Just as the concert experience sold out in cities worldwide, so did the film showings. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Renaissance is on track to set a record as the North American box office numbers are crunched, with a projected gross of nearly $22 million domestically. If true, the film could become one of the biggest early December box office openings in two decades.
Beyoncé has a proven record of drawing in tons of viewers. Back in 2019, Forbes revealed that the singer’s 2019 Netflix documentary Homecoming pulled in 1.1 million U.S. viewers and an average minute audience of 828,000 viewers on internet-connected TV devices on its premiere date, which was backed by Nielsen’s SVOD Content Ratings system.
Movies made a huge comeback this year, with several musicians partnering with AMC to distribute their films. Travis Scott’s Circus Maximus was shown at select theaters in July. Russ’ Santiago followed in September. Both Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour and Beyoncé’s Renaissance concert films dominated the theaters. So, who runs the world? Girls.
Even though the year is about to end, our new Fire Emoji playlist update– which covers the best bangers in the hip-hop realm each week– is still stacked. Leading the way is Sexyy Red with the release of the deluxe version of her album, Hood Hottest Princess. Moreover, the St. Louis MC had plenty of jams on here, with “Bow Bow Bow (F My Baby Dad)” and “Ghetto Princess” with Chief Keef being particular standouts. In addition, we also had Beyoncé grace us with a new track “My House.” It’s a triumphant, boastful, genre-fusing, and above all energizing cut with some incredible production and cohesive progressions.
Furthermore, BigXthaPlug made a big impact on Fire Emoji this week with his new album THE BIGGEST. While there are many more notable efforts here, the track “CLIMATE” with Offset is a cold and grimy highlight. Keeping with that hardened street perspective is NBA YoungBoy’s new song “Run,” which is a little more melodic. Regardless, it still presents itself as a gritty narrative, one accentuated by the Baton Rouge MC’s harsh delivery and relentless flow.
In a totally different lane on our Fire Emoji playlist update are Flying Lotus, Smoke DZA, and the one and only Black Thought. Their new collaboration “Drug Trade” already came out earlier this year, but this new “Pt 2” remix adds a skillful verse from Benny The Butcher. Speaking of Griselda affiliates, Conway The Machine and Conductor Williams finally dropped their collaborative project CONDUCTOR MACHINE. 7xvethegenius steals the show on “Flame,” although the main artists do an amazing job in their areas, too. There’s a similar dynamic on Veeze’s “ATL Freestyle 1 & 2,” on which Luh Tyler and Rob49 meet the moment as special guests.
Rounding out our update is BabyDrill’s new song “Watchin Now,” which is one of the more chilled-out records from our playlist additions this week. Finally, Bas continues to build anticipation for his soon-to-come new album with his upbeat single “179 Deli” with AJ Tracey. Let us know in the comments what your favorite release of these was, and also what we missed this week. Check out our Fire Emoji playlist above and keep checking in with HNHH for the best new music around the clock.
Azealia Banks recently responded to a fan for accusing her of bleaching her skin after she praised Beyoncé’s controversial new look. Beyonce gave people something to talk about when she appeared at her London screening of ‘Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé’. Beyonce stunned in her long platinum hair and had social media fans questioning if she lightened her skin. Azealia came to Beyonce’s defense as she read a fan for filth about Beyonce’s skin color.
The fan wrote:
Alright AB, relax. These last few pics you gave us got us looking at you sideways too. You not as Brown as we were introduced. You look like you hittin’ the cake soap too.
To which Azealia responded:
YOU GUYS R INSANE. THE BITCH LOOK TF GEWDT. PERIODDDD. She is black, she has white ancestry. She does not hate herself, but anyone who has the time to delve into PLAYED OUT skin bleaching politics in 2023 SURELY has at least 20 other pro-black things they could be doing with the time spent trying to figure out if it’s gluta or kojic. LMAO She been light skinteded and we live for this look. This is the one and only BlANCA BARDOT. don’t question ha! Tuh! BLACK WOMEN DO NOT OWE YOU ANY EXPLANATIONS FOR ANYTHING GO ASK YOUR MOTHER.
And yes growing up in the hood, eating Chinese or chicken spot/ food stamps/freezer foods, no knowledge of skincare outside of a washcloth and dove soap. Knowing nothing about an spf/ microdermabrasion scrub/dry body brush… I never heard of putting a butter on my skin until I was 22! I had no clue butter even existed for skin, it was Nivea lotion and baby oil ONLY. So yes with fame came the financial opportunity to explore grooming products outside of the 99cent store and the pharmacy, it gave me the financial freedom to shop in places where they served fresh salads and green juice. This is actually my natural skin color, I am no longer OVERPRODUCING melanin because my body is battling environmental stress/ cellular oxidation due to malnutrition and food apartheid. Do you know what melanin is? What its evolutionary biological purpose is? Can you explain the melanin synthesis pathway to me? The different types of melanin? What is the main enzyme involved in melanin synthesis, and by which biochemical process does that enzyme undergo to create melanin? I’II wait…..
