fan base Beyoncé

[suneclipse121]

I would be here for an R&B album only if it was in the vibe of “Mine”. Other than that I feel like it would be kinda pointless. There’s so much more genres she can play with before going back to her comfort zone. Anyways she always puts a bit of R&B in her records (POTS, Virgos Groove, Love Drought) 

[Jon Snow]

What does it mean when she's credited for horn on Pure/Honey? Did she play a horn?

[Otter]

27 minutes ago, Cbreezy said:

I'm here for it, but there'd need to be a twist. Either thematically or with the literal music. 

 

I'm very invested in her evolving, doing new things, and putting a fresh twist on the expected. Which is probably why Rennie and The Gift are two of my all-time favorite projects from her. Even Lemonade (which is nearer the bottom for me) gets a thumbs up for putting her on new terrain (thematically). 

 

So, IMO, pure R&B is only worth it if she's coming with a fresh angle. Otherwise, it's been there, done that. At least, at this stage of her career (see: still at the top).

 

As it is, I'd take the rumored Country/Southern project and/or a power-ballad-meets-folky vibe of Adele album or something purposefully throwback (like Motown-themed) from her before I'd take another outright R&B album. Especially R&B in 2023. SZA has that lane covered.

 

Rennie is such a joy because it purposefully drives in the opposite direction of this barely-there, underproduced, dear-diary, borderline spoken word R&B being peddled by Summer Walker and the girls. No need for Bey to go there and I fear it's the type of R&B she'd "need" to do if she really wanted to compete commercially in today's R&B climate. It's almost as if more full-bodied, robust production of songs like semi-modern R&B gems like Body Party, Ride or some of Bey's own songs like Dance For You, Love In This Club remix aren't given much love by radio and streamers nowadays. 

No one artist will ever have a whole genre covered. Making a pure RnB album that stands out is really just a question of artistry. It doesn't need to have a conscious twist that can easily labelled. Ultimately BMS was not something built for 2022 audiences and arguably neither was Cuff It, but specifically in relation to the latter quality/accessible music pushed by a big artist will always has a chance at succeeding. Even Love on Top being the most popular song from 4 is testament of that.

For me, the "twist" would simply be rich, orchestral production, very layered with her now typical deviations in struct, and finally her distinct lyricism and vocal prowess & Range. Ultimately you only need to have one or 2 hits from an era to ensure it has some longevity. I don't think there's anything about SZA's album as a whole that screams mega smash, especially when you look at the wider global success it's having. Sometimes you just gotta make music and believe in it, and hope the other cards fall in place. 

Edited January 6, 2023 by Otter

[Click Clack]

virgo’s groove is the best song of all time 

[Devin]

Just now, Otter said:

No one artist will ever have a whole genre covered. Making a pure RnB album that stands out is really just a question of artistry. It doesn't need to have a conscious twist that can easily labelled. Ultimately BMS was not something built for 2022 audiences and arguably neither was Cuff It, but specifically in relation to the latter quality/accessible music pushed by a big artist will always has a chance at succeeding. Even Love on Top being the most popular song from 4 is testament of that.

For me, the "twist" would simply be rich, orchestral production, very layered and her distinct lyricism. Ultimately you only need to have one or 2 hits from an era to ensure it has some longevity. I don't think there's anything about SZA's album as a whole that screams mega smash, especially when you look at the wider global success it's having. Sometimes you just gotta make music and believe in it, and hope the other cards fall in place. 

Wait an orchestral twist sounds fun. 
 

I be worried if mfs instantly think of Ariana tho. 

[Devin]

2 minutes ago, Click Clack said:

virgo’s groove is the best song of all time 

!!!!!

 

[Kool_Aid_King]

8 minutes ago, Jon Snow said:

What does it mean when she's credited for horn on Pure/Honey? Did she play a horn?

Where do you see that?

[GodSaveTheQueen]

There are aspects of Renaissance that plays on an experimental, futuristic feel. I want her to take that further with one of the acts and fuse it with sleek R&B with the big, expensive, grandiose, lush style of Renaissance.

[Jon Snow]

15 minutes ago, Kool_Aid_King said:

Where do you see that?

on Wikipedia 

[swissman]

I feel we need/deserve Rock-n-B.

 

Don't Hurt Yourself >>> is simply one of the greatest songs of her career even if it 's not quite one I remember to go listen to...whenever it's on, it's ON!

