Jamaicans featured on Beyonce’s Renaissance
Renaissance, the eagerly awaited seventh studio album by American pop superstar Beyonce, was released on Friday and featured two Jamaicans.
The 16-track set features collaborations with iconic singer Grace Jones and Tyshane “Beam’ Thompson, son of veteran dancehall gospel deejay Papa San.
Nigerian singer Tems is also featured on the project, which was released via Beyonce’s Parkwood Entertainment label and Columbia Records.
Packed with rousing anthems, Renaissance is a culmination of freedom and escape that encourages jubilation, agency and movement with abandon.
The album was recorded throughout the pandemic, almost three years in the works. In a release sent to OBSERVER ONLINE by her publicist Yvette Noel-Schure, Beyonce says the pandemic allowed her to tap into her most creative self.
“Creating this album allowed me a place to dream and to find escape during a scary time for the world,” said Beyonce. “It allowed me to feel free and adventurous in a time when little else was moving. My intention was to create a safe place, a place without judgement. A place to be free of perfectionism and overthinking. A place to scream, release, feel freedom. It was a beautiful journey of exploration,” the release read.
Several heavyweight producers injected their talents into Renaissance. They include TheDream, Nile Rodgers, NOVA, NO ID, Raphael Saadiq, Skrillex, Chris Penny, Honey Dijon, Mike Dean and Luke Solomon.
Jones and Tems are featured on the track Move, while Beam is featured on Energy, which was co-produced by Skrillex. Skrillex is best known for producing the hit Make it Bun Dem featuring Damian Marley.
This isn’t the first time that Beyonce has collaborated with Jamaicans. In 2003, she teamed up with dancehall star Sean Paul for the mega-hit, Baby Boy, off her Dangerously In Love album, while Mr Vegas is featured on the remix of her Standing in the Sun single, which was featured on her 2014 box set Beyonce: Platinum Edition.
In 2011, Run the World (Girls) which was featured on Beyonce’s platinum-selling fourth studio album aptly titled 4, heavily sampled the dancehall track Pon De Floor by Major Lazer featuring Vybz Kartel. That single was certified Gold in the United States and Platinum in the United Kingdom.
