Beyonce releases surprise new album Lemonade

The album includes guest appearances by Kendrick Lamar, Jack White, James Blake and the Weekend, reported RollingStone magazine.

Pop star Beyonce unveiled her new album Lemonade to fans on Tidal. The 12-song album and the 34-year-old singer’s sixth, arrived with a short film and is a “conceptual project based on every woman’s journey of self-knowledge and healing,” Tidal said in a statement.

Beyonce performs Take My Hand at the 57th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, California on February 8, 2015. (REUTERS)

The album includes guest appearances by Kendrick Lamar, Jack White, James Blake and the Weekend, reported RollingStone magazine.

Prior to the album’s release, Beyonce teased the mysterious, hour-long HBO special Lemonade with brief, thriller-like clips.

Watch: Trailer of Beyonce’s new album Lemonade

In the special, Beyonce invokes her ancestral roots, dealing with emotionally hefty issues of race and misogyny. Serena Williams and Jay-Z make guest appearances in the film, though do not appear on the album.

Singer Beyonce arrives at TIDAL X: 1020 concert at the Barclays Center in the Brooklyn borough of New York on October 20, 2015. (Reuters)

Over the last few years, Beyonce has teamed up with the network for her other specials, including the documentary Life Is But a Dream and a concert film about her 2014 co-headlining tour with husband Jay Z, the On the Run Tour.