Stream Beyoncé’s new album ❝Renaissance❞ | Toya’s Top 5 ♫♫

This week, Beyoncé returned with her queer-happy, dance-floor driven new album 'Renaissance,' her seventh studio album and the first in a trilogy. The 16-track 'Break My Soul'-led set includes contributions from The-Dream, Labrinth, Hit-Boy, Raphael Saadiq, No I.D., Sabrina Claudio, Syd, Jay-Z, Grace Jones, Tems, The Neptunes, Skrillex, Drake and Boi-1da to name the few. After spending the entire weekend listening to the project, I found it to be quite europhic. It's a feel-good, sh*t talking album that serves up a big middle finger to her haters and detractors. It's sassy and cocky with many epic meme-worthy one liners and catch phrases enough to entice the TikTok crowd. 

If you're looking for an album with lyrical substance, this simply isn't the one. Beyoncé just wanted to have fun with this project and that she certainly did. It isn't her best work to date but decent enough... and she went outside the box to try something new and different. In doing so, she certainly put a fresh spin on 70s disco and house music, alongside the funk and dance and ultimately you have a seismic nightclub orgy! The harmonies and vocal stacking is top notch too and we get glimpses of vocals served up on earlier albums. As a whole body of work, the album flows and the transitions are smooth and effortless. If I had to pick five tracks, my standouts would be 'Cozy,' 'Cuff It,' 'Church Girl,' 'Plastic Off The Sofa' and 'Virgo's Groove.' Honorable mentions include 'Heated' and 'Summer Renaissance.' Feel free to share your Top 5 tracks and stream 'Renaissance' below.