[Devin]

White Hive would def go up for more rock influences. Even if she went the Tina route a bit.

[Cbreezy]

34 minutes ago, Otter said:

No one artist will ever have a whole genre covered. Making a pure RnB album that stands out is really just a question of artistry. It doesn't need to have a conscious twist that can easily labelled. Ultimately BMS was not something built for 2022 audiences and arguably neither was Cuff It, but specifically in relation to the latter quality/accessible music pushed by a big artist will always has a chance at succeeding. Even Love on Top being the most popular song from 4 is testament of that.

For me, the "twist" would simply be rich, orchestral production, very layered with her now typical deviations in struct, and finally her distinct lyricism and vocal prowess & Range. Ultimately you only need to have one or 2 hits from an era to ensure it has some longevity. I don't think there's anything about SZA's album as a whole that screams mega smash, especially when you look at the wider global success it's having. Sometimes you just gotta make music and believe in it, and hope the other cards fall in place. 

I agree with much of this. 

 

BUT...

 

I think the world she's created with Rennie as both an album, story, and movement kind of calls for further experimentation IMO. 

 

To tell us it's a three-act project and have any of those acts be a pure R&B album (without some kind of clear-cut unexpected component) would be kinda anti-climatic for me.

 

No word on whether the other acts will literally be called Renaissance, but sticking with the term as defining the era overall, it speaks of reviving, reclaiming, and refreshing. That narrative much more easily aligns with how Country/Southern music was snatched from its originators and her reclaiming it. Same as she did with Dance on Act 1. A pure R&B album doesn't really compute IMO as, at least in 2023, the genre is being led by Black artists who are thriving with it. 

 

I guess for me, I'm heavily invested in the overall packaging. How the music plays into a theme which in turn plays into a bigger cohesive narrative of the era. It's all much neater from a visual and marketing perspective too.

 

Imagine a three-arc visual that sees her reclaiming Black genres in a way that's still fun, universal, and not preachy yet still lowkey educational. It gives her that all-important "angle" (which every era ultimately needs marketing-wise and she's fully exhausted the relationship ish + general Black power stuff). All while furthering her dedication to Blackness in an authentic way.

 

To me, THAT feels like the type of "ambitiousness" and "abundance" teased in the Vogue article that kicked off the era. 

 

IMO, she can do whatever she wants post this era. Even a back-to-my-beloved-sound LP. But for now, she has an easy theme (that allows for a lot of experimentation) and she should maximize tf outta it.

Edited January 6, 2023 by Cbreezy

[swissman]

I think what's Beyoncé's speciality is merging old and new styles into one.

If she were to do an R&B album for RENAISSANCE, I think by nature of the concept itself it will have to draw upon lesser known (from a mainstream perspective) R&B moments of the past, as she did with House/Dance music on act i.

 

 

Given this, I would love to see sonic references to groups like The Ink Spots

(this with a more modern production but the same kind of sparse rhythmic and gentle melodies that transition to more modern melodies too would work well for her I think)

 

Or the likes of this:

 

or

 

 

anyway you get the picture.

 

 

[Pepo]

Firstly, at this point I'm inclined to say that she's waiting to win AOTY before performing and dropping the visuals. She may try to get that accolade with the sole power of the music alone, thus putting her "visual" strategy on a hiatus for a while. 

 

Moreover, there are way too many hints about "Rodeo", even her latest announcements are pointing out this.

[swissman]

As much as a country album does not excite me, I kind of feel it'll get into the kind of GP-leaning tracks like CUFF IT, being in itself a kind of accessible and folk genre. And though it's not my preferred genre at all (I almost never listen to it outside of Dolly and Shania), when it is fun it is FUN (Garth Brooks' I Got Friends in Low Places, for example).

[Otter]

5 minutes ago, Cbreezy said:

I agree with much of this. 

 

BUT...

 

I think the world she's created with Rennie as both an album, story, and movement kind of calls for further experimentation IMO. 

 

To tell us it's a three-act project and have any of those acts be a pure R&B album (without some kind of clear-cut unexpected component) would be kinda anti-climatic for me.

 

No word on whether the other acts will literally be called Renaissance, but sticking with the term as defining the era overall, it speaks of reviving, reclaiming, and refreshing. That narrative much more easily aligns with how Country/Southern music was snatched from its originators and her reclaiming it. Same as she did with Dance on Act 1. A pure R&B album doesn't really compute IMO as, at least in 2023, the genre is being led by Black artists who are thriving with it. 

