"I'm in the mood to fuck somethin' up."
Release your mind
Release your job
Release the time
Release your trade
Release the stress
Release the love
Forget the rest
Release your job
Release the time
Release your trade
Release the stress
Release the love
Forget the rest
— "BREAK MY SOUL"
Renaissance (also known as act i: Renaissance) is the seventh studio album by American singer Beyoncé, released on July 29, 2022. It is the follow-up to her sixth album, Lemonade, although the two projects could not be more different.
Lemonade was in large part inspired by tumultuous times in Beyoncé's marriage to Jay-Z, but this time, her life was in a much better place for reasons including the birth of their twins in the interim after she'd struggled to get pregnant, and this album reflects that, being a much more upbeat and fun record.
Renaissance was also conceived and recorded during the COVID-19 Pandemic, resulting in Beyoncé seeking to make more upbeat, joyous music that would create escapism for listeners. The album's sound takes great inspiration from post-1970s styles of dance music, such as disco and house, and pays homage to the club era of the time, in which marginalized people sought their own escapism through music, as well as the black and gay pioneers of those genres, who Beyoncé believed had gone unrecognized by the mainstream.
Although Beyoncé was known for surprise releasing several previous albums of hers, she eschewed the process for Renaissance and went with a more conventional rollout. She had mentioned working a new album in interviews before confirming it to Vogue UK in June 2022, and teased the album through her social media.
The album was announced as the first project in a trilogy. It was followed up by Cowboy Carter in March of 2024.
Tracklist:
- "I'M THAT GIRL"
- "COZY"
- "ALIEN SUPERSTAR"
- "CUFF IT"
- "ENERGY" (Ft. BEAM)
- "BREAK MY SOUL"
- "CHURCH GIRL"
- "PLASTIC OFF THE SOFA"
- "VIRGO'S GROOVE"
- "MOVE" (Ft. Grace Jones & Tems)
- "HEATED"
- "THIQUE"
- "ALL UP IN YOUR MIND"
- "AMERICA HAS A PROBLEM"
- "PURE/HONEY"
- "SUMMER RENAISSANCE"
Singles:
- "BREAK MY SOUL", "CUFF IT", "AMERICA HAS A PROBLEM", "VIRGO'S GROOVE"
Bad Tropes to the Left! Money Tropes to the Right!:
- Alphabet News Network: KNTY 4 NEWS is the fictional news network created for Renaissance's accompanying tour promotion. During Act II, it was followed up with a radio network titled KNTRY Radio Texas.
- Animal Motifs: Horses.
- The album is personified by the crystal horse Beyoncé sits upon on the album's cover. It has widely been dubbed as "Reneigh" by the fans.
- At the Renaissance World Tour, a massive version of the horse can be seen coming out of the screen on stage as Beyoncé performs "BREAK MY SOUL."
- Her touring band is named Silver Horse.
- A real horse is featured inside a bar with Beyoncé in a fold-out poster that comes with the CD.
- The follow-up album (Cowboy Carter) — act ii of the 3 act project — is similarly styled, featuring Beyoncé in Western getup on a galloping white horse, dubbed "Chardonneigh".
- Caps Lock: All the song titles are written in upper-case.
- Country Matters: Albeit applied in the ballroom sense–as a term of endearment meaning overly-confident and projecting feminine beauty–Kevin JZ Prodigy uses it quite liberally in "PURE/HONEY"'s intro ballroom commentary, in addition to vocal snippets on tour.
- Did Not Do the Bloody Research: The original lyrics for "HEATED" drew criticsm for using "spaz" which is considered an offensive term for the disabled in the UK. After this was pointed out, the track was reissued with the word changed to "blast".
- Fading into the Next Song: Every song on the album fades into the next one seamlessly.
- Not all: "ALIEN SUPERSTAR", "BREAK MY SOUL", "CHURCH GIRL", and "HEATED" each have cold endings. The album is actually structured like four vinyl sides, the aforementioned tracks save "BREAK MY SOUL" ending the first three.
- Genre Mashup: Part of what makes this album so great is its wealth of styles and influences that come together. Genres include, but are not limited to, Dance-pop, Garage House, Contemporary R&B, Afrobeats, Disco, Soul, Trap, Ballroom, Hyperpop… just to name a few.On my MPC making disco trap!