Blac Chyna has been on a radical path of self-transformation over the past 12 months, but we can’t say the same for her mom, Tokyo Toni. As we enter December, the latter continues her antics of talking trash about other celebrities on social media, most recently going off on Beyonce and her firstborn daughter, Blue Ivy, as they celebrate the success of their RENAISSANCE concert film landing in theatres. “Dear Beyonce, try again. Girl please, get out of here,” Toni began her rant ahead of the weekend.
“Scripted, made-up pieces and portions. Dear Beyonce, can you do me a favour? Can you go to the Moon? Build your house there with your husband, and your kids,” the embattled entertainer went on. “Why are you grooming our Black children through your daughter?” Toni asked the Houston native. “I don’t care nothing about your BeyHive, those lil demons will get sprayed down with my mouth – pure Holy water,” she further threatened any fans who dare defend the Carter family. Despite her words of caution, Blueface’s mom, Karlissa Saffold, appeared in @theneighborhoodtalk’s comment section with a message for the 51-year-old.
“Girl, if you don’t stop messing with Blue Ivy!” the reality star stepped up to bat for the 11-year-old. “She is proving the Black children early work ethics through generational talent. Don’t discourage her because she ain’t out here getting pregnant and waiting to be nobody baby momma like us. Don’t do her,” Saffold added.
While Karlissa Saffold may feel entitled to call out Tokyo Toni for her wrongdoings, it wasn’t so long ago that the internet was coming after her for bashing Sexyy Red. Blueface’s mom has since apologized for her hateful comments, but still, some feel she should think twice before critiquing her contemporary next time. Read what Saffold said about the Hood Hottest Princess at the link below, and check back later for more hip-hop/pop culture news updates.
When it comes to superstar musicians across the world, you can’t really get much bigger than Taylor Swift and Beyonce. Both are absolute titans in their fields, and while some have tried to pit them against each other (we’re looking at you, Mr. “I’ma Let You Finish, But”), they continue to praise one another amid their own gargantuan paths. For example, Queen Bey recently invited the Midnights magnate to the London premiere of her RENAISSANCE concert film. Via Twitter, Swift thanked Miss Carter for the experience, and urged all of her fans to go support this movie in theaters.
“Got invited to London by The Queen…” Taylor Swift wrote on the social media platform on Friday (December 1). “RENAISSANCE: A Film by Beyoncé is in theaters now!!” Moreover, this is very notable because Beyonce went to the premiere of her Eras concert film, so it’s only right that the Pennsylvania native would return the favor. In fact, she shared some snaps of the event, too, and the two looked absolutely radiant in them. Maybe in the coming days, we’ll even get some video of their interactions or what other fun times went down at the silver carpet rollout.
Of course, Beyonce’s RENAISSANCE tour motion picture will likely be a wild hit commercially, much like Taylor Swift’s Eras. It’s actually quite bizarre to get two huge music movies in a similar realm come out so close to one another. We guess that the best part about that, other than giving a nice boost for theaters, is that they didn’t come out close enough to each other to trample on the other’s success. Fans can go pretty far, but up until this point, it’s been nice to see the pop star duo show so much respect to one another.
Meanwhile, it’s clear that the Houston creative wanted to really capitalize on all the hype around the RENAISSANCE film. Today, she released a new track “My House,” adding to a lot of praise, engagement, and deservedly inescapable hype around her right now– and always, for that matter. We’ll see if her country counterpart chooses to feed fans in a similar way soon after an already stellar 2023. For more news and the latest updates on Taylor Swift and Beyonce, stay up to date on HNHH.
Sorry, BeyHive, but if you’re going to catch a screening of Beyoncé’s new movie Renaissance: A Film By Beyoncé, there are some rules you’re going to have to follow. Knowing how the singer’s fans went all-out to see the actual tour concerts on which the film is based, AMC Theaters wants to keep screenings enjoyable for those who just want to see a movie without the extras (those party poopers).
On its website, AMC has posted a “What To Know Before The Show” page encouraging theater attendees to dress up and show their Renaissance spirit, but also requested some decorum.
Obviously, the theater chain doesn’t want viewers taking photos or recording during the movie (which will undoubtedly happen anyway), but also notes that if parts of your outfit might block the screen, such as headwear, angel wings, or other accessories, you should take them off. Also, because it is a musical film, AMC appears to be okay with singing and dancing along, so long as the exits remain clear and other guests aren’t being prevented from seeing the screen.
