Fans have been speculating about Beyoncé’s Act III after she shared a promotional message for her Valentine’s Day collection featuring a cryptic phrase: “A little rock ‘n’ roll with a whole lotta sexy.” This sparked a wave of theories suggesting that Beyoncé will explore a historical reclamation of rock, much as she did with her house-inspired Renaissance album and the country-centered Cowboy Carter. Following a recent Levi’s advertisement where she transitions from riding a horse to a motorcycle, many believe her next era will trade acoustic strings for electric distortion and leather.
The concept of musical reclamation challenges traditional industry standards and racial perceptions. While the general public often associates rock with figures like Elvis Presley or The Beatles, the genre’s foundations were built by Black pioneers like Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Little Walter, and Muddy Waters. Tharpe, a queer Black woman often called the Godmother of Rock ‘n’ Roll, was one of the first popular recording artists to use heavy distortion on her electric guitar. Chuck Berry famously credited his career to her, noting it was one long impersonation of her style. Despite these contributions, the recognition gap remains significant; for example, while Black artists founded the genre, they currently make up only 32.7% of the performers in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Interestingly, fan theorists have noted that Beyoncé was recently pictured with a National Triolian nickel-plated steel guitar—the same model Tharpe famously played. This visual cue suggests a tribute to the roots of rock and funk, much like her Halloween tribute to Betty Davis, the unapologetic godmother of funk-rock. Davis faced widespread boycotts and censorship for her sexual liberation in the 1970s, a narrative of resistance that aligns with Beyoncé’s own journey of artistic reclamation. Historically, the term Black Betty has carried multiple meanings, referring to a whiskey bottle, a prison transport carriage, or a whip—all symbols of rebellion that fans believe Beyoncé is physically embodying as she moves into this grittier, more aggressive sound.
The transition from horses to motorcycles also carries heavy symbolic weight. Throughout the trilogy, the horse has been a central icon—from the disco-crystal horse “Reneigh” in Act I to the white horse of Cowboy Carter. Transitioning to a motorcycle symbolizes horsepower in a mechanical sense, a louder and more mechanical version of freedom. This evolution is further supported by her previous work, such as sampling Led Zeppelin’s “When the Levee Breaks”—a song originally adapted from Black artists Memphis Minnie and Kansas Joe McCoy. Additionally, her song “Bodyguard” references a “mosh pit,” a term popularized by H.R. of the Black punk band Bad Brains, whose Jamaican accent transformed “mashing” into “moshing,” further cementing the link between Black history and rock subcultures.
Among the Beyhive and Au’lexcia Larry, a “Rule of Three” theory is also circulating, suggesting that Beyoncé will release three distinct singles to mirror the three chapters of the trilogy. For Act I, she released one lead single, and for Act II, she released two. Analysts predict that Act III may arrive with three tracks—perhaps representing blues, hard rock, and psychedelic funk—to close out the project. By choosing rock ‘n’ roll, Beyoncé makes it clear that she is not just exploring a genre, but revitalizing a musical movement that was pioneered by the Black community and changed the world.