallying cry for the Black Lives Matter movement.
Images of successful African Americans such as James Brown, Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson were projected onto the big screens behind her.
For the first time, it wasn’t about her unique choreography or corsets, but rather the political motives behind her perfomance and lyrics.
“You just might be a black Bill Gates in the making, cause I slay, I just might be a black Bill Gates in the making.”
Beyoncé compares herself to the richest man in the world, suggesting that people of colour have the ability to achieve colossal wealth and power.
Despite their riches, Beyoncé and her family are regarded as charitable figures within the black community.
Just one day before the release of 'Formation', her husband Jay-Z announced he would donate $1.5 million dollars from his streaming service, to social justice organisations including
Her video clip, released to coincide with Black History Month in the US, pays homage to her ethnic roots.
My daddy Alabama, Momma Louisiana, You mix that negro with that Creole make a Texas bamma, I like my baby hair, with baby hair and afros, I like my negro nose with Jackson Five nostrils, Earned all this money but they never take the country out me.
The video also depicts key moments in history, such as Hurricane Katrina, which had a devastating effect on the African American community.
But the most relevant sequence of all can be missed within a blink of an eye.
This bathroom graffiti which features in the video clip reads "stop shooting us" and is a message frequently expressed by the Black Lives Matter movement.
Source: YouTube
A woman with many hats, Beyoncé can now add activist to her long list of talents.
Beyoncé, Chris Martin and Bruno Mars. Source: Channel7