 

I guess for me, I'm heavily invested in the overall packaging. How the music plays into a theme which in turn plays into a bigger cohesive narrative of the era. It's all much neater from a visual and marketing perspective too.

 

Imagine a three-arc visual that sees her reclaiming Black genres in a way that's still fun, universal, and not preachy yet still lowkey educational. It gives her that all-important "angle" (which every era ultimately needs marketing-wise and she's fully exhausted the relationship ish + general Black power stuff). All while furthering her dedication to Blackness in an authentic way.

 

To me, THAT feels like the type of "ambitiousness" and "abundance" teased in the Vogue article that kicked off the era. 

 

IMO, she can do whatever she wants post this era. Even a back-to-my-beloved-sound LP. But for now, she has an easy theme (that allows for a lot of experimentation) and she should maximize tf outta it.

I agree act 2 being RnB would be dissappointing, but I could otherwise see it being act 3 (if the Jay rumour is false)... A Dangerously In Love 2.0 if you will... It'd essentially be her returning to herself, 20 years later. Reborn almost, so still in line with the theme.

What I had in mind for an RnB act would be Rnb/Soul/Orchestral/Theatrical and the live performance of Be Alive kind of touches on it during the "Footprints on the Moon" segment (1:50-2:20)
 

 

[Pepo]

12 minutes ago, swissman said:

I feel we need/deserve Rock-n-B.

 

Don't Hurt Yourself >>> is simply one of the greatest songs of her career even if it 's not quite one I remember to go listen to...whenever it's on, it's ON!

Hopefully that's what Act 3 will end up serving. 

 

She's the only vocalist of our time who's capable of singing Rock without sounding like a poser. 

 

DHY is definitely the best song on Lemonade, and the base unanimously agrees 

 

Plus the "take me higher" part on Freakum Dress and The Beautiful Ones (in which she devoured Mariah hihi) >>>>>

[Lose My Breath]

I feel like the "rock", "country" and "acoustic" will all be one album. 

[Otter]

4 minutes ago, swissman said:

As much as a country album does not excite me, I kind of feel it'll get into the kind of GP-leaning tracks like CUFF IT, being in itself a kind of accessible and folk genre. And though it's not my preferred genre at all (I almost never listen to it outside of Dolly and Shania), when it is fun it is FUN (Garth Brooks' I Got Friends in Low Places, for example).

I've always seen the "Country" rumour as misleading. I imagine the album will be Rock/Folk/Psychedelic/Country and a touch of Blues/Pop.

The same way most of Renaissance's tracklist can't actually be classed as House aside from Cozy/BMS/Pure

Edited January 6, 2023 by Otter

[simon]

I think people assume she will separate so she can submit to the Grammy categories as she did with "Renaissance."

 

Renaissance - Best Dance Album

Act 2 - Best Rock Album

Act 3 - Best Country Album

[Lose My Breath]

2 minutes ago, Otter said:

I've also seen the "Country" rumour as misleading. I imagine the album will be Rock/Folk/Psychedelic/Country and a touch of Blues/Pop.

The same way most of Renaissance's tracklist can't actually be classed as House aside from Cozy/BMS/Pure

Same, this is exactly what I see.

 

 

[swissman]

2 minutes ago, Otter said:

I've always seen the "Country" rumour as misleading. I imagine the album will be Rock/Folk/Psychedelic/Country and a touch of Blues/Pop.

The same way most of Renaissance's tracklist can't actually be classed as House aside from Cozy/BMS/Pure

ya I agree. act I is NOT a house album, really, despite it having a lot of house elements.

 

I like the sound of Rock/Folk/Psychedelic/Country though

 

 

[ShouldersSideways]

56 minutes ago, Jon Snow said:

What does it mean when she's credited for horn on Pure/Honey? Did she play a horn?

Idk the terminology but it would've been digital. Like she's the one who found the sound in a library and put it in the song.

[Mariya Takeuchi]

59 minutes ago, Jon Snow said:

What does it mean when she's credited for horn on Pure/Honey? Did she play a horn?

She needs to run Prince his cheque first

 

[Jon Snow]

8 minutes ago, ShouldersSideways said:

Idk the terminology but it would've been digital. Like she's the one who found the sound in a library and put it in the song.

Thanks 

 

I was hoping she played it. She’s good at everything