Black bodies and French colonial history: Beyoncé and Jay Z’s ‘Apeshit’ at the Louvre

Abstract

In June of 2018, Beyoncé and Jay-Z (under the name The Carters) released the music video for their song ‘Apeshit’, from the album Everything Is Love, set in the Louvre Museum in Paris. Through an agreement with the Louvre, The Carters were given free rein to film in front of some of the most famous art pieces in the world. This article focuses on five instances, within the music video, where the juxtaposition between either The Carters and/or their dancers, and certain works of art, merits analysis within the French colonial and postcolonial context. Under consideration are the following scenes: first is the dance scene in front of David’s The Coronation of Napoléon (1807); the second is in front of the Great Sphinx of Tanis (2600 BCE); the third is in front of Géricault’s The Charging Chasseur (1812); the fourth is a scene in a locker room that pans to a bedroom (‘Apeshit’ 00:02:31–00:02:36); the fifth and final is ‘the hair-combing scene’ in front of DaVinci’s Mona Lisa. Each of these scenes speaks to pivotal moments in French colonial and postcolonial history, and through the analysis of the lyrics of the song and the historical context, I provide insight into the rich and deep meaning behind the specific art choices made by The Carters, within the Louvre, for their music video.