A new era is upon us. Beyoncé’s forthcoming seventh solo release RENAISSANCE will touch down July 29th. Our first taste is the fierce new single “BREAK MY SOUL.” a hybrid of ‘90s house and New Orleans bounce. As when “Run the World (Girls)” drew energy from Major Lazer’s “Pon De Floor,” “BREAK MY SOUL” samples queer rapper and bounce ambassador Big Freedia’s “Explode” while employing the urgency of Robin S.’s “Show Me Love.” This dancefloor heater reunites her with “Single Ladies” collaborators The-Dream and Tricky Stewart writing and producing.
Beyoncé’s voice has gained extra heft and credibility that give her words vitality and resonance here (“You won’t break my soul / And I’m telling everybody”). From the boom of its crackling intro, its loudspeaker proclamations encourage casting off restraint—even if you have to give your boss two weeks notice to do it.
Listen. It’s Black Music Month, LGBTQ+ Pride Month, Juneteenth is a holiday, people are overworked and underpaid, gas prices are high as giraffe umm—necks, and the pandemic is still going on. If a Beyoncé single calls for you to “release your anger, release your mind, release your job, release the time,” maybe she’s not worried about charts and such. She might be trying to start a revolution.
PRE-ORDER RENAISSANCE via Beyoncé’s Official Store
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