Beyoncé says “America Has a Problem” in the newly revealed RENAISSANCE tracklist
The artist’s first solo album in six years will feature 16 songs, according to a video she posted on Instagram.
Beyoncé has unveiled the tracklist to her upcoming album, RENAISSANCE. On Wednesday afternoon, the pop star posted an Instagram story of a video animation listing 16 song titles; the clip was soundtracked by the album’s first single, “Break My Soul” and featured a countdown clock to the release of the record.
The list reveals nothing about potential features, but includes some provocative titles such as track 14’s “America Has a Problem.”
The announcement is one of the few clues we’ve received as to what Beyoncé has in store with her long-awaited seventh solo album. A British Vogue cover story gave small signs of the sound of the record, which was first announced in mid-June, and “Break My Soul” indicated a potentially new, dance-heavy direction. Additionally, the record’s full title is act i: RENAISSANCE, leading to fan speculation over a potential double album.
Earlier this month, she revealed the cover of her album on Instagram, featuring her sitting atop a gleaming, translucent horse, which some have read as evidence that Beyoncé will lean into a country sound on the record.
“Creating this album allowed me a place to dream and to find escape during a scary time for the world,” Beyoncé wrote in a caption of the post. “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 judgment. A place to be free of perfectionism and overthinking. A place to scream, release, feel freedom. It was a beautiful journey of exploration. I hope you find joy in this music. I hope it inspires you to release the wiggle. Ha! And to feel as unique, strong, and sexy as you are.”
The album will be the singer’s first solo studio album in over six years, following up on her critically acclaimed album (and accompanying film) Lemonade. Renaissance will be released on July 29.
EDIT: Beyoncé has kept most information for RENAISSANCE under wraps, but if you give the Beyhive investigative team any kernel of information, they’ll handle the rest. Once Bey released the tracklist for the upcoming album this week, the folks behind the BeyLegion Twitter account visited the Apple Music page and viewed the source code to find the composer credits. And, as always, Bey appears to have brought a steady balance of star power with her to the studio.
Big names mentioned in the composer credits include Jay-Z, Drake, Skrillex, The Neptunes, Tems, Lucky Daye, Raphael Saadiq, Hit-Boy, No I.D., 070 Shake, Labrinth, Big Freedia, The-Dream, and many more. Sampled artists, according to Beyonce fan page BeyLegion, appear to include Donna Summer, Giorgio Moroder, James Brown, Teena Marie, Twinkie Clark, Kilo Ali, and Moi Renee.
The nature of the collaborators’ contributions is uncertain: since it’s simply the composer credits, it’s not clear whether these artists are actually appearing on the songs, or if they just contributed to songwriting efforts or have their previous works sampled and interpolated. Either way, it’ll be interesting to see how Beyoncé works these collaborators into what many believe will be a new sound for her.
