adminNEW YORK.- Beyoncé has hailed this summer’s liberation anthem with the release of her new single “Break My Soul” – and its Black queer roots are undeniable.
The song’s release earlier this week comes at the intersection of Juneteenth, Pride Month and Black Music month.
A house track at its core, the song samples Robin S.’s 1993 hit “Show Me Love” and vocals from Black queer bounce icon Big Freedia.
House music is a form of electronic dance music developed in the early 1980s in Chicago that quickly spread throughout underground music scenes in cities like New York, Detroit and London.
The genre has also increasingly influenced mainstream music. In 1989, Queen Latifah released a rap-house song “Come into My House.” Throughout the ’90s, Crystal Water’s “Gypsy Woman (She’s Homeless)” saw pop success as well as C+C Music Factory’s blend of hip-hop and house, which produced classics such as “Gonna Make You Sweat” and “Just a “Touch of Love.” Since the mid ‘00s, Grammy-winning producer Kaytranada has partnered with hip-hop and R&B artists.
Lesser known about house music is its roots in Black queer culture. It has been the soundtrack to Black queer nightlife as a liberating sanctuary.
The lyrics “Release your anger/Release your mind/Release your job/Release the tide/Release your trade/Release the stress/Release your love/Forget the rest,” sang by Big Freedia, who was also featured in Beyoncé’s 2016 song “Formation,” encourage listeners to free themselves from the stresses of everyday life and instead embrace love and joy.
Miami University musicology professor Tammy Kernodle said house clubs provided a space for young Black and Latinx queer communities to let go of negativity. She equated nights at these clubs to a spiritual, judgment-free experience in which house music’s hard-hitting bass, layered polyrhythms and beat drops created a sense of ecstasy among listeners.
“In terms of Black queer joy, these particular spaces and house music served as the kind of equivalent of church and gospel music,” Kernodle said. “These spaces were spaces that helped individuals reclaim their humanity from not just white majority spaces that looked upon them in certain ways, but also the Black community that distanced them.” – msn.cm
Mathew Masinge
Online Reporter