I’m currently struggling from what I like to call the Renaissance effect. I start off with the first track “I”M THAT GIRL” and listen straight through to the end, replaying the whole album again when the last notes of “SUMMER RENAISSANCE” fade away. I simply can’t bring myself to listen to anything else. It’s been over a month and with each listen the music sounds as fresh and brand new as it did the first time. From the exceptional production value, pulsing baseline, and addicting vocals – I quite literally can’t get enough. Never has an album evoked such a passionate and emotional response from me. The spirit of the music is enough to send an electric shock through my veins and get me up on my feet dancing. Just try standing still while listening to “CUFF IT”. It’s impossible.
With the release of her release of her 7th studio album, and supposedly Act 1 of a mysterious album trilogy, Beyoncé has exceeded all expectations and has given the public 16 straight tracks of pure feel-good, booty-shaking, self-empowering, dance music at a time when the music industry desperately needed it. The album serves as a rich celebration of black women, queerness, and most importantly having fun. After a pandemic, a steep incline in mental health issues, an economic crisis, and a tumultuous election, this refreshing and inspiring album shocked some fun in a society gone dormant. The songs meld into each other like honey, the pounding rhythms, overlapping beats, and titillating melodies paired with Beyoncé’s powerful voice commands the body to get up and move. Renaissance at its core is a dance party. Beyoncé is urging us to “Release ya anger, release ya mind,” as she demands in “BREAK MY SOUL”. In “COZY” we are presented with the ultimate self love anthem. It’s an aggressive ode to ourself, a call to action to embrace our individual power and beauty. The perfect song to sing to yourself in the mirror for a confidence boost or to set the tone for a girl’s night out with friends.
Renaissance is the crest of what Beyoncé’s discography has been leading to. It is the ultimate amalgamation of everything she stands for and promotes; non-conformity, sexuality, love, blackness, community, self-expression, and most importantly, happiness. The hour-long album serves as an escape from what can be an otherwise dull existence. For one uninterrupted hour, sit back and let the music control your body and bask in the good sensations that can only come from the transcendent universe that is Renaissance.