Break My Soul

Fans Are Mashing Up Azealia Banks Songs With Beyonce’s ‘Break My Soul’ And Azealia Banks Hates It

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2022 is rapidly shaping up to be the Summer Of Black Dance thanks to new releases from Drake and Beyonce that tapped into the sounds of early and contemporary house music. While Drake shocked the world with the release of his surprise album Honestly, Nevermind, Beyonce brought the energy with her motivational anthem “Break My Soul,” earning approval from house music pioneer Robin S. in the process. This has prompted an ongoing discussion about the role of Black Americans in the creation of house music and related forms and their place in the current subculture.

One of the ways this discussion has manifested itself is in renewed or increased attention to the works of artists in the space like Kaytranada, Leikeli47, Doechii, and Azealia Banks. Some enterprising fans have even taken to creating mashups of “Break My Soul” with songs by Azealia Banks — a time-honored tradition of the dance music scene.

Unfortunately for those fans, Azealia Banks herself is not having it. The outspoken, often controversial Harlem rapper has never been afraid to upset the apple cart or take aim at sacred cows, and despite no cow being more sacred than Beyonce, Banks risked the Beyhive’s ire to demand fans stop mixing the two artists’ music. “Please for the love of God, stop the ‘Break My Soul’ AB mashups,” she wrote in a post on her Instagram Story. “They are horrible.”

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For what it’s worth, the main mashup I was able to find online — which added AB’s verses from “F*ck Him All Night” to Beyonce’s new runaway hit — is highly competent and sounds pretty good, but let’s face it: Azealia Banks has always been a bit of a contrarian (he wrote with as much sarcasm as he could muster). Given that her ongoing and growing list of feuds includes Cardi B, Elon Musk, Kanye West, Megan Thee Stallion, and more, it doesn’t seem that Banks has any qualms about adding yet another fan-favorite media personality to that list.

An Emotional Robin S. Thanks Beyoncé Profusely For Being Sampled On ‘Break My Soul’

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“Show Me Love” by Robin S. isn’t just a banger: It’s one of the ultimate 90s house bangers. The diva house classic dominated top-40 radio when it came out in 1990 and has maintained its pizzazz in the 30-plus years since. The remixes and then the remixes of the remixes are still dancefloor staples at clubs around the world because Robin S. brought pure heat to the thunderous groove. And now as we begin to reckon with hip-hop’s inevitable shift towards dance music production thanks to Drake’s surprise dance music album, Honestly, Nevermind, and Beyoncé’s surprise single, “Break My Soul,” it’s time to give credit to innovators like Robin S. when it’s due.

This is exactly what Beyoncé did on “Break My Soul.” The “Crazy In Love” star’s new track uses the infectious stem from “Show Me Love” throughout her new single and it’s just the greatest hat tip imaginable to Robin S. In a recent video that surfaced of Robin S., she’s over the moon at the inclusion of her hit on what’s sure to be one of this summer’s biggest pop music hits.

“This is Robin S. and this message goes out to the Queen Bey herself, Beyoncé,” the emotional singer said in the clip. “To Jay-Z, to the entire team… Thank you so much for giving me my flowers while I’m still alive. I am honored and I am excited to see what else can happen.”

Robin S. said her son called her to say that she was “trending all over the place,” and that even though she was not contacted ahead of time before “Show Me Love” was sampled in “Break My Soul,” she added, “Maybe we can do a collab together. That’s always a dream.”

Watch a clip of Robin S.’s video message above and watch the original video for “Show Me Love” below.

The-Dream Says He Loves ‘Making You Guys Happy’ After Seeing The Reaction To Beyonce’s ‘Break My Soul’

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Last week, Beyonce sent the world into a frenzy with the announcement that her seventh album Renaissance would arrive at the end of July. The chaos picked up when she revealed the project’s lead single, “Break My Soul” would be made available for fans on Tuesday. The song arrived a few hours earlier than expected as fans were given the opportunity to press play on it with just hours left in the Juneteenth holiday. Beyonce received sweeping praise from her fans for the song, and The-Dream, one of the song’s co-writers, took to Twitter to thank fans for their words.

“I Love Making You Guys Happy,” The-Dream wrote on Twitter before adding, “and even if for a second I can give anything of [myself] to help you get through a moment in these crazy times I’d use my entire heart to do so.” He continued, “No one’s f*cking sleeping tonight! @Beyonce we have done something special yet again my good friend.”

