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Beyonce's new album RENAISSANCE is dedicated to queer Black artists -- and Queen Bey is making sure we all know their names.
In a new remix for her first single from the album, "Break My Soul," Beyonce has teamed up with the Queen of Pop Madonna to make a "Vogue" remix that not only gays up the already-gay disco song, but also gives Queen Bey a platform to list off some of the Black queer legends that have influenced her.
The new album was dedicated to her gay Uncle Jonny and "all the pioneers who originate culture," and features samples of Black queer artists like Big Freedia, TS Madison, Honey Djon, Syd, Moi Renee, MikeQ, Kevin Aviance, and Kevin JZ Prodigy.
Now, on the new "Break My Soul - The Queens Remix," Beyonce is paying even more tribute to the culture makers, listing off some great Black queer women artists and then shouting out some of the legendary houses of the ballroom scene who have influenced not just her, but all of pop music and culture.
"Rosetta Tharpe, Santigold/Bessie Smith, Nina Simone," she sings, name-dropping Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the queer Godmother of Rock'n'Roll, and bisexual Empress of the Blues Bessie Smith. As she continues to list names of Black women artists, she also mentions gender nonconforming icon Grace Jones and queer singer Lizzo while listing off other iconic names like Nina Simone, Lauryn Hill, Jill Scott, Kelly Rowland, Janet Jackson, Toni Braxton, and more.
But if you thought the queer shoutouts ended there, you'd be totally wrong! Queen Bey then calls herself "Mother of my house" and pays tribute to other royalty by listing off some of the most iconic houses of the ballroom scene.
The first house she lists off is the legendary House of Xtravaganza, founded by Hector Xtravaganza and led by Angie Xtravaganza as one of the first Latine houses in the ball scene. Next up are House of Revlon, founded in 1989 and represented on the third season of HBO Max's reality series Legendary, and the legendary House of LaBeija, founded by icon Crystal LaBeija and led by the legend Pepper LaBeija from 1982 to 2003.
Next, she shouts out the House of Amazon and House of Aviance. House member Kevin Aviance's 1996 single "Cunty" is also sampled on the track "Pure/Honey" and DJ Nita Aviance did another remix of "Break My Soul." She then moves to the House of Balmain, House of Ninja (which was featured in the documentary Paris Is Burning), and some more recent houses, including the House of Lanvin and House of Telfar.
Bey finishes up by paying tribute to the Houses of Ladosha, Mugler, Balenciaga, and Mizrahi, making sure that we know all of the legendary and iconic houses that have influenced her.
It's beautiful to see so many Black and other QPOC icons getting their dues in such a huge song. Pop music comes from the Black queer community and it's time we said "thank you," just like Beyonce does on this song. Listen below!
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