#org:beyonce

ROUND 2: Lemonade vs. 21

Beyoncé - Lemonade (2016) Genre: Pop, hip-hop, R&B Singles: Formation, Sorry, Hold Up, Freedom, All Night Grammys: Nine nominations (including SOTY, ROTY, and AOTY), Best Music Video, Best Urban Contemporary Album RIAA Certification: 4x Platinum Rolling Stone Rank: 32

Accompanied by an acclaimed hour-long film, Beyoncé's sixth album has many credits to its name: it's considered to have revived the album for pop in the streaming era, it popularized the album movie, it set a precedent for genre transcendence, it opened up doors for Black reclamation of genres that they had been pushed out of like country and rock. A concept album that explores Beyoncé's emotional journey as she deals with her husband Jay-Z's infidelity while exploring her identity as a Black woman, Lemonade is universally considered one of, if not the best album of the 2010s and the 21st century as a whole.

Adele - 21 (2011) Genre: Pop, soul, R&B Singles: Rolling in the Deep, Someone like You, Set Fire to the Rain, Rumour Has It, Turning Tables Grammys: One nomination, Best Pop Solo Peformance RIAA Certification: Diamond (14x Platinum) Rolling Stone Rank: 137

The single best-selling album of the 21st century, singer-songwriter Adele's second album was a breath of fresh air for the pop scene in which it was released; contrary to the colorful, hook-filled, sexy pop stars of the moment, Adele differentiated herself with a down-to-earth personality, soulful ballads, and golden voice. Written at the titular age during a breakup with a man 10 years her senior, 21 explores her heartbreak and inner journey towards healing, and would establish itself as an instant classic and Adele as pop royalty, helping to dismantle the contemporary image of what a female pop singer had to be.

ROUND 4: Purple Rain vs. Lemonade

Prince and the Revolution - Purple Rain (1984) Genre: Pop, rock, R&B, psychedelia Singles: When Doves Cry, Let's Go Crazy, Purple Rain, I Would Die 4 U, Take Me with U Grammys: Five nominations (including AOTY), Best Album Of Score Written For A Motion Picture Or A Television Special, Best Rhythm & Blues Song, Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal RIAA Certification: Diamond (13x Platinum) Rolling Stone Rank: 8

Prince's acclaimed sixth studio album would serve as the musical accompaniment to the film of the same name; although the film would find moderate popularity, the soundtrack would reach success of nigh-cosmic proportions. One of the defining albums of the 80s, Purple Rain is musically dense, layering synthesizers and other effects on top of live band performances to make a grand pop spectacle polished to a sheen. Purple Rain is one of the best-selling albums of all time, enjoys high ratings on "best of all time" lists, and is incontestably Prince's most recognizable work; memorably, it also was a major contributor to the inception of Tipper Gore's now-ubiquitous parental warning labels.

*This album is preserved in the National Recording Registry.

Beyoncé - Lemonade (2016) Genre: Pop, hip-hop, R&B Singles: Formation, Sorry, Hold Up, Freedom, All Night Grammys: Nine nominations (including SOTY, ROTY, and AOTY), Best Music Video, Best Urban Contemporary Album RIAA Certification: 4x Platinum Rolling Stone Rank: 32

Accompanied by an acclaimed hour-long film, Beyoncé's sixth album has many credits to its name: it's considered to have revived the album for pop in the streaming era, it popularized the album movie, it set a precedent for genre transcendence, it opened up doors for Black reclamation of genres that they had been pushed out of like country and rock. A concept album that explores Beyoncé's emotional journey as she deals with her husband Jay-Z's infidelity while exploring her identity as a Black woman, Lemonade is universally considered one of, if not the best album of the 2010s and the 21st century as a whole.

ROUND 3: Lemonade vs. It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back

Beyoncé - Lemonade (2016) Genre: Pop, hip-hop, R&B Singles: Formation, Sorry, Hold Up, Freedom, All Night Grammys: Nine nominations (including SOTY, ROTY, and AOTY), Best Music Video, Best Urban Contemporary Album RIAA Certification: 4x Platinum Rolling Stone Rank: 32

Accompanied by an acclaimed hour-long film, Beyoncé's sixth album has many credits to its name: it's considered to have revived the album for pop in the streaming era, it popularized the album movie, it set a precedent for genre transcendence, it opened up doors for Black reclamation of genres that they had been pushed out of like country and rock. A concept album that explores Beyoncé's emotional journey as she deals with her husband Jay-Z's infidelity while exploring her identity as a Black woman, Lemonade is universally considered one of, if not the best album of the 2010s and the 21st century as a whole.

Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988) Genre: Hip-hop, political rap, boom bap, sampledelia Singles: Rebel Without a Pause, Bring the Noise, Don't Believe the Hype, Night of the Living Baseheads, Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos Grammys: N/A RIAA Certification: Platinum Rolling Stone Rank: 15

Public Enemy set out to create a hip-hop equivalent to Marvin Gaye's What's Going On with their second studio album, and that's just what they did; densely instrumented, lyrically complex, and aggressively political, It Takes a Nation to Hold Us Back is universally considered one of hip-hop's greatest and most influential albums. Revolutionary in not only its lyrics, which heavily feature themes of black nationalism and industry exploitation, the album was mixed entirely by hand to create, to quote Rolling Stone, a "Molotov cocktail of nuclear scratching, gnarly minimalist electronics, and revolution rhyme" and a legendary album that would epitomize front man Chuck D.'s philosophy that "rap is the CNN of young black America."

ROUND 1: Nightclubbing vs. Lemonade

Grace Jones - Nightclubbing (1981) Genre: Post-disco, new wave, funk Singles: Demolition Man, I've Seen That Face Before (Libertango), Pull Up the Bumper, Use Me, Feel Up, Walking in the Rain Grammys: N/A RIAA Certification: N/A Rolling Stone Rank: N/A

Considered to be her magnum opus, Jamaican singer Grace Jones' fifth studio album would see her complete her transition from the campy disco of her previous work to her own new form of new wave, post-disco dance music. Nightclubbing would cement Jones as a pop icon, and the persona she adopted on the album would, in addition to its unique sound, have enduring influence on modern female pop singers. The album would also see the adoption of her iconic androgynous style (particularly with its striking cover), which would go on to have a great deal of impact in the fashion world.

Beyoncé - Lemonade (2016) Genre: Pop, hip-hop, R&B Singles: Formation, Sorry, Hold Up, Freedom, All Night Grammys: Nine nominations (including SOTY, ROTY, and AOTY), Best Music Video, Best Urban Contemporary Album RIAA Certification: 4x Platinum Rolling Stone Rank: 32

Accompanied by an acclaimed hour-long film, Beyoncé's sixth album has many credits to its name: it's considered to have revived the album for pop in the streaming era, it popularized the album movie, it set a precedent for genre transcendence, it opened up doors for Black reclamation of genres that they had been pushed out of like country and rock. A concept album that explores Beyoncé's emotional journey as she deals with her husband Jay-Z's infidelity while exploring her identity as a Black woman, Lemonade is universally considered one of, if not the best album of the 2010s and the 21st century as a whole.