RENAISSANCE

the take

I'll never forget my first time skimming through this album back on its release. I hated the dance album from THE Virgo queen Beyoncé, simply put. It didn't take me long to acknowledge how great "RENAISSANCE" really is, though. In fact, I've already reviewed this album via a collab review with someone who was in the Musicgram space. (Emphasis on "was".) In not so many words, I've enjoyed this album. But I feel like my thoughts on "RENAISSANCE" back then doesn't exactly represent my thoughts on it now. This album is a whole fucking amazing bop. From the jump with "I'M THAT GIRL", Beyoncé invites the listener to her vision of a club filled with freedom and energy. In a sense, Beyoncé helped elevate club music to its highest level of recognition ever, which is acceptable due to her paying homage to it while putting her own modern spin on it. The production alone is proof of that, as it takes you on a ride the entire time, sometimes going to unexpected territory musically speaking. Add that with Beyoncé's hypnotizing vocals and you'll get a listening experience where you're one with the music. "MOVE" has always been my standout favorite song (shout out to both Tems and the legend Grace Jones), as well as "COZY" and "VIRGO'S GROOVE". Lately, though, I can confidently say that "THIQUE", "ENERGY", and "AMERICA HAS A PROBLEM" grew on me a lot in the years since (with the latter partly due to a friend I'm lowkey crushing on as of this writing). If I can describe my listening experience of Beyoncé's "RENAISSANCE" in 2025 with one word, it'd be this: "euphoric".