In addition to The-Dream, Beyonce’s “Break My Soul” also features songwriting from Tricky Stewart, Jay-Z, Fred McFarlane, Allen George, and others. The song itself samples Big Freedia’s 2014 bounce record “Explode” and Robin S.’ 1993 single “Show Me Love.”

You can view The-Dream’s tweet above.

Big Freedia Is Pumped About Beyoncé Sampling Her On ‘Break My Soul’

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We are truly in the midst of surprise release season. First Drake came through with Honestly, Nevermind and now Beyoncé arrives with “Break My Soul,” which, like the Drake album, is also a fresh dose of dance music. Beyoncé got some help on this one, as the track samples Big Freedia’s “Explode,” about which Freedia is pleased.

Freedia wrote on Instagram last night, “It feels surreal to be on the track with the Queen Beyonce once again I’m so honored to be apart of this special moment I’m forever grateful lord. someone please catch me. [Blaqnmild] my brother and I been working along time congratulations fam. [Beyonce] love you so much.” Freedia also added in an Instagram Story, “Overwhelmed with tears of joy. my God is so real the things he can do in your life. only if y’all know where I come from and how hard this journey has been I’m forever grateful thanks so much for loving me for who l am. this for all of y’all.”

Big Freedia Instagram
@bigfreedia/Instagram

The release of “Break My Soul” has parallels to that of Beyoncé’s “Formation,” which was also a surprise release back in 2016 and also features Freedia, who provides ad libs on the track.

Beyoncé Releases The New Single ‘Break My Soul,’ A Confident Anthem

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After rebooting her social media profiles and sending fans into a frenzy over something called “Renaissance,” Beyoncé’s has just released a new song “Break My Soul,” which is a single from the forthcoming album of that title. It’s a confident, clubby anthem with inspiring lyrics: “Now I just fell in love / And I just quit my job / I’m gonna find new drive / Damn they work me so damn hard.” It previews a relentlessly catchy LP.

The track is four and a half minutes, giving enough time for fans to fully relish it. Her last full-length record was 2016’s iconic Lemonade, so this is a real treat. She also mentioned that Renaissance will be heavy on both country and dance tunes, and this single definitely proves the latter.

In a 2021 interview, Beyonce hinted at Rennaissance when she said discussed working on new music: “With all the isolation and injustice over the past year, I think we are all ready to escape, travel, love, and laugh again. I feel a renaissance emerging, and I want to be part of nurturing that escape in any way possible. I’ve been in the studio for a year and a half. Sometimes it takes a year for me to personally search through thousands of sounds to find just the right kick or snare. One chorus can have up to 200 stacked harmonies. Still, there’s nothing like the amount of love, passion, and healing that I feel in the recording studio. After 31 years, it feels just as exciting as it did when I was nine years old. Yes, the music is coming!”

Listen to “Break My Soul” above.

Beyonce Confirms ‘Break My Soul,’ A New Song, Is Coming Tonight

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Beyonce is entering a new era, but so far, she’s done so quietly; The recent announcement of her upcoming album Renaissance came via Tidal and an update to her social media bios. Now, she’s back with more covert news, as it looks like she’s releasing a new song tonight: This morning, she again updated her online profiles to read, “6.ㅤ ㅤ BREAK MY SOUL ㅤ midnight ET,” seemingly indicating that a song called “Break My Soul,” presumably the sixth track on Renaissance, is dropping tonight at midnight.

Spotify also tweeted about “Break My Soul,” echoing Beyonce in saying that it’ll be out tonight.

As for what Beyonce’s upcoming music will sound like, recent reports have indicated the LP will incorporate dance and country music.

In a 2021 interview, Beyonce perhaps slyly hinted at Rennaissance when she said of working on new music, “With all the isolation and injustice over the past year, I think we are all ready to escape, travel, love, and laugh again. I feel a renaissance emerging, and I want to be part of nurturing that escape in any way possible. I’ve been in the studio for a year and a half. Sometimes it takes a year for me to personally search through thousands of sounds to find just the right kick or snare. One chorus can have up to 200 stacked harmonies. Still, there’s nothing like the amount of love, passion, and healing that I feel in the recording studio. After 31 years, it feels just as exciting as it did when I was nine years old. Yes, the music is coming!”