Beyoncé reveals ‘Renaissance’, the first of three new projects

Beyoncé’s new album has officially arrived. In a rare breach of the pop queen’s carefully crafted release plans, an unauthorized copy of “Renaissance,” the singer’s seventh studio LP and the first part of a disturbing trilogy, was leaked two days ago on the Internet.

Beyoncé admitted there was a hitch in a statement Upon the album’s wide release on streaming services at midnight Friday. She wrote to her loyal fans, “So, the album was leaked, and you all waited until the proper release time so you can all enjoy it together.” “I’ve never seen anything like this before,” she added, thanking her followers “for your love and protection.”

The debut of ‘Renaissance’ came on the heels of a marketing pitch for Beyoncé strangely traditional. After years of shredding the standard guide to releasing new music — eschewing singles and early radio interviews for surprise drops and elaborate multimedia spectacles — Beyoncé spent six weeks hitting the promotional drum. she announce The album more than a month ahead of schedule, gave an interview with British Vogueput down one “break my soul” . revealed track list Finally it started Post on TikTok.

However, on Wednesday, about 36 hours before the scheduled release date, high-quality versions of the album’s 16 songs appeared online, circulating across social media even as Beyoncé’s most attentive fan encouraged each other to hold out (and gossip over the operators). ). “I appreciate you inviting anyone who was trying to sneak into the club early,” Beyoncé wrote in her statement on social media upon the album’s release.

Sleuthing watchers have speculated that the tracks may have come from CD copies sold in some early European stores. In a perverted way, the old leak of a massive album seemed to fit the “Renaissance” throwback theme, pulsing with the sounds of dance music through the decades.

Referring to disco, funk, house, techno, throwback and more, the generally upbeat songs are drawn from a wide variety of writers and producers, with some tracks owing more than a dozen. In addition to trusted Beyoncé collaborators such as The-Dream, Pharrell Williams, Hit-Boy and Drake, demo songs such as “Energy” and “All Up In Your Mind” also feature electronic producers including Skrillex, BloodPop and AG Cook of PC Music among them eclectic individuals.

Samples and interpolations run the gamut as well, from regional and esoteric to indelible: “America Has a Problem” pulls from Atlanta bass pioneer Kilo, while “Summer Renaissance” includes the closing song, an adaptation of Donna Summer’s 1977 classic disco music “I Feel”. Love”. The “go”, a feature of the cultural chameleon Grace Jones Paired with rising Afrobeats star Tems; Elsewhere, Beyoncé connects the sounds of traditional black music genres like soul and R&B with subcultures like Ballroom vogueing.

“I am one of the one / I am the number one / I am the only one,” she said on the song “Alien Superstar.” “Don’t even waste your time trying to compete with me/No one else in this world can think like me.”

in explanatory statement She posted on Instagram last month that Beyoncé has expanded on it website On Thursday, she said, “Renaissance” is part of a “triple project” it registered during the pandemic. She called the album, which she referred to as “Chapter One,” “a place to dream and find sanctuary during a time frightening for the world.”

She added that she hoped the tracks focused on the dance floor would inspire listeners to “release the vibration,” and added, “My intention was to create a place that is safe, a place without judgment. A place without perfection and overthinking. A place to scream, release, and feel free.”

Beyoncé also cited “Uncle Johnny” who the singer battled with HIV I talked about it beforeas an influence of music and its historical ties to the LGBTQ community.

“He was my mother and the first person who introduced me to so much of the music and culture that was the inspiration for this album,” she wrote. “Thank you to all the pioneers who grew up the culture, to all the fallen angels whose contributions have not been recognized for too long.”

Since “Lemonade” (2016), her last solo studio LP and accompanying movie, Beyoncé has mentored fans with a number of ambitious projects in-between.

In 2018, she performed as one of the headlines at Coachella, where her show paid tribute to the marching band tradition of historically black colleges and universities. It was widely hailed as a victory Music that “redirected its music, marginalizing its connections to pop and framing it squarely in a strain of Southern black musical tradition,” New York Times critic John Karamanica wrote. The performance was later turned into a special on Netflix and an album titled “Homecoming”.

Also in 2018, Beyoncé and Jay-Z, her husband, released a joint album, “Everything is love” attributed to Carter. And in June 2020, at the height of the national protests following the murder of George Floyd, she said He released the song “Black Barred” With lines like “Raise your fist in the air, show black love.”

“Black Parade” won a Grammy the following year for Best R&B Performance, one of which Four prizes that night Which brought Beyoncé’s career group to 28 – more than any other woman. This year, Beyoncé was nominated at the Academy Awards for Best Original Song for Be Alive, from “King Richard,” a biopic about the father of Venus and Serena Williams.

How the early leakage will affect the business prospects of “Renaissance” remains unclear. Years ago, the previously unauthorized release of music could have had dire consequences for the album. But this risk has been mitigated by switching to streaming.

And Beyoncé, like most other artists today, has taken pre-orders for physical copies of her album, which will be based on charts once they ship — usually release week. On Beyoncé’s website, the four boxed sets of “Renaissance” and its limited edition vinyl are sold out.