11 THINGS WE LEARNT FROM BEYONCÉ
What does her new album tell us about the real life of the singer? Ed Potton dissects the lyrics.
1 Renaissance is designed for dancing
This is a great, banging disco ball of a record that Beyoncé describes as “a place to nd escape during a scary time for the world … to scream, release, feel freedom’’. From the 90s-style piano house of Break My Soul to the synth-funk bliss of Virgo’s Groove and the I Feel Love homage of Summer Renaissance, it’s an album custom-made for the dance oor. Renaissance even shares its name with a British superclub of the 90s, although it seems unlikely that Beyoncé is a fan of Sasha and John Digweed’s progressive-house odysseys. She is, though, part of a wave of post-pandemic euphoria that has also swept up Drake, whose last album drew on house music and who contributed to the frisky Heated here.
2 It’s a classic midlife-crisis record
I need to tread carefully here because nobody wants an angry Beyhive buzzing down on them. You can’t ignore the fact, though, that Beyoncé has recently turned 40. That’s almost the same age as Madonna was when she rediscovered dance music on Ray of Light. Which is not to denigrate the fabulousness of Renaissance for a second – just as Ray of Light is one of Madge’s best albums, this is one of Beyoncé’s best. It’s just to point out that the fabulousness is underpinned by a certain … urgency. And not the urgency of youth. There’s something telling about the line “We still shine like we used to” on Virgo’s Groove.
3 THE SPOTLIGHT IS NO LONGER ON THE CHILDREN …
Beyoncé’s last album, Black Is King, was stuffed full of lyrical nods to, and guest appearances by, her offspring.
This one appears to be kid-free, unless the references are buried. Well, Blue Ivy is 10 now, and the twins, Rumi and Sir, are 5. Beyoncé and Jay-Z are entering the period when you book a sitter and go out on the razz again.
With nappies and night feeds a thing of the past, a theme is sexual emancipation. “Be careful what you ask for ‘cause I just might comply,” she threatens.
4 …WHICH IS JUST AS WELL, BECAUSE IT’S PURE FILTH…
“Can I sit on top of you?”
Beyoncé asks in Cuff It.
“Ride it like a rodeo when
I’m on top,” she adds on
Pure/Honey, leaving us in no doubt of her favourite sexual position. With nappies and night feeds a thing of the past, a theme is sexual emancipation. “Be careful what you ask for ‘cause I just might comply,” she threatens in All Up in Your Mind. “I don’t do this usually, I dunno what you do to me,” she purrs on
Thique, the title of which she pronounces as though it starts with a D.
5 …and high as a kite
“I’m just high all the time” ( at il); “Your love keeps me high” ( i s ); “You can’t get no higher than this” ( ica as a P l ); “Soon as I get in this party/ I’m gon’ let go of this body” ( c il). Beyoncé denies that her new-found zeal for dance music has a chemical element, singing, “Don’t need drugs for some freak shit,” on at il. Yet this is de nitely an album with an, erm, intoxicated vibe.
6 Her Uncle Johnny would have loved it
The album is dedicated to, among others, Beyoncé’s “Uncle” Johnny, who died of Aids. She has described Johnny, who was actually her cousin, as “the most fabulous gay man I ever knew, who helped raise me and my sister”, and added in a recent statement: “He was my godmother and the rst person to expose me to a lot of the music and culture that serve as inspiration for this album.” She has done him proud, and aissa c is destined to be a xture at gay clubs around the world.
7 Jay-Z is a big softie
Perhaps the sweetest song on the album, despite its slightly icky title, is Plastic Off t a. If it’s about Jay-Z – and who else could it be about? – it suggests that their marriage has bounced back from his alleged a air, and that the contrite rap-icon hubby is very much in touch with his feminine side. “It’s the way you wear your emotions on both of your sleeves,” Beyoncé sings. “I know you had it rough growing up but that’s OK. It’s the way you listen when I’m crying … the way you want one more kiss a er you said you were leaving.” I bet they watch sat together and bawl their eyes out.
8 SHE HAS HER LITTLE SISTER’S BACK
Unless we’re being overly literal, Cozy is about Beyoncé’s sister, Solange Knowles, a superb singer in her own right, twice divorced. “She’s a hero, she’s survived all she been through,” Beyoncé sings. “Might I suggest you don’t f… with my sis?”
9 The album is coy about politics
While lac s i was full of politics, and especially about Black Lives Matter, this album is low on overt references. Is Beyoncé too set on living it up? There are a couple of pointed moments, though. The opening song,
at i l, features this intriguing line: “Cleanse me of my sins, my un-American life.” What could Beyoncé be talking about? An aversion to patriotism? It sounds a bit McCarthyite. And could it be connected to another track, ica
as a P l ? America, of course, has plenty of problems. Might a move abroad be on the cards?
10 BeyoncÉ’s pulling power remains punchy
Collaborators here include Jay-Z (of course), Drake, the DJ Skrillex, the R’n’B kingpin Raphael Saadiq, Nile Rodgers (OK, he’s on everything) and Terius “The-Dream” Nash, the co-writer of Rihanna’s lla, Justin Bieber’s a and a certain ditty c all edi la is Pt a it. They all know who the queen is.
11 And her self-belief is bulletproof
If Beyoncé is going through a midlife crisis, it’s a erce one. “It should cost a billion to look this good,” she pouts on P . “I’m one of one, I’m No 1, I’m the only one,” she roars on li sta . “Don’t waste your time trying to compete with me … no-one else in this world can think like me.” It certainly beats running o with her tennis instructor.