Even Mama Knowles learns from Queen Bey.
Even Tina Knowles Lawson learns from Beyoncé.
Queen Bey's mama revealed in an Instagram post on Monday that even she did not, at first, fully understand Beyoncé's vision for her historic and epic -- no, seriously, it was stunning -- Coachella performance over the weekend.
In her raved-about headlining show on Saturday, Beyoncé drew heavily on African-American cultural references, especially those from the Historically Black Colleges and Universities world, with reliance on drum lines and step teams in a performance that was overall purposefully reminiscent of an HBCU homecoming.
But the 64-year-old businesswoman said she was initially wary of the idea. "I told Beyonce that I was afraid that the predominately white audience at Coachella would be confused by all of the black culture and Black college culture because it was something that they might not get," she wrote.
It was Beyoncé's "brave response" that Lawson said brought her around, even making her feel a bit "selfish and ashamed" for having doubted. "She said I have worked very hard to get to the point where I have a true voice and at this point in my life and my career I have a responsibility to do what's best for the world and not what is most popular," Lawson shared.
And of her daughter's decision to start the two-hour performance with a powerful and beautiful rendition of "Lift Every Voice and Sing," a song commonly referred to as the Black national anthem, Lawson said it was Beyoncé's hope that young people would hear it "and see how amazing the words are for us all and bridge the gap."
"She also hopes that it will encourage young kids to enroll in our amazing Historically Black Colleges and Universities," Lawson continued. "I stand corrected ❤️"
The comment came as a caption to an Instagram post of Beyoncé during her performance, alongside a quote from a fan.
Check out more of Beyoncé's revelationary performance in the video below.
