Beyoncé Is A Great Rapper And Always Has Been

Beyoncé on stage at her 2017 Grammy Awards performance. Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images

Beyoncé is the best. She bodies choreography, empowers women to shine outside of the shadows, unabashedly champions blackness, and yes—she has the range. Aside from perfectly executing everything from a jaw dropping Grammy performance while pregnant with twins to a competitive game of Connect Four, the almighty goddess is also great at rapping.

With a strong legacy of belting powerful notes, Beyoncé's also blessed a few tracks with impressive bars and absorbing flows throughout her career. They aren't just limited to singles, features, and album releases—remember when she played Carmen Brown in Carmen: A Hip-Hopera and went bar-for-bar with Mos Def in "If Looks Could Kill?"

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Check out a brief history of how Beyoncé went from being a speedy R&B innovator to a bonafide MC.

Let's start in 1998 with Destiny's Child's second single "No, No, No, Part 2" Feat. Wyclef Jean.

On this legendary remix, of group's first single "No, No, No" Bey kicked up the sultry ballad and introduced us to her skills as an MC for the first time.

Two years later, she had to let her man know he was being shady on "Say My Name."

On the second single from Destiny's Child's Writings on the Wall album, Beyoncé carried the melody with an innovative staccato. As she told Billboard in 2011, she basically invented a new form of R&B. She had a few concerns with a sus beau and took her time to break them all the way down: "Every other day/ I would call/ You would say/ Baby how's your day/ But today/ It ain't the same."

Aside from her ad-libs, she pretty much rapped all of "Jumpin Jumpin."

On this early 2000's party banger, Beyoncé mixed her laid-back Southern drawl with a fun and speedy flow. There moments in the song where she sang/rapped so quick that you might have to run it back a few times to understand the words, "You're gonna/ Find a sexy chica that's goin dance all night if you wanna."

And during the holidays, she brought the beat to a Christmas jingle on Destiny's Child's "8 Days of Christmas."

For the Eight Days of Christmas, these ladies got everything. As Beyoncé´ boasted about her presents, she spit with a sticky emphasis on each syllable in lines like, "A gift certificate to get my favorite CD's."

On "Upgrade U," she really dug deep and unleashed her inner MC.

Self-aware and fiery as hell, Beyoncé started off every verse in this song with a rap. With the same intensity as the blaring Swizz Beats and Cameron Wallace produced track, she confidently harnessed her power as a woman with a whole lot to bring to the table. In the video, she even took on the roll of Jay Z and mouthed his verse while sporting a toothpick.

"Kitty Kat"... bars.

"Got diamonds on my neck/Got diamonds on my records/Since 16 I was coming down ridin' Lexus'/How you gon' neglect this? You is just a hot mess/You can call Tyrone, you ain't gots to lie Craig/What about my body, body?/What about by my body, body?/I'm in the house all alone, you rather go and party?/What about my body, body?/You don't want my body, body?/Acting like I'm nobody/You gon' make me call somebody"

Beyoncé stated straight facts on "Diva."

Beyoncé held it down for hardworking women and dropped heavy hitting truths about her greatness. She confronted her haters head-on as she rapped, "How you goin be talking shit? You act like I just got up in it/ Been that number one diva in this game for a minute!"

She turned up the heat in those standout lines about her boo in "Countdown."

"Countdown" was really cute for a few reasons: Blue Ivy made a baby bump cameo the video, she was happily love sick, and the horns in the instrumental were really fun. It got to a new level when she got mushy and rapped a few quick lines about riding out with her boo and lip locking in his coupe.

With fire still under her tongue, "Partition" was the first time we'd heard Yoncé get real nasty.

In the midst of singing an enchanting hooks, Beyoncé's raw verses knocked over bass-heavy instrumental reminiscent of a classic Too Short cut. Here, she stepped all the way out and gave us a play-by-play of a steamy backseat rendezvous.

In a heated address to all the haters, shit really went down on "***Flawless" Remix" featuring Nicki Minaj.

After telling bitches to bow down on the original, Beyoncé linked up with her good friend and queen of rap, Nicki Minaj to create a masterful remix to her already boss ass song. She creeped up on the beat real grimy like, "It's that Yoncé, your Yoncé/In that lingerie, on that chardonnay/ Scoring touchdowns on your runway/ I'm Texas forever, like Bun B."

On "7/11," Beyoncé swapped out her melodic vocals for a playful flow.

On this surprise single, Beyoncé didn't belt one note. Instead, she put together an assortment of phrases and instructions that made for the perfect dance track. Even when she hummed a few angelic notes during the breakdown, she came right back with a smooth tongue-twisting verse.

When she linked up again with Nicki Minaj on "Feeling Myself" the two went bar for bar.

When talking about their naysayers, Nicki said "Bitches ain't got punchline or flow," but Beyoncé surely delivered both she went in about her world stopping power.

The queen took it straight to Houston when she got us all in "Formation."

In this glorious Black History Month offering, she coasted over the Mike WiLL Made-It produced track with unruffled Southern cadences and called black women to the floor to slay. Here, Beyoncé kept it true to every layer of her roots as she opened up the song with an unabashedly black and proud verse that she ends with, "You mix that negro with that Creole make a Texas Bama."

On DJ Khaled's most recent jam, "Shining," Beyoncé gives Jay Z a fair run for his money.

It's not summertime yet, but this is certainly a bop perfect for a two-step in the sun. DJ Khaled's feel-good production is laced with a sample of Osulande's "Dionne," and Beyoncé's lighthearted vocals and energetic verses take complete hold of the track. While holding down the majority of the song before her hubby lays down some jovial lines, she effortlessly cruises into an infectious flow that celebrates her countless wins.