Beyoncé's 'Renaissance' is a love letter to the queer community

The '90s were ruled by Shania Twain and Celine Dion, Backstreet Boys and Nirvana. Everyone was livin' la vida loca and doing the "Macarena." And yes, I also declared that my heart would go on. But my '90s nights were ruled by different names: Livin' Joy, Veronica, Sandy B, M People. These artists operated outside the mainstream and were some of the premiere voices of the house music anthems that dominated gay clubs. The sound was loud and sweaty, uplifting and exhilarating. TEARS OF JOY: Robin S. talks Beyoncé sampling ‘Show Me Love’ on ‘Break My Soul’ It's that sound that occupies much of "Renaissance," the seventh album by Houston superstar Beyoncé. It dropped late Thursday night and immediately dominated trending topics across social media. Beyoncé dedicated the album to her Uncle Jonny, who she calls "my godmother and the first person to expose me to a lot of the music and culture that serve as inspiration for this album." She also recognized "all of the pioneers who originate culture, to all of the fallen angels whose contributions have gone unrecognized for far too long." Jonny was the nephew of Tina Knowles-Lawson, Beyoncé's mother, who also called Jonny her best friend. In 2019, Beyoncé dedicated her GLAAD Media Vanguard Award to Jonny, calling him "the most fabulous gay man I ever knew, who helped raise me and my sister." “He was brave and unapologetic during a time when this country wasn't as accepting," she said during the GLAAD ceremony. "Witnessing his battle with HIV was one of the most painful experiences I've ever lived. I'm hopeful that his struggles serve to open pathways for other young people to live more freely. LGBTQI rights are human rights." "Renaissance," then, is a love letter to queer culture in many ways, from its campy lyrical braggadocio to the obscure samples. There's a slow, languid vibe that drives several of the songs, an homage to peak-hour house and Houston's chopped and screwed sound. "These mother*****rs ain’t stopping me," she declares at the top of opening track "I'm That Girl." The distorted backing vocal that permeates the track evokes the haze of a club, that moment you're lost in the music under the disco ball, not really dancing, just letting the music course through your body. It's co-produced by Houston native Mike Dean. In 2006, Beyoncé told a reporter with The Independent “how inspired she's been by the whole drag-house circuit in the States.” He’s referring to ballroom, the alternately glamorous and campy pageant culture created decades ago by Black and Latino queens in New York City, recently immortalized in the series “Pose.” Ballroom references permeate “Renaissance.” The callouts on “Heat” of “Ten, ten, ten across the board/Give me face, face, face” are signature pageant phrases. Several songs play like “bitch tracks,” high-energy house anthems marked by raunchy, funny lyrics and repetitive phrasing. “Pure/Honey” falls into that category. It samples drag legends Kevin Aviance and the late Moi Renee, whose “Miss Honey” is a brilliant piece of high camp. These are deep, thoughtful references that live far outside the mainstream. “You hate me, ‘cause you want me,” she coos on “Cozy,” a song that samples “B**ch I’m Black,” a YouTube monologue by trans performer and activist TS Madison. “Thank you Beyoncé. I am so honored that you chose me for this,” Madison tweeted shortly after the album drop. Standout “Alien Superstar”begins with a command to stay calm and “do not attempt to leave the dance floor,” sampled from the late ‘90s house track “Moonraker” by Foremost Poets. The Beyoncé song itself is a fever dream, boasting a Right Said Fred “I’m Too Sexy” sample and a vibe that calls to mind the ‘90s house classic “Didn’t I Know (Divas to the Dancefloor)” by E.G. Fullalove. “Move” boasts an assist from Grace Jones, an influence throughout the album. “Cuff It” is disco perfection and calls to mind Evelyn Champagne King. “Summer Renaissance” finds Bey bridging her sound with that of the great Donna Summer, something she previously did on 2004’s “Naughty Girl.” Even songs that promised serious moments in title alone aren’t what we expected. “America Has a Problem,” built on Atlanta rapper Kilo Ali’s “Cocaine,” is a party bop. “Church Girl,” despite sampling gospel group The Clark Sisters, is more twerk than testimony. “Nobody can judge me but me/I was born free,” she sings before commencing to “drop it like a thotty.” The album’s most pointed lyric comes during “Energy,” a two-minute interlude: that ends with, “I just entered the country with Derringers/Cause them Karens just turned into terrorists.” “Renaissance,” at its essence, is about freedom. In explaining the album, Beyoncé called it “a safe place, a place without judgment. A place to be free of perfectionism and overthinking. A place to scream, release, feel freedom.“ For those of us who spent endless nights with friends and lovers, hands high in the air, under the swirl of a disco ball, that sounds a lot like a dance floor.

Beyoncé's 'Renaissance' is a love letter to the queer community

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