The entire world stopped on July 28th 2022 to listen to Beyoncé’s highly awaited seventh studio album, RENAISSANCE. Although the artist had released the lead single, “BREAK MY SOUL” weeks ahead of the album release, everything else was a mystery.
What most people didn’t expect was that she would take this project on a route she had never been before: most songs fit in directly with the house genre, instead of the more popular Pop or R&B that were predominantly present in her previous projects.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF HOUSE MUSIC AND BEYONCÉ
The genre was firstborn in the 70s, and it originates from DJs experimenting with disco music to keep people in nightclubs dancing and singing their hearts out all night long. House music was originally made by black artists and widely popular within the LGBTQ+, African American and Latino communities, with nightclubs offering a safe space for all people to have fun and enjoy music without the fear of prejudice. Unfortunately, with the fallout of the popularity of Disco music, it started to become more associated with white artists who started experimenting with it, such as Madonna, who released her global smash hit, “Vogue”, in 1990, and DJs from on going forward.
Beyoncé’s full inspiration for this album did not stop at the genre and its predecessors only. Ballroom culture, which is a safe space created by Latino and Black queer communities, was created so they could express themselves with dance moves such as “voguing” and dress up with bedazzled outfits without facing discrimination. This style was also brought up in visuals, as well as on the stage performances for her RENAISSANCE WORLD TOUR, featuring an entire ballroom dance sequence which included her dancers (with queer ballroom icons Honey Balenciaga and Darius Hickman as standouts and fan favorites) giving their all while audiences went wild.
Another very important source of inspiration for the Grammy winning artist was her own Uncle Johnny, who was a queer African American man who not only was very close and would make dresses to Bey (as mentioned in the lyrics “Uncle Johnny made my dress; that cheap spandex she looks a mess” in the fan-favorite song “HEATED”) but also introduced her to ballroom culture and House Music.
THE RENAISSANCE IMPACT
After the album was officially released, House Music was practically reintroduced to the public after years of being undermined. Songs such as “COZY,” “MOVE” (featuring the iconic Grace Jones), “BREAK MY SOUL – THE QUEENS REMIX” and “HEATED” have been standouts songs heavily influenced by House Music. They have catchy choruses, danceable beat, flawless vocals, and interpolations from iconic figures of the genre and ballroom culture, such as samples from DJ Mike’s and Moi Renee in “PURE/HONEY”.
Ballroom culture found itself at an all-time level of popularity, with people that had never heard of this amazing experience before to witness it in real time. Not to mention, the tour was able to offer a new kind of visibility to the ballroom performers that worked as dancers for Bey.
After almost two years since the album came out, lots of artists have been dipping their toes in the House genre again. Huge standouts have been the iconic Madonna, who is currently touring, featuring ballroom culture on stage, and Ariana Grande, who released her long awaited comeback single “yes, and?”, which includes direct inspiration from “Vogue”, and the music video features choreography similar to Beyoncé’s.
Lastly, but just as important, RENAISSANCE was able to not only revive House Music back from history, but also it’s LGBTQ+, African American and Latino roots that were hidden and underappreciated from the public for so many years.
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The article above was edited by Camila Lutfi
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