Beyonce‘s new documentary, Life is But a Dream, opens with a live rendition of “Crazy in Love” — the song that kicked off her solo career. Suddenly, it dives into the firing of her father Mathew Knowles as her manager. (“I needed a break. I needed my dad.”) HBO debuted Life is But a Dream last night (February 16) partly to explain how Bey seized control of her solo career and took Oprah Winfrey‘s advice to heart, by keeping her personal life private. “When Nina Simone put out music, you loved her voice … you didn’t get brainwashed by her day-to-day life and what her child is wearing and who she’s dating and all the things that really is not your business. It shouldn’t influence the way you listen to the voice and the art, but it does,” she says.

If anything, the doc is stunning to watch, simply because its footage spans from Beyonce’s childhood to newfound motherhood (the television debut of Blue Ivy Carter). But it also shows how quickly Beyonce’s own perfectionism can transform into added, daunting pressure — and hints at how relieved the pop star must feel, now that she’s outed herself. Luckily, the Internet is still the Wild West, and the full doc is now streaming online, so those non-HBO subscribers in the BeyHive can watch the film about their Queen B.

Watch Life is But a Dream over at Rap-Up.

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