Beyonce Renaissance

More than six years after the lauded visual album Lemonade, Beyoncé returns, evolves and responds to a very different world.

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Popular on Rolling Stone · Yes, Renaissance is a dance album. But where are the ballads? · No, “America Has a Problem” isn't an explicitly political song. But ...

“I can be the one that takes you there/I can be your ecstasy,” she sings on “Virgo’s Groove” while inviting the lover she’s relaxing with to lift her blouse. “I like it rough,” she lilts on “Plastic off the Sofa.” For “Heated,” she flirts, “Now I want to flaunt it/Panty and a bra/We can get involved.” She also seemingly references chemical substances. However, she also clarifies on “I’m That Girl,” “Don’t need drugs for some freak shit/I’m just high all the time.” “Comfortable in my skin/Cozy with who I am,” she sings on “Cozy.” “Paint the world pussy pink.” “I just fell in love/I just quit my job,” she sings. (As with everything Beyoncé does, this one verse generated Great Resignation headlines by itself.) Meanwhile, on “Energy,” she rhymes, “I just entered the country with Derringers/’Cause them Karens just turned into terrorists.” “Just know I roll with them goons/In case you start acting familiar/This kind of love, big business,” she asserts in a sung-rap flow. Songs like “Halo” and “Irreplaceable” remain some of the most treasured numbers in her extensive catalog. Just as the interpolation of Robin S.’s “Show Me Love” in “Break My Soul”promised, Renaissance has melodies that hearken to peak hours in club history. No one expects Honey Dijon — the famed DJ who co-produced “Cozy” with another Chicago house legend, the delightful oddball Green Velvet — to throw on a beat-stopping ballad in the middle of a Boiler Room set. “Crazy in Love,” “Baby Boy,” “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It),” “Love on Top,” “***Flawless”: there are too many classics to list here. From the instant hit “Break My Soul” to her photo shoot for British Vogue and making physical copies available for pre-order on her website (sorry, they’re currently sold out), the release of Reniassance has been one of the more refreshing, and exciting, rollouts of the past year.

"Act I" of Beyoncé's seventh studio album, recorded over the last three years of pandemic life, has just gone live.

Really, what could say “I desire a release from ennui” like riding through the universe on a horse made out of the galaxy brain meme? Said themes include a general desire for freedom, escape, joy, and other reliefs from the monotony that we imagine gets down even those of us who happen to be Beyoncé; of course, you didn’t really need us to lay that out for you, since all those ideas are perfectly encapsulated in the album’s cover. More specifically, she’s released Renaissance: Act I, but since this thing is 16 tracks long, we’re going to go ahead and take it as qutie a bit more than a prologue.

Beyoncé's seventh album, "Renaissance," is a 16-song opus that delves into sex and self-worth, all while beckoning listeners onto the dance floor.

“Summer Renaissance”: Beyoncé wraps her ambitious opus with a nod to Donna Summer as a sample of “I Feel Love” swirls in the background. “Plastic Off the Sofa”: Beyoncé’s tremendous vocals are showcased in this pretty package of soulful nostalgia that cools down the tempo with woozy guitar strains and angelic backing vocals. “Energy”: A spicy banger that features Jamaican rapper Beam and samples Kelis’ 1999 song “Get Along With You,” which has incited some controversy. “America Has a Problem”: The most intriguingly titled song on the album includes production from The-Dream, a co-write by husband Jay-Z and a jittery hi-hat powering the production. “Move”: With guests Grace Jones (!) and Nigerian singer Tems backing her, Beyoncé is strident and fierce. “Alien Superstar”: Synthesizers creep in the background of this futuristic romp that is lyrically rich and musically zigzagging.

Beyoncé's highly anticipated seventh studio album, 'Renaissance' Act I, is out now. A visual component to the record will be released at a later date.

Renaissance celebrates physical movement and expression, and includes 16 songs for the first installment of what Bey calls a “three-act” experience (which likely means two more Beyoncé albums will be coming in the near future). “Break My Soul” led the charge of collaboration and callbacks for the new era, with the singer interpolating the synths from “Show Me Love” by Robin S. While the record is filled with plenty of more collabs and samples, including artists like The-Dream, Nile Rodgers, NOVA, NO ID, Raphael Saadiq, Mike Dean, Honey Dijon, Chris Penny, Luke Solomon, Skrillex, Beam, Big Freedia, Grace Jones, and Tems, it doesn’t let us forget that Beyoncé, herself, is “that girl.” It’s finally here: Beyoncé’s Renaissance Act I has arrived as another piece of art in the BeyHive Museum of Culture. Despite being a leader in the visual album format, Beyoncé’s latest release will not have a visual component — yet. According to a press release, the singer “decided to lead without visuals, giving fans the opportunity to be limitless in their expansive listening journey.” The lead single off the album, “Break My Soul,” had limited visuals when it dropped too (there was a bare bones lyric video that accompanied its release) foreshadowing the wait for more Yoncé. The album is also not a digital-only release — a deluxe CD and vinyl is available for purchase for physical media fans, if you can still snag a copy.