Beyoncé and Madonna have teamed up for a royal collab, “Break My Soul (The Queens Remix).” Beyoncé’s latest remix Renaissance single arrived on Friday, just in time for the weekend party to begin.
The percolating remix interpolates Madonna’s “Vogue” with Beyoncé flipping the script of the iconic spoken-word section from 1990, where the Material Girl lists Hollywood stars of the Golden Age. In Bey’s take, she pays homage to current and past influential black women who have changed the game for culture — from Aaliyah, Rosetta Tharpe and Santigold, to Rihanna, Nicki Minaj and Chloe x Halle.
“Bessie Smith, Nina Simone (Vogue)/Betty Davis, Solange Knowles,” Beyoncé sings on the house remix, intertwined with Madonna’s “Vogue” lines. “Badu, Lizzo, Kelly Rowl’ (You Know You Can Do It)/Lauryn Hill, Roberta Flack/Toni, Janet, Tierra Whack (Let Your Body Move To The Music)/Missy, Diana, Grace Jones/Aretha, Anita , Grace Jones (Hey, hey, hey)/Helen Folasade Adu, Jilly from Philadelphia, I love you, boo (Come on, vogue).
The new version of “Break My Soul” comes days after releasing a collection of four remixes of the track from Will.i.am, Honey Dijon, Terry Hunter and Nita Aviance.
Whereas Renaissance received rave reviews, it had a bumpy rollout, which isn’t typical of megastar releases. She removed the word “spaz” from her song “Heated” after facing backlash from disability rights advocates who said the word was an ability slur (Lizzo was the subject of a similar controversy earlier this summer). