New Album Review: Beyonce- Renaissance

Beyonce- Renaissance

Label: Columbia

Producers: Beyonce, BAH, Boi-1da, Al Cres, A.G. Cook, Honey Dijon, Kelman Duran, Hit-Boy, Jameil Aossey, Leven Kali, Mike Dean, Neenyo, No I.D., Nova Wav, P2J, Chris Penny, Luke Solomon, Syd, Skrillex, Tricky Stewart, Jahaan Sweet, Symolyc One, Sevn Thomas, The Dream

The long-awaited follow-up to Beyonce’s 2016 Lemonade, an undeniable pop culture landmark, is every bit the epic release that we all knew it needed to be. Throughout Renaissance, the pop and R&B icon crafts a bold and far-reaching record that, with its vivid elements of disco, house, funk, Hip-Hop, drag, and ballroom culture, plays like an anthem of survival and resilience for all of America’s most under-appreciated cultural contributors. The superstar has been a proud flag-bearer for these causes both in and outside of her music her entire career, and she establishes right out of the gate that she’s only going to be intensifying those efforts with the tone of “I’m That Girl”, which can only be described as an opening statement rather than a mere song. What’s most tantalizing about Renaissance as a whole however is that the sonic backdrop to these socially conscious moments provides the most addictive and accessible arrangements that she’s graced us with ages. These tracks sound as destined for mass airplay and dance floor domination as anything she’s unleashed since 2011’s 4, but do so without pandering to the pop or R&B radio trends of the day. They retain the progressive experimentation of her latter day work, but insert a heavy helping of irresistible beats and hooks, with the emphasis on influences stemming from the heyday of house music, which colors a endless barrage of anthems (“Cozy”, “Alien Superstar”, “Cuff It”, “Pure/Honey”, “Summer Renaissance” and the album centerpiece, “Break My Soul”) that comprise some of the most electrifying moments of the singer’s monumental career. It’s that sub-genre’s prominent positioning on the fabric of the record that proves to be the true renaissance of the project. Meanwhile, guest appearances from artists like Grace Jones, and samplings from the likes of Big Freedia, Robin S., Right Said Fred, Kevin Aviance, Donna Summer, and Kelis only further elevate the blockbuster feeling of the record. All in all, Renaissance immediately pronounces itself as a pivotal and supremely entertaining record from one of the music world’s most important modern voices.

Track Listing:

1. “I’m That Girl” (Beyonce, Terius Gesteelde-Diamant, Andrea Summers, Kelman Durant, Michael Dean, Tommy Wright III)
2. “Cozy” (Beyonce, Nija Charles, Gesteelde-Diamant, TS Madison, Honey Redmond, Christopher Penny, Luke Soloman, Dave Giles)
3. “Alien Superstar” (Beyonce, David Brown, Shawn Carter, Danielle Balbuena, Saliou Diagne, Redmond, Penny Solomon, Denisia Andrews, Brittany Coney, Dave Hamelin, Leven Kali, Levar Coppin, Dean, Atia Boggs, Rob Manzoli, Richard Fairbrass, Christopher Fairbrass, John Holiday, Barbara Ann Tear, Kim Cooper, Peter Rauhofer)
4. “Cuff It” (Beyonce, Andrews, Coney, Nova Wav, Morten Ristorp, Raphael Saadiq, Gesteelde-Diamant, Teena Marie, Allen McGrier, Nile Rodgers)
5. “Energy” featuring Beam (Beyonce, Tyshane Thompson, Almando Cresso, Jordan Douglas, Tizita Makuria, Sonny Moore, Andrews, Coney, Gesteelde-Diamant, Marie McGrier, Pharrell Williams, Chad Hugo, Adam Pigott, Freddie Ross)
6. “Break My Soul” (Beyonce, Gesteelde-Diamant, Ross Carter, Christopher Stewart, Allen George, Fred McFarlane, Pigott Ross)
7. “Church Girl” (Beyonce, Gesteelde-Diamant, Ernest Wilson, Elbertnita Clark, Jimi Payton, Dion Norman, Derrick Ordogne, James Brown, Orville Hall, Phillip Rice, Ralph MacDonald, William Salter)
8. “Plastic Off the Sofa” (Beyonce, Sydney Bennett, Sabrina Claudio, Nick Green, Patrick Paige II)
9. “Virgo’s Groove” (Beyonce, Dustin Bowie, Darius Scott, Jocelyn Donald, Andrews, Coney, Kali, Jesse Wilson, Solomon Cole, Daniel Memmi)
10. “Move” featuring Grace Jones & Tems (Beyonce, Ariowa Irosogie, Andrews, Coney, Temilade Openiyi, Richard Isong, Ronald Banful)
11. “Heated” (Beyonce, Aubrey Graham, Andrews, Coney, Ricky Lawson, Clarence Coffee Jr., Sean Seaton, Rupert Thomas Jr., Jahaan Sweet, Matthew Samuels, Oliver Rodigan, Travis Garland, Aviel Calev Hirschfield, Jeremy Reeves, Jonathan Yip, Malcolm McDaniel, Ray Charles McCullough II, Ray Romulus)
12. “Thique” (Beyonce, Gesteelde-Diamant, Chauncey Hollis Jr., Boggs, Julian Mason, Jabbar Stevens, Cherdericka Nichols)
13. “All Up In Your Mind” (Beyonce, Stevens, Nichols, Michael Tucker, Alexander Cook, Dean, Larry Griffin Jr., Jameil Aossey)
14. “America Has A Problem” (Beyonce, Gesteelde-Diamant, Carter, Dean, Andrell Rogers, Tino McIntosh)
15. “Pure/Honey” (Beyonce, Moi Renee, Scott, Michael Pollack, Eric Snead, Count Maurice, Kevin Bellmon, Richard Cowie Tucker, Andrews, Coney, Gesteelde-Diamant, Saadiq, Jerel Black, Michael Cox)
16. “Summer Renaissance” (Beyonce, Boggs, Coppin, Diagne, Lawson, Andrews, Coney, Gesteelde-Diamant, Kali, Dean, Donna Summer, Giorgio Moroder, Peter Bellotte)