Beyonce’s new album ‘Renaissance’ celebrates life

Released on July 29, Beyonce’s new album ‘Renaissance’ features talent such as Drake, Jay-X, Labrinth, and more. Some tracks have already gained popularity online, including “Cuff It.” Despite being filled with mainly dance songs, this album has a lot of lyrical depth.

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Ariana Lessard, Arts Reporter
July 31, 2022

Beyonce released her newest album, Renaissance, last Friday, July 29, making it her seventh solo album.

Renaissance includes features from Drake, Jay-Z, Skrillex, The-Dream, Honey Dijon, Labrinth, Raphael Saadiq, Tems, Syd, Lucky Daye, Leven Kali, Dixson, and 070 Shake. That is to say, this is one of the most talent-packed albums of the summer.

The first song on Renaissance is “I’m That Girl,” in which Beyonce gives herself a well-earned pat on the back. The message of this song is pretty clearly conveyed by the lyric, “It’s not the diamonds, it’s not the pearls, I’m that girl, it’s just that, I’m that girl.” My favorite line from the song is “From the top of the mornin’, I shine, right through the blinds.”

“Alien Superstar” sounds how going to sleep in a million-dollar bed must feel like. This is to say it’s glamorous, fantastical, and almost feels wasted on me — it juxtaposes Beyonce being “too classy for this world,” but ironically enough, also being a unique individual just like everyone else.

Since this song is an ode to both the individual and universal individuality, it can be interpreted as Beyonce celebrating her own uniqueness, as well as yours. My favorite lyric was, “Unique, that’s what you are, stilеttos kicking vintage crystal off the bar, category: bad bitch, I’m thе bar, Alien Superstar.”

The outro featuring Barbara Ann Teer was a striking example of said individuality. The sudden and brief shift in sound quality caught my attention, and Teer’s words were empowering.

“Cozy” opens strong with the lyrics, “Damn, I love the burning of the dagger from the words that you say (F***, yeah).” This song is not just about Beyonce being comfortable in her skin, but so comfortable that she is actually “cozy.” This song is creative and witty, at points using wordplay to make catchy points.

Beyonce’s use of color in this song is poetic, as shown by the lyrics, “Green eyes envy me, paint the world p**** pink, blue like the soul I crowned, purple drank and couture gowns, gold fangs a shade God made, blue, black, white, and brown paint the town red like cinnamon, yellow diamonds, limoncello glisterin’.”

“Cuff It” celebrates self-destructive glory. Or perhaps it glamorizes self-destruction — that’s for the listener to decide. The lyrics “I wanna go missin’, I need a prescription I wanna go higher, can I sit on top of you? I wanna go where nobody’s been,” capture this energy.

I didn’t realize this song had become popular on TikTok until the chorus, when she sang “Spaceships fly, yeah, unapologetic when we f*** up the night, f*** up the night.”

Beyonce’s voice in “Cuff It” is beyond impressive, as she casually flexes her vocals every few lyrics. Perhaps that is why this chorus has taken over the internet, because of how engaging her voice is during those measures.

Renaissance is ultimately an excellent piece of art from Beyonce. I think it’s worth at least a listen for fans and new listeners alike.