The film is almost as long as Avengers: Endgame with a runtime of two hours and 48 minutes, so AMC recommends planning those bathroom breaks accordingly (and, it should go without saying, rationing the extra large soda). To see the full list check out AMC’s guidelines here.
Beyoncé’s new movie Renaissance: A Film By Beyoncé is out and with it, came a new song, “My House,” which appears in the credits. “My House” finds Beyoncé in “full rap mogul” mode, barking aggressive, boastful rhymes asserting her dominance. While it’s a bit of a departure from many of the dance-centric cuts that appear on her latest album Renaissance, it’s not the first time Beyoncé has shown off some impressive rap skills in addition to her always awesome singing abilities.
Here are 10 more of Beyoncé’s best rapping songs.
“No, No, No Part 2” With Destiny’s Child (1998)
While there are some who wouldn’t consider Beyoncé’s early work with Destiny’s Child to exemplify traditional rap structure, Beyoncé’s playful blending of R&B vocals with hip-hop delivery could be seen even then. It also turned out to be prescient; these days, the line between rap and R&B is blurrier than ever thanks to artists like Drake and those he’s inspired. Just look at SZA’s “Kill Bill” and “Snooze” — without Beyoncé, who’s to say there’d have been space for that style to flourish on the charts the way it has this year?
“Temptation” With Destiny’s Child (1999)
Although “Say My Name” is often considered the moment when Beyoncé perfected her rap-like, staccato singing style, another song from the same album, The Writing’s On The Wall, features a much more direct rapping delivery. hip-hop history has a proud tradition of storytelling tracks running through it, and with a bit of contextualization, “Temptations” fits right in.
“If Looks Could Kill You’d Be Dead”
Okay, go with me here. In 2001, MTV launched a made-for-TV film called Carmen: A Hip Hopera. It is exactly what it sounds like: a rap-ified version of the 1875 opera Carmen (or at least of Carmen Jones a 1954 musical loosely based on it). As the titular character, Beyoncé has two jobs: Looking gorgeous enough to prompt half the male cast to try to kill each other (check), and keep up with Mos Def, which she does admirably on her introductory number.
“Diva” (2008)
In 2008, producer Bangladesh had two of the biggest bangers of the year: “A Milli” by Lil Wayne and “Diva” by Beyoncé. While they employ a similar production style, the two performers used completely different rap approaches. Rather than using one to discount the other, the correct way to read this is acknowledging
just how versatile rap can be at its best.
“Partition” (2013)
On this standout from Beyoncé’s self-titled album, she leans fully into a swaggy rapper persona — the one she’ll end up using right to today. Her signature Houston drawl elongates the rhymes, harkening back to one of her home state’s most iconic bar-spitters, Pimp C.
“7/11” (2014)
“But she’s just repeating the same words over and over!” you may protest.
Ahem… No one questioned this when Lil Uzi Vert did it on “Do What I Want” (sure, some folks hated it but no one tried to take the rapper title away from him). If you think about it this way, Beyoncé kind of opened the door for Playboi Cart. He should send her a note.
“Feeling Myself” Nicki Minaj Feat. Beyoncé (2014)
On one of the first songs where Beyoncé went bar-for-bar with an actual rap peer, she not only kept up with Ms. Minaj — she darn near stole the whole show.
“Top Off” DJ Khaled Feat. Jay-Z, Future & Beyoncé (2018)
Beyoncé had collaborated with her husband Jay-Z a number of times in the prior decade but on DJ Khaled’s Father Of Asahd, for the first time, she endeavored to actually out-rap him. Whether or not she accomplished that mission is up to the listener’s taste but it wouldn’t be too hard to argue that that’s exactly what she did.
“Apesh*t” As The Carters With Jay-Z(2018)
Apparently, Bey and Jay had so much fun trading bars on “Top Off,” they decided to do it for a whole project on their group album Everything Is Love as The Carters. Once again, she arguably gets the best of him on the lead single, rattling off some of the most memorable punchlines on track.
“Savage (Remix)” With Megan Thee Stallion (2020)
In 2020, at the height of the pandemic, Beyoncé almost single-handedly gave fans the blueprint for survival, making OnlyFans a household name in the process.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Are you ready for the renaissance? If you’re not, you will want to steer clear of all AMC theatres. Today (December 1), Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé hit the cineplex in all its glory, and the Beyhive will surely attend in droves.
