So, how many times did you listen to Beyoncé’s Renaissance this past weekend? We lost count. Queen Bey’s latest album was released on Friday and we have never seen an album take over conversations online the way that it did this weekend – well, besides Beyoncé’s Lemonade. The album laid down the roots of its cultural impact and has become one of the most talked about albums of 2022.
As everyone keeps talking about it, more fun facts keep popping up about Renaissance. One in particular came from the Beyoncé fan account @BlackIsKing on Twitter.
Beyoncé didn’t just describe the Pride pride flag on “Cozy” – she specifically described Daniel Quasar’s “Progress” pride flag to bring to the forefront marginalized LGBTQ+ people of color, trans people, and those living with / lost to HIV/AIDS 👑 #RENAISSANCE pic.twitter.com/hg5mTevnAM
— #1 RENAISSANCE STAN (@BIacklsKing) July 29, 2022
The account pointed out that Beyoncé highlights the colors of the pride flag in the lyrics of “Cozy” off of the new album. But not just any pride flag, but rather the progress pride flag created by queer nonbinary artist and graphic designer Daniel Quasar. Check out the lyrics below.
Black like love too deep
Dance to the soles of my feet
Green eyes envy me
Paint the world pussy pink
Blue like the soul I crowned
Purple drank and couture gowns
Gold fangs a shade God made
Blue, black, white, and brown
Paint the town red like cinnamon
Yellow diamonds, limoncello glisterin’
Rainbow gelato in the streets
Renaissance, yachtin’ in Capri
Now listen to the lyrics and get into Beyoncé’s allyship.
Beyoncé really said “I believe that harmonies are colors” on “Cozy” https://t.co/pnvgp7MfF3 pic.twitter.com/FcD9mGlMYg
— #1 RENAISSANCE STAN (@BIacklsKing) July 31, 2022
Her mind!
The pride flag was recreated by Quasar in 2017 and 2018 to included the brown and black stripes and trans flag stripes to emphasize the Black, Brown, and trans communities within the LGBTQ community. And in “Cozy”, as well throughout Renaissance, Beyoncé is placing LGBTQ folks front and center.
The album took much of its direction from house music. The dance inducing genre gets its origins from Black and Latinx queer nightlife, with sounds resonating in Chicago, Illinois and echoing out in New York City. DJs like Ron Hardy, Frankie Knuckles, and Larry Levan pioneered a musical sound that pieced together elements of disco, R&B, and synthesized pop into what we know now as house music.
DJs like Chicago-born Honey Dijon, who helped produce “Cozy”, carry the genre forward and push the boundaries of the sound that was created in spaces for Black and Latinx queer and trans folks to find freedom within music. With Renaissance, Beyoncé pays homage to Black LGBTQ culture, while making it a bridge to new generations of Black queer and trans folk. Not to mention, Black queer and trans people, like Big Freedia, Ts Madison, Honey Dijon, and Moi Renee, are featured on the album in some way.
Renaissance is a non-stop celebration of self, life, love, and community and many LGBTQ folks can get behind that.
this woman… ugh i love her sm https://t.co/UHFFgXAyqQ
— abhi (@abhigyawn) August 1, 2022
Im weak, the easter eggs in this album are endless and I’m LIVING https://t.co/U2o1WIydYK
— Ken X Y (@i_ken_XY) August 1, 2022
sobbing https://t.co/MBrJUeuTPf
— jax 🦕 (@augustlpss) August 1, 2022
Nah. Wait. This is fire. The intention behind the music and lyricism. https://t.co/1DSMktfYoi
— Cuff It Quise (@MarquiseDavon) August 1, 2022
HER MIND!!! https://t.co/JGf9AWDCnt pic.twitter.com/XVYot5C1GT
— Jo 🏳️⚧️ – listen to @Teroknoir (@HelloCallMeJo) August 1, 2022
Every time I think I'm ready to go listen to something other than #RENAISSANCE I see things like this and get pulled back in pic.twitter.com/7EOu1luVwI https://t.co/8i5LbzTRzO
— Trini Trent 🇹🇹 (@TriniTrent) July 31, 2022
This makes me bump Cozy up in my personal rankings even further 😭 https://t.co/o8ZK0TWgCy
— Twilit Aries (@twilitaries) July 31, 2022
We love to see it.