IMPORTANCE OF BEYONCE'S RENAISSANCE ALBUM

[Stephan Bobb]

IMPORTANCE OF BEYONCE'S

RENAISSANCE ALBUM

By

Stephan " Dj Big Steph" Bobb 

I am really enjoying this summer's renaissance of dance music. Popular recording artists such as Ciara, Drake, and Beyonce are creating dance 90's music influenced studio recordings. Throwbacks of early vibes from Jomanda, Cybil,

Ce Ce Peniston, Crystal Waters, Marshall Jefferson, Raze, and more are getting people to put down their cellphones and dance together. I look at so many millennials and it appears they do not know how to 2-step or simply dance with a partner. The new Queen of Dance "Yonce", as her fans sometimes call her, got them "all messed up in the game". Beyonce’s latest studio effort titled "Renaissance" is definitely a dance influenced recording. The beats per minute 

(BPM) throughout “Renaissance” ranges from 92 - 135. It really gets your blood flowing with up tempo beat pounding music. The music of the 2000's seems to be built upon more self-expression and not on sharing the vibe. What made dance music in the 90's so great was that it was about self-expression and the sharing of vibes, dance, culture, movement, and sound with your dance partner or group. The Art of Moving Butts (A.O.M.B.) which includes many artists such as the Jungle Brothers, De La Soul, Queen Latifah, A Tribe Called Quest was to produce music to make you get up and dance. Beyonce's latest studio album "Renaissance" in essence has a deep concentration of that vibe. There are several tracks that seemed to have a 90's ‘New Jack Swing’ vibe with heart pounding percussion that if it had a James Brown sample would complete the vision. The Renaissance track "America Has a Problem" could be easily mistaken for an earlier produced Dallas Austin or Teddy Riley track. These two producers were the architects of New Jack Swing. A few other tracks such as " Cozy", " Move", "Pure Honey", and "Summer Renaissance" have a deep NYC house vibe. I definitely could see mixers and remix producers such as John "Jellybean" Benitez, Tony Humphries, or Frankie Knuckles going deep into the night with the vibe. I was really looking for that high hat that was present in classic cuts such as Marshall Jefferson's "Move Your Body" or Jay Williams’ classic song "Sweat". A true great dance record has that ever present hi hat or Loletta Hollaway sample to let you know the vibe is "cooking". 

Partying at popular spots like Nel's, Limelight, Palladium, and Zanzibar really communicated the popular dance music you heard on the radio into the night club.

The Renaissance album is so important because it really gets the culture to write, produce, and arrange music that was built in the experience of love, expression, and dance.