From the massive final setlist of songs, breakouts showcasing Beyoncé’sRenaissance World Tourrobust featured dancers, the Mute Challenge spotlight, and plenty of cameos of Blue Ivy Carter (a.k.a. her mother’s unofficial manager), you’re going to want to make sure your commemorative popcorn bucket is filled to the brim. The Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé’s runtime is a doozy. According to the details listed on the AMC Theatres webpage, dedicated to the concert movie, the official runtime is 2 hours and 48 minutes.
Before you rethink getting a ticket to the film, Oscar-nominated director Ava DuVernay took to Instagram to praise the visual. “The woman is a director in every sense of the word and beyond,” she wrote. “In the film, the performances are spectacular for their entertainment value but also as a gorgeous spectacle of craft – from the art direction to the costumes to the editing and lighting design. It’s stunning.”
Michael Blackson has an opinion on Beyoncé’s new look. TMZ caught the comedian at LAX and he spoke about the social media reaction, stating Queen Bey was just trying to give JAY-Z something different.
“Beyoncé is one of the most proud to be Black woman on Earth,” Blackson said. “JAY-Z probably wanted to see something else in bed. He can’t cheat no more. So now she like ‘listen, I’ll give you another woman.’ She doing this for JAY-Z.”
But Mike better hope Ms. Tina don’t hear about his comments.
Tina Knowles, Beyoncé’s mom, is coming to the singer’s defense after haters were critical of her complexion in a picture from the Renaissance film premiere.
Beyoncé was photographed in a stunning head-to-toe silver look, which Versace created. Some pockets of the Internet questioned Queen Bey’s skin tone, accusing her of skin bleaching and attempting to be lighter in complexion or white.
“How sad is it that some of her own people continue the stupid narrative with hate and jealousy. Duh, she wore silver hair to match her silver dress as a fashion statement clown,” Knowles wrote. “ALIEN Superstar duh! What’s really sad is that a white woman had the audacity to reach out to Neal Beyonces hairstylist she was from TMZ to say that the fans are saying that she wants to be white and she wanted to get a statement about it from Neal. Well that made, my blood boil , that this white woman felt so entitled to discuss her blackness.”
Beyoncé continued the silver trend of the Renaissance tour at the premiere of her movie, Renaissance: A Film by Beyonce. Hitting the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, California, Mrs. Carter had silver hair.
According to Billboard, Beyoncé didn’t walk the red carpet but attended the screening with her family.
Beyoncé’s publicist, Yvette Noel-Schure, shared a photo of the stunning singer on Instagram. Beyoncé was then celebrated for Donatella Versace for the picture in which she wore a Versace dress.
“@beyonce, you are a vision in Versace. You are unique,” Versace wrote. “One of one, the number one, the only one!!! I can’t wait to see the Renaissance tour movie”
At the 2023 Grammys, Beyoncé became the most awarded musician in the ceremony’s history. One of those coveted wins was historic all on its own. The “My House” singer’s latest album, Renaissance, got a win for Dance/Electronica Album, making her the first Black woman and second Black person to take home the gramophone.
The supporting Renaissance World Tour also contributed to another award win for Beyoncé during the 2023 Billboard Music Awards. Now, the complimentary concert film is set to break box office records. According to Pitchfork, live renditions of songs from Beyoncé’s Dangerously In Love, B’Day Deluxe, I Am… Sasha Fierce, Homecoming, The Lion King: The Gift soundtrack, and, of course, Renaissance made it into the final motion picture. View the songs featured in Beyoncé’s new Renaissance concert Movie below.
Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé Setlist
1. “Dangerously in Love 2”
2. “Flaws and All”
3. “I’m That Girl”
4. “Cozy”
5. “Alien Superstar”
6. “Lift Off”
7. “Cuff It”
8. “Energy”
9. “Break My Soul” (original and “The Queens” remix)
10. “Formation”
11. “Diva”
12. “Run the World (Girls)”
13. “My Power”
14. “Black Parade”
15. “Savage” Feat. Megan Thee Stallion
16. “Partition”
17. “Church Girl”
18. “Get Me Bodied”
19. “Before I Let Go” (Maze cover)
20. “Crazy in Love”
21. “River Deep, Mountain High” (Tina Turner tribute)
22. “Love Hangover” (Diana Ross Intermission)
23. “Plastic Off the Sofa”
24. “Virgo’s Groove”
25. “Naughty Girl” (“Love To Love You Baby” by Donna Summer medley)
26. “Move”
27. “Heated”
28. “Kitty Kat”
29. “Thique”
30. “All Up in Your Mind”
31. “Drunk in Love”
32. “America Has a Problem” Feat. Kendrick Lamar
33. “Pure/Honey”
34. “Summer Renaissance”
Renaissance: A Film By Beyoncé is in theaters now. Find more information here.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
: Mason Poole / 
