A Rather Unusual Romance by Stevie Turner

Musically, “Move” hearkens to Bey’s work in 2019’s The Lion King: The Gift, and pulsates with Afrobeats rhythms, thanks to Nigerian guest vocalist Tems as well as Ghanaian producer GuiltyBeatz and British-Naija producer P2J. The moment moves Beyoncé to simply whisper “Grace Jones” with audible respect. “We coming straight out the jungle,” chants Grace Jones in her iconic Jamaican lilt on “Move.” Given that the model, actress and massively influential performer hasn’t always been charitable towards her acolytes, her benediction on Beyoncé’s Renaissance feels like a huge get. At the Coachella performance captured on Homecoming: The Live Album, she flexed further by piling on horns, synths, and vocal harmonies until it sounded downright regal. It’s one of her wildest and most free vocal performances, with a joyful energy you can’t help getting caught up in.

Image Credit: Gareth Cattermole/PW/WireImage for Parkwood Entertainmentīeyoncé was so on fire in 2014 that even a seemingly slight bonus track like “7/11,” calling out dance moves and trying out new flows for fun, came out classic. It’s a continuation of the familial storytelling we see in her 2016 “Daddy Lessons.” With feel-good Afropop production from South Africa’s Bubele Booi, the song succeeds with Bey’s star power taking a back seat and the sounds of the continent prevailing. Yet, beneath the surface seems to brew a commentary on Beyoncé’s strained relationship with her father and former manager, Mathew Knowles. “Find Your Way Back” toys with a story we know all too well - the relationship between Disney’s beloved Simba and his father, Mufasa. Her songs are pop masterpieces, gorgeous and diverse, with several becoming cultural touchstones, from the unmistakable shimmy of “Crazy in Love” to the wiggling hand of “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It).” To celebrate the release of her seventh studio album, ‘Renaissance,’ we’ve compiled and ranked 70 of Beyoncé’s greatest tracks as a solo artist – including a few prominent features. Who else can annihilate complex dance routines and maintain pristinely powerhouse vocals for packed stadiums the way she does? Who else can so thoroughly dominate news cycles with impeccable and innovative surprise albums? Who else has produced music films and video anthologies as compelling and imaginative? Her combination of showmanship, skill, creative vision, and influence is unmatched by her contemporary peers.Īnd, of course, the foundation of Beyoncé’s incredible oeuvre is the music, and her uncanny ability to write, produce, curate, and perform it. For at least the past decade, Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter has been the world’s greatest living entertainer.

A Rather Unusual Romance by Stevie Turner