Sorry Mrs. Carter

"Sorry Mrs. Carter"
Single by Liv
Released	August 4, 2014 (2014-08-04)
Format	Video-sharing streaming
Recorded	2014
Genre	Hip hop
Length	3:44
Label	Self-released
Writer(s)	Liv

"Sorry Mrs. Carter" is a song recorded by American rapper Liv. The song was released On August 4, 2014, through Liv's YouTube and SoundCloud accounts. Promoted as an "open letter" to American singer Beyoncé, Liv wrote and recorded the song in response to Nicki Minaj's remix of the single "Flawless" (2013). It is an uptempo hip hop song with lyrics that revolve around Liv's alleged relationship with rapper Jay Z and Beyoncé's image as a wife and role model. The track's lyrical content portrays Liv as the victim of Jay Z's advances and the object of Beyoncé's jealousy.

"Sorry Mrs. Carter" has received primarily negative feedback from critics, who expressed confusion over its message and viewed it as a marketing ploy. In the single's accompanying music video, Liv raps the lyrics while wearing risqué clothing. The visual has earned over two million views less than a week after its release. "Sorry Mrs. Carter" was listed in the top ten of the top ten most popular hip hop singles for two weeks in 2014 by HipHopDX.

Concept and development

American rapper Liv self-released "Sorry Mrs. Carter" on August 4, 2014 through her YouTube and SoundCloud accounts. She wrote the song as an "open letter" to American singer Beyoncé.^[1][2][3] In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, the rapper explained that she recorded the song and its accompanying music video after hearing the remix of Beyoncé's single "Flawless" (2013) featuring Nicki Minaj.^[2] Subsequently, Liv uploaded her song only a few days after the release of the "Flawless" remix.^[4] Prior to the recording's premiere, tabloids had frequently identified Liv as Jay Z's mistress.^[5] Despite being phrased as an apology, the song was described as a diss track against Beyoncé by media outlets.^[5][6][7] Liv had previously criticized other celebrities, such as Kim Kardashian, Kanye West, and Kendrick Lamar, in her series of songs entitled "The Invasion", which according to Bustle, portrays "[Liv's] quest to dominate the hip-hop world and vanquish all of the celebrities she hates".^[8][9]

Composition and lyrical interpretation

	"Sorry Mrs. Carter" A 21-second sample of the song, in which Liv sings the chorus.[10]
Problems playing this file? See media help.

"Sorry Mrs. Carter" is an uptempo hip hop song that lasts three minutes and 44 seconds.^[1][11][12] Its beat and instrumentation feature a sample from Outkast's single "Ms. Jackson" (2000),^[13] whose use was described as extremely prominent by Tim Surrette of TV Guide.^[14] In the lyrics, Liv details her alleged relationship with rapper Jay Z while criticizing Beyoncé as a poor wife and role model for young women.^[11][15] Throughout the song, she is further portrayed as a victim of Jay Z's flirtations and Beyoncé's jealousy.^[6][16][17] According to HipHopDX, the track consists of "sharp-edged criticism" towards both artists.^[12]

"Sorry Mrs. Carter" opens with spoken word lyrics, which includes: "I was gonna respect you, but since you crossed over into my lane, it's time to check it."^[10] The lyrics contain references to Jay Z's songs "I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)" (2000), "99 Problems" (2004), and "Girls, Girls, Girls" (2001),^[5][18] as well as Beyoncé's "Flawless", "Run the World (Girls)" (2011), "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" (2008), and "Drunk in Love" (2013).^[5][7] Liv also alludes to rumors that Jay Z had a relationship with British singer Rita Ora.^[19] In the track, the rapper denies having an affair with Jay Z, but claims they share an emotional intimacy by rapping lyrics such as "F–k f–king to the top, me and Jay never screwed" and "We were attracted like magnets, us crossing paths was no accident".^[5][11] During the chorus, she sings "Sorry Mrs. Carter, this is for real" before criticizing Beyoncé's influence on women; the lyrics include, "Why don't you tell these girls how to be wives? Why don't tell these girls how to act around yo' husband?".^[5] The song ends with a second spoken word section, in which Liv advances that she could replace Beyoncé. It ends with Liv saying, "The invasion has begun".^[10]

Critical reception

The lyrics relating to Beyoncé were negatively received by critics, who felt Liv was using her to gain publicity.

