Beyoncé, RENAISSANCE | Album Review 💿

After an agonizing six-year hiatus, Beyoncé returns in a big and bold way with her highly anticipated seventh studio album, RENAISSANCE.

Let’s cut out the BS and just cut straight to the chase, shall we? After six long years, the most awarded woman in 🏆 Grammy history, 🎙 Beyoncé, began her 💿 RENAISSANCE.  Sure, Bey hadn’t fallen off the face of pop music, but she hadn’t released a ‘proper’ studio album since 💿 Lemonade (2016), one of the many snubs of the Grammys 😏.  While it took far too long for the renaissance to commence, this dance/house-driven makeover is a bold, ultra-successful return for one of music’s brightest stars.  No, RENAISSANCE isn’t without controversy – often covered on the songs it pertains to – but all told, it’s an incredibly compelling listen.   

“I’m That Girl”

“Please, motherfuckers ain’t stoppin’ me…” Woo! Beyoncé commences RENAISSANCE with a surefire bang. 🤩 🎵 “I’m That Girl” has no shortage of confidence, profanity (obviously), and unapologetic spirit.  Untraditional for a Beyoncé opener, it takes a couple of listens to digest everything that the Queen throws at you.  After fully analyzing, there’s no shortage of brilliance.  “I’m That Girl” begins less stable, save for the consistent, genius vocal sample (🎵 “Still Pimpin” by 🎙 Tommy Wright III).  Soon enough, we get heavy drums, spoken vocals (eventually pitched and melodic), a beat switch, and a top-notch, tone-setting record.

“So cozy / I love me / They hate me / ‘Cause they want me.” Beyoncé doesn’t disappoint on 🤩🎵 “Cozy,” which is infectious from the start.  The beat draws you to the dance floor or at least encourages body movement.  “Cozy” is indulgent (“I love myself, goddamn”) but in an empowering and fierce way.  The chorus gets you hyped up, sending those encouraging vibes: “Comfortable in my skin / Cozy with who I am / Comfortable in my skin / Cozy, cozy.”  Some other awesome notes from “Cozy” include referencing the Progress Pride Flag, created by Daniel Quasar, and featuring uncredited vocals of black trans personality, actress, and LGBTQ activist, 🎙 Ts Madison.  Two tracks in, Queen Bey is killing it.

“Alien Superstar” 

“I’m too classy for this world, forever, I’m that girl.” Beyoncé keeps RENAISSANCE captivating with a third consecutive standout, 🤩🎵 “Alien Superstar.” She goes extraterrestrial, not only with the lyrics but also, with the production.  She’s backed by an instrumental that screams cosmic and outer space vibes, while the beat continues to incite body movement.  Beyoncé embraces her uniqueness and continues to exude self-assuredness – no self-esteem issues to be found in the least.  It wouldn’t be far-fetched to call this one of the most unique songs she’s ever recorded, all told.

If RENAISSANCE felt like a big-time about-face for many Beyoncé fans, 🤩 🎵 “Cuff It” feels like it has some ties to Bey’s past.  It still has the dance floor in mind but there’s also more R&B mixed in.  “I feel like fallin’ in love (Fallin’ in love) / I’m in the mood to fuck somethin’ up (Tonight, I’m fuckin’ somethin’ up, baby).” She’s open regarding her intentions and desires. The best way to describe how she’s feeling: sexy AF, of course. When we think of cuffing, we think of locking down that partner exclusively. All indications on “Cuff It” suggest this sexy joint is monogamous.  That said, monogamy doesn’t have to be vanilla either.  Clearly, Bey is having a hell of a night, and the feeling should be the same for the audience listening to this slickly produced pop joint.  If you have any plans to “fuck up the night,” I highly encourage you to allow “Cuff It” to serve as the soundtrack.

“Energy”

There’s a clever segue from 🎵 “Cuff It” to  🎵 “Energy” featuring 🎙 Beam.  The ‘energy’ lasts under two minutes, but hey, it’s another vibe.  The production remains colorful and ear-catching – those keys and synths are potent.  Furthermore, the beat is incredible.  Both Beam and Beyoncé exhibit plenteous personalities.  Too bad that so much energy regarding “Energy” involves wrongly directed anger from 🎙 Kelis towards Beyoncé due to sampling. A sample of Kelis’ “Milkshake” has since been axed.

What follows is the record that began Beyoncé’s RENAISSANCE,  🤩 🎵 “Break My Soul”. “Break My Soul” features writers including  🎼 ✍ Terius The-Dream Nash and 🎼 ✍ Christopher “Tricky” Stewart. The boisterous intro by 🎙 Big Freedia gets you hyped for what’s to come (sampling 🎵 “Explode” from 2014). “Break My Soul” establishes itself as a house-driven pop joint. “Break My Soul” features an infectious, danceable groove, led by beloved, archetypical house keys, bass synth, and beat. Beyoncé produces alongside The-Dream and Tricky, who kill it. Lyrically, “Break My Soul” features its fair share of inspirational lyrics, including the titular lyric – “You won’t break my soul” – and exudes confidence (“Motivation / I’m lookin’ for a new foundation, yeah / And I’m on that new vibration / I’m buildin’ my own foundation, yeah / Hold up, oh, baby, baby”). Besides singing, Beyoncé also serves up a rapped verse. Also, can’t fail to mention those lovely, harmonized backing vocals. “Break My Soul” is a total bop!

