wow. so apparently beyonce can do no harm. first of all, these women are straight up SYCOPHANTS. miss me with the "straight to the fans, no record label" bs, those videos were EXPENSIVE AS HELL, and you know the record label footed the bill. it's ridiculous to start approaching beyonce like some indie artist with purely feminist and artistic intentions. you can hear echoes of so many original artists in this gumbo, not to mention the fact that these songs do very little on their own, without the help of the videos. has anyone taken a second to watch some previous beyonce videos? do you see the difference? she is no longer competing against herself, she is competing with everyone and trying to be everything. where is her voice? artists, like everyone, have the right to evolve, but this is a devolution. i love beyonce, and this is not an attack on her or her work. rather, people need to stop projecting this political slant on what is at best an exercise in vanity.