Beyoncé's Lemonade, released on April 23rd, was a triumph of sound and storytelling, an intense and adventurous "visual album" (accompanied by an hourlong film) about race, infidelity and marital meltdown. It was also a marvel of project management. Beyoncé, famously controlling and tight-lipped about her creative process, oversaw a cast of nearly 100 collaborators, from Jack White and Diplo to dozens of unknown producers and songwriters. "Beyoncé is really involved at all stages," says Jonny Coffer, a London-based singer-songwriter who co-wrote and co-produced the stirring anthem "Freedom." Brooklyn rapper-producer MeLo-X, who had a hand in writing the reggae-tinged "Hold Up," produced the skittering, not-at-all-apologetic "Sorry," and scored the album's accompanying film, was similarly impressed with Beyonce's process. "She has a way of creating that I've never seen before as an artist," he says. "She produces, alters and arranges tracks in ways I wouldn't think of."
