So, we’re telling everybody! Bey is back!
On Tuesday, Beyoncé released her new single, “Break My Soul.” The song dropped at midnight on Tidal, the streaming service owned by her husband and mogul Jay-Z.
Fused with dance and pop, the upbeat song is giving the Beyhive a renewed, optimistic look on life that we never knew we needed, as we slowly emerge from the covid-19 pandemic.
The single features Big Freedia, who kicks the song off NOLA-bounce style with “release your mind, release your soul.” First of all, that is an affirmation in itself! Beyonce follows him, singing, “You won’t break my soul, you won’t break my soul, you won’t break my soul, I’m telling everyone.”
It also samples Big Freedia 2014 song “Explode” from 2014’s Just Be Free and Robin S.’s classic house hit “Show Me Love.”
Quit your job- Bey said it!
But the part that most of the Beyhive are resonating with is its message about work burnout and quitting the 9 to 5.
“I just fell in love and I just quit my job,” Beyonce sings, “I’m gonna find new drive, damn they work me so damn hard. Work by nine. Then off past five. And they work my nerves. That’s why I cannot sleep at night.”
“Is she telling us to quit our jobs?? Because I will, Beyoncé, I will,” one person tweeted.
Another tweeted, “Not Beyoncé telling me to quit my job like I’m not poor already.”
Nonetheless, there are also messages of resilience, freedom, empowerment, and enlightenment.
“It feels surreal to be on the track with the Queen Beyonce once again,” Big Freedia tweeted. The bounce artist was also featured in Bey’s 2016 song, “Formation.” “I’m so honored to be (a part) of this special moment I’m forever grateful lord. Someone please catch me.”
“Break My Soul” is the first single and sixth track off of her highly anticipated 7th studio album Renaissance act i, which will be released on July 29.
The new album will follow Beyonce’s 2019 visual album, Black Is King and her last studio album, Lemonade in 2016. The essence of the upcoming album was briefly summarized to British Vogue‘s editor-in-chief, Edward Enninful. Beyonce graces their July cover.
“The creation has been a long process, she explains, with the pandemic giving her far longer to spend thinking and re-thinking every decision,” Enninful wrote. “Just the way she likes it.”
