The Queen is back! Last week, Beyonce shared that she would be dropping her seventh solo studio album next month (29 July)- named Renaissance – after a six-year hiatus. And earlier today, she officially released the first single, titled Break My Soul, even earlier than expected — much to the surprise and delight of her fans.
The catchy dance-friendly track is heavily influenced by the diva house movement of the 1990s, with its deep grooves, soaring melodies and insistent four-four beats. Beyonce even included Allen George and Fred McFarlane — the composers of the timeless house classic Show Me Love — in the writing credits.
Interestingly though, the track neither samples nor quotes their song; it simply utilises the same bass sound (a preset on the infamous Korg M1 keyboard). But still, Beyoncé has always been careful to acknowledge the black creators who have influenced her, and sending a few royalty cheques to the creators of Show Me Love (or to their family in the case of McFarlane, who died in 2016) is a very Beyoncé gesture.
Moreover, the fact that house and dance music originated in black and queer spaces has often been overlooked. On this track, Beyonce reunites with rapper Big Freedia — who has been a fierce advocate for LGBTQ+ rights after experiencing homophobia in the early days of their career — sampling their song Explode.
Renaissance is currently expected to drop on 29 July — and we personally can’t wait (but unfortunately, we must!). In the meantime, you can listen to Break My Soul on all the regular music streaming platforms: TIDAL, Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, etc. And if you’re interested, check out the lyric video down below. We’re expecting to hear a lot more of this track over the summer, so you better get familiar!
