BREAK MY SOUL (THE QUEENS REMIX)

BREAK MY SOUL (THE QUEENS REMIX)

Beyoncé & Madonna

Beyoncé remixes her hit single “Break My Soul” with one of the most legendary pop stars of all time: Madonna. A core theme around RENAISSANCE is the impacts queer (particularly, black queer) artists and people have had on her musical career and society. The intro of the song refers to ballroom culture—a pivotal part of queer culture that originated in New York City in the 1920’s but began to really become prominent in the 1980’s and 90’s. One of the most notable parts of queer culture is voguing, which is a dramatic and expressive form of dance that originated in queer culture, particularly in ballroom. This dance movement was brought to the public eye by Madonna’s hit single “Vogue”, which peaked at #1 on the United States Billboard Hot 100. Madonna was and is considered to be one of the most legendary pop stars and musicians of all time, and Beyoncé herself has also earned the same level of respect.

Beyoncé using “Vogue” to remix “BREAK MY SOUL” is a love letter to not just queer culture, but to her late Uncle Jonny, who helped raise her alongside her mother Tina Knowles. Beyoncé has mentioned how her Uncle Johnny was a huge part of the success of Destiny’s Child, the musical group she first rose to fame with, as he would help design many of the group’s costumes, raise Beyoncé, her sister Solange, and Beyoncé’s friends—the same way a house father would raise his house children.

Beyoncé also mentions many of the female musicians who inspire her, such as Madonna herself, Whitney Houston and Grace Jones—who is herself featured on the song “MOVE”, as well as some of her current peers in the music industry, like Rihanna, Lizzo and Missy Elliot. She also mentions her loved ones: her sister Solange and her former Destiny’s Child co-band mates Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams, who she performed with at her 2018 Coachella Performance. Beyoncé is one of the most respected musicians in the industry due to her kindness and generosity, and uses this song to show her love to all the powerful women who inspired her to be the legendary musician she is 32 years into her musical career from Girls' Tyme, to Destiny’s Child, to her solo career, to her rap duo with her husband JAY-Z, THE CARTERS.