Last week, we told you that Beyoncé was coming—meaning that she’d be dropping her much-anticipated seventh studio album, Renaissance, this July, which would reportedly be filled with “dance and country-leaning” songs. Well, on Monday night, Queen Bey decided to give us a taste of what’s to come and dropped her debut single from the project, titled “Break My Soul.”
The nearly 5 minute-long song, co-produced by “Single Ladies” duo Tricky Stewart and The-Dream, per Variety, makes you immediately want to take to the dance floor, thanks in large part to the overall house music and disco vibes present, the Robin S. 1993 “Show Me Love” song sample, and the voice of New Orleans bounce artist Big Freedia interspersed throughout who tells you to aptly “release your wiggle,” among other things. The song also brings elements of a gospel choir and notes reminiscent of Whitney Houston’s 1992 hit, “I’m Every Woman.”
The single seemingly signifies a new era for Bey. The premise revolves around her quitting her 9-5 job (didn’t know she had one, TBH. Wow, celebrities, they’re just like us) and triumphantly telling them that they won’t break her soul and that she’s got “motivation,” found “a new foundation,” and a “new salvation” that she’s going to use to build her “own foundation.” Speaking with ET, Bey’s mother Miss Tina Knowles-Lawson expressed her own excitement about the track, saying how she was “very, very excited” for the song’s release, noting that her daughter had put “two years of love” into it.
On the surface, the lyrics in and of themselves aren’t necessarily groundbreaking or mind-blowingly inspiring (it’s a dance track for goodness sake, why would we expect some super in-depth lyrics on a track meant for us to shake our asses??). But given the two-plus years of pandemic-induced isolation, confusion, chaos, grief and stress, the song brings a level of escapism and fantasy needed that allows listeners to imagine themselves releasing their jobs and instead embracing the fluidity and freedom of a life built on their own terms, if only for five minutes.
Check out the lyric video here, “Break My Soul” is available to stream now on all music platforms.