- House Music: A major influence heard throughout the record. Especially notable on "COZY" and "BREAK MY SOUL."
- Intercourse with You:
- "VIRGO'S GROOVE", a seductive R&B/Disco flavored song about having sex while being in love.
- "SUMMER RENAISSANCE" is about hooking up with someone you met at a club.
- "CUFF IT (WETTER REMIX)" is a much more sensual take on the original song with new lyrics added to the third verse.
- Lighter and Softer: This album is definitely much lighter than Lemonade and then to her self-titled album, albeit to a much lesser extent. It's more upbeat and doesn't deal with as heavy themes, with lyrics about having fun, pride, and being awesome. She said she wanted to make something more fun due to being in a better place in her life as well as having been stuck in the house with three kids because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Melismatic Vocals: “PLASTIC OFF THE SOFA
” and “VIRGO’S GROOVE” features these. Both songs contain some of her most complex vocals in her entire discography.- ”PLASTIC OFF THE SOFA” inspired a viral challenge to execute Beyoncé’s runs at the end of the song immediately after the album’s release.
- New Sound Album: While she's dabbled in all sorts of genres, her more recent work would mostly fall under R&B but this album is usually considered as pop, albeit pop with lots of dance and electronic influence.
- Non-Appearing Title:
- "PLASTIC OFF THE SOFA"
- "VIRGO'S GROOVE"
- "SUMMER RENAISSANCE"
- Non-Indicative Name: Despite it's title, "AMERICA HAS A PROBLEM" is not a political song at all.
- One-Word Title: "COZY," "ENERGY," "MOVE," "HEATED," and "THIQUE."
- Sampling: Much of the album is built on samples and interpolations.
- "I'M THAT GIRL" samples Princess Loko's verse in "Still Pimpin" by Tommy Wright III.
- "COZY" contains samples from TS Madison's "Bitch I'm Black" monologue and "Get With U" by Lidell Townsell and M.T.F.
- "ALIEN SUPERSTAR" contains four different samples:
- "I'm Too Sexy" by Right Said Fred.
- "Moonraker" by Foremost Poets.
- Barbara Ann Teer's "Black Theatre" speech.
- "Unique" by Danube Dance.note
- "CUFF IT" samples "Ooh La La La" by Teena Marie.note
- ENERGY" contained an interpolation of "Milkshake" by Kelis on the original release of the album. Following a public statement by Kelis expressing her frustration with the use of her music without her knowledgenote , the interpolation was removed from digital and streaming releases of the album.note
- "BREAK MY SOUL" samples "Show Me Love" by Robin S. and "Explode" by Big Freedia.note
- "CHURCH GIRL" contains five different samples:
- "Center Thy Will" by The Clark Sisters.
- "Where They At" by DJ Jimi.
- "Think (About It)" by Lyn Collins.
- Drag Rap (Triggerman)" by the Showboys.
- "Mister Magic" by Grover Washington Jr.
- "AMERICA HAS A PROBLEM" samples "Cocaine" by Kilo Ali.
- "PURE/HONEY" contains three different samples:
- "Miss Honey" by Moi Renee
- "Cunty (Wave Mix)" by Kevin Aviance
- "Feels Like" by Mike Q and Kevin JZ Prodigy.
- "SUMMER RENAISSANCE" samples "I Feel Love" by Donna Summer.
- "BREAK MY SOUL (THE QUEENS REMIX)" samples Madonna's "Vogue."
- "CUFF IT (WETTER REMIX)" samples "Wetter" by Twista.
- "VIRGO'S GROOVE (THE KINGS REMIX)" samples MichaelJackson's "Rock With You".
- Surprisingly Gentle Song: "PLASTIC OFF THE SOFA" is the album's lone soft R&B track, in the midst of a pure dance/electronic album.
- Shout-Out / Take That!: The final line of the "SUMMER RENAISSANCE" shouts out Telfar then promptly sends a take that to Hermes:This Telfar Bag imported. Birkins them shits in storage.
- Textless Album Cover: Renaissance's artwork simply features Beyoncé, sporting a futuristic bikini, sitting on top of a crystal horse in front of a black background.
- A Wild Rapper Appears!: Kendrick Lamar is featured on the remix of "AMERICA HAS A PROBLEM."
"Please, mothafuckas ain't stoppin' me."
