.@pitchfork about the #GRAMMYs ✨
“Last year’s Grammy for Best Dance/Electronic Music Album went to Beyoncé's Renaissance: a great album steeped in dance-music history, by an artist who should have won AOTY. That was an aberration.”
"I couldn’t let my family down after all the sacrifices they made for me & Destiny's child. I was the most careful, professional teenager. I wanted to break all of the stereotypes of the Black superstar, I had one shot & I refused to mess it up"
-BEYONCÉ
Sufjan Stevens on Beyoncé’s “RENAISSANCE”
“When I first heard ‘PLASTIC OFF THE SOFA,’ I was like, This is ridiculous.
The wizardry on that album is so awesome and frustrating for me as a musician, because even if you took out her vocals, I’m still obsessed; I’m still intrigued by the engineering and production that’s going on and the harmonic relationship between chords. All that stuff is really interesting too. It’s a pretty exciting album.”
P!nk told the LA Times that she was unable to attend the #RENAISSANCE WORLD TOUR and The Eras Tour but is happy to see that women are dominating the stadium world tours ✨
“No, and I’m so bummed that I didn’t. They’re powerhouse women. And I’m so stoked that we’re all doing this. It used to only be guy bands like Aerosmith and Coldplay and the Rolling Stones, and now it’s all women. It’s awesome.”
To appreciate the red color scheme of the official poster for “RENAISSANCE: A Film by Beyoncé,” we’d have to look back at the “Opulence” interlude, where Beyoncé directly addressed the visuals.
Red was often used as the color of the cloaks and gowns of the Virgin Mary in Renaissance art, signifying love, passion, and devotion—all traits connected with motherhood. Beyoncé has worn red throughout the tour, during the opening act, and especially in the “Opulence” interlude with “Landscape with the Flight into Egypt” by Pieter Bruegel the Elder as the backdrop.
Red is the color of the internal tissue of the womb. Renaissance means rebirth, as both Beyoncé appear to be incubating in a womb in the “Motherboard” interlude and Renaissance, the album, in Beyoncé’s womb in the “Opulence” interlude.
The red custom Off-White look from the poster is based on the ‘Lunar Delivery’ collection, which is Ib Kamara’s take on intergalactic travel. Beyoncé returns to the mothership wearing the outfit during the “Opulence” act to wearing red again at the church in the “Anointed” interlude.
The red ribbon is the universal symbol of awareness and support for people living with HIV. Beyoncé dedicated the album to her late Uncle Johnny, who was her godmother and the one who introduced her to queer culture and music. He passed away due to AIDS-related complications, and it’s highly likely the film is also dedicated to him, as it officially comes out on World AIDS Day.
Red is as integral as silver, if not more, to Beyoncé’s “RENAISSANCE.”
2003 2023
This we what we call LONGEVITY.
See when you’re one of the most talented, hard working & most influential artists in the industry. Congratulations to Beyoncé. 🫶🏼