Following up 🎵 “Break My Soul” is an elephantine task. No worries as 🤩 🎵 “Church Girl” is another gem from RENAISSANCE.  One of my favorite aspects of this record is the soulful, gospel-tinged backdrop.  This is thanks to four samples, including 🎙 The Clark Sisters’ 🎵 “Center of Thy Will”.  Also, give 🎛 No I.D. some production credit here – he’s masterful at sampling. Don’t worry if you’re not a God-fearing Christian. “Church Girl” isn’t particularly Christian.  It’s doubtful the saints would approve of “She gon’ shake that ass and them pretty tig ol’ bitties.” Even prior to that, Bey asserts, “I’ll drop it like a thottie, drop it like a thottie.” There’s plenty to repent about with this sinful joint, but I don’t really want to – it’s so good! 🎵 “Plastic Off the Sofa” is no slouch either – a love letter of sorts to her hubby, 🎙 Jay-Z. Yes, you might say it’s a drastic difference from 💿 Lemonade where Hov was in the doghouse.  Here, she asserts, “But I like it, baby.”

“Virgo’s Groove” 

Most of the songs on Renaissance clock in under four minutes, with a few exceptions.  🤩 🎵 “Virgo’s Groove” is one of those exceptions, earning the distinction as the longest song.  “Virgo’s Groove” runs past six minutes in duration but it’s well worth every second.  Beyoncé delivers some of her best vocals (those runs and ad-libs), not to mention more of her sickening artistry and personality.  The production continues to be a big-time selling point with polychromatic synths and another bang-up beat. There’s no doubt that Beyoncé has the dance floor on mind.  Even so, there’s still R&B sensibilities, thanks to sweet, sweet harmonize backing vocals.

On 🤩 🎵 “Move,” Queen Bey enlists 🎙 Grace Jones (Yes, 🎵 “Pull Up to the Bumper” Grace Jones) and 🎙 Tems.  Folks, it’s impossible to sit still on this one.  Think about it.  Grace Jones is a legend.  Beyoncé will go down as an icon.  Tems is well on her way to superstardom.  Just examining “Move” from that perspective makes it incredibly intriguing.  Add in the ear candy from behind the boards and continued, big-time personality being exuded, and “Move” is another top-rate moment.  Of course, follow-up 🎵 “Heated” earned controversy – 🎵 “Uh Oh”, 🎙 Sub Urban! The song itself continues the badassery of the chanteuse and the album, but there was an ableist slur – much like 🎙 Lizzo’s 🎵 “GRRRLS” –  that had to be removed.  Does the fact that there was an ableist slur, albeit not intended to be harmful, dim the shine of “Heated.” Personally, I don’t think so, but everyone is entitled to their own opinions.

“Ass getting bigger / Racks getting bigger / Cash getting larger.” Ooh that’s so 🤩 🎵 “THIQUE”! Any time your first lyric is ass, well, the song is likely going to be quite a trip!  Beyoncé keeps it explicit! “He thought he was loving me good, I told him, ‘Go harder’ / She thought she was killing that shit, I told her, ‘Go harder’,” she sings, continuing her lofty aspirations, “Just look at this alkaline wrist ‘cause I got that water / Ass getting thicker / Cash getting thicker (Thicker, thicker).” Woo! Those lyrics regarding size aren’t purely sexual, but Bey knows what she’s doing with that sexual innuendo!  She puts emphasis on booty (“Say she on a diet, girl, you better not lose that ass”). That said, there’s also BDE, literally: “Boy, you crazy, body mean, back it up like limousine / You gotta make a fold out to fit a magazine, right…” Day-um, that’s one big pickle!  

“All Up in Your Mind” 

The final quarter of RENAISSANCE remains strong up until the closing seconds.  🎵 “All Up in Your Mind” represents another production standout, thanks to its wacky synths.  I enjoy the tunefulness of the melody.  What makes it even more intriguing, however, is the fact that it plays around with Dorian mode (raised sixth). Of course, casual music listeners aren’t concerned with the fact that a Beyoncé song is modal – that’s for us music theory nerds! On 🎵 “America Has a Problem,” Yoncé makes this man feel some type of way about her. Sexy to the n^th degree, she titillates something fierce.  It’s interesting how she parallels addiction to drugs to an addiction to her.

🤩 🎵 “Pure/Honey” is the best of the final quarter, fully devoted to the club and the dancefloor.  I mean, are we going to decline Bey’s invitation for “All my pretty girls to the floor” and “All the pretty boys to the floor.”  Perhaps “Pure” is my personal favorite section of this two-part-song, but “Honey” is incredibly sweet as well.  Likely, those who long for more R&B-driven Beyoncé will gravitate to the “Honey” half.  All told, it’s a strong penultimate record, that sets up 🎵 “Summer Renaissance” for success.  A bold, unapologetic house number, it’s a fitting close to the first act of Bey’s RENAISSANCE era. Gotta love how she interpolates 🎙 Donna Summer – the queen of disco.

Final Thoughts 💭

We waited six-long years for a new Beyoncé album.  Does she deliver? Of course, she delivers! RENAISSANCE is quite different from her previous albums.  Honestly, it doesn’t/would not surprise me if the stark difference turned off some fans – change is difficult to get used to.  That said, this dance-centric album, from my personal perspective, is a bold artistic statement from one of the biggest artists of the 21^st century.  I applaud her creativity and willingness to reinvent herself.  By my estimations, Bey knocks it out of the park.

🤩 Gems 💎: “I’m That Girl,” “Cozy,” “Alien Superstar,” “Cuff It,” “Break My Soul,” “Church Girl,” “Virgo’s Groove,” “Move,” “THIQUE” & “Pure/Honey”  

🎙 Beyoncé • 💿 RENAISSANCE • 🏷 Parkwood Entertainment LLC / Columbia • 🗓 7.29.22

[📷: Parkwood Entertainment LLC / Columbia]