Los Angeles Times

Beyoncé’s ‘Renaissance’ is a landmark expression of Black joy (and you can dance to it)

LOS ANGELES — Consider the wiggle released. When Beyoncé told fans about her seventh solo studio album, “Renaissance” — and let’s just say right here that as far as seventh albums go, this one feels like as big a swing as “Born in the U.S.A.” or “Ray of Light” or “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” — she said she hoped the music would lead them to “release the wiggle,” a lovable phrase borrowed from ...
Beyonce accepts the award for Best R&B Performance at the 63rd Grammy Award outside Staples Center on March 14, 2021, in Los Angeles.

LOS ANGELES — Consider the wiggle released.

When Beyoncé told fans about her seventh solo studio album, “Renaissance” — and let’s just say right here that as far as seventh albums go, this one feels like as big a swing as “Born in the U.S.A.” or “Ray of Light” or “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” — she said she hoped the music would lead them to “release the wiggle,” a lovable phrase borrowed from the New Orleans bounce-music trailblazer Big Freedia.

What Beyoncé meant is that she wants these songs to help folks find the encouragement to be their truest selves; the jubilant drive of the album’s 1990s-house-inspired lead single, “Break My Soul” (which also incorporates

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