"Sorry Mrs. Carter" primarily received negative responses from music critics upon its release. Courtney Carter of The Huffington Post attributed the song and its music video as examples of society's glorification of the side chick, with him following this up by criticizing Liv for using an alleged encounter with a married man as "her claim to fame" and "claim to self-esteem".^[20] Liv's performance was negatively compared to Beyoncé and Jay-Z by TV Guide's Tim Surette, who wrote that the rapper was worse than "a bunch of pots and pans clanging together".^[14] The single was described as "embarrassing" and a "trainwreck" by In Touch Weekly and Bustle.^[6][16]

Critics have also commented on the message of the song. Ariana Bacle of Entertainment Weekly expressed uncertainty over Liv's intentions for her apology, questioning if the rapper was apologizing to Beyoncé about her flirtation with Jay Z or his alleged, inappropriate behavior with other women. Bacle chose the lyrics, "You got a good girl, why she messing with a bad guy?" as a point of confusion, in which the song transitions to become more "directed at Mrs. Carter-Knowles' decisions".^[5] In Touch Weekly's Carly Sitzer viewed the track as "ultra-confusing", and cast doubt on Liv's claims of being a victim and the object of Beyoncé's jealousy.^[6] Echoing this thought, Bustle's Kaitlin Reilly was critical of Liv's interpretation of herself as a victim in the song's lyrics.^[16]

"Sorry Mrs. Carter" did earn some positive reviews. Amy Zimmerman of The Daily Beast called the song a "fantastic Garage band gem" and wrote that Liv was either "totally insane or the future first female president".^[15] HipHopDX included it on the list of the top ten most popular hip hop singles for the weeks of August 9, 2014 and August 23, 2014.^[12][21]

The single has been considered a ploy for publicity by media commentators. Inquisitr's Addam Corré expressed doubts over the authenticity of the song, and equated it to a publicity stunt.^[11] The recording was described as Liv's attempt to gain wider exposure by Boston Herald's Kevin O'Leary, who called her a "small-time rapper".^[22] Miami Herald wrote that releasing a song about Beyoncé was "one surefire way to get publicity for your song".^[13] The singer's fans negatively reacted to the single on social media.^[23] Following the release of Beyoncé's "Sorry" in 2016, Liv was speculated to be the "Becky with the good hair" referenced in the track due to "Sorry Mrs. Carter".^[24]

Music video

An accompanying music video for the single premiered on Liv's YouTube account on August 4, 2014.^[1] According to Sharifa Daniels of Vibe, the video was homemade, with the rapper being the main person behind its production.^[18] In the video, Liv wears risqué clothing while applying lip gloss and examining herself in a mirror.^[18][25] She is also shown dressed in a bikini and shawl, and drinking wine, which symbolizes "Bey and Jay's failing marriage". She performs an "exaggerated eye roll" while mocking the "Surfbort" lyric from Beyoncé's "Drunk in Love".^[15] Images of tabloid covers featuring Liv and headlines about her alleged affair with Jay-Z are shown prominently throughout the video,^[14] with one of them including her interview with Life & Style.^[16] The clip ends with a panning shot across Liv's body.^[15] The video has earned over two million view after less than a week after its release.^[12]

Critical reception of the music video was negative. It was described as a "cringe video" by SPIN 1038's Georgie Crawford,^[26] and as "that godawful video" by Cate Sutherland of Life & Style.^[27] Lauren Weigle of Heavy.com viewed the video as "just another log on the fire for the already fueled divorce rumors surrounding Jay Z and Beyoncé".^[28] It was further regarded as "such an obvious publicity stunt that it's cringeworthy" by Bustle's Kaitlin Reilly, who concluded by comparing the music video to "the beginning of a future reality star's sex tape".^[16]

Release history

References

External links

• "Sorry Mrs. Carter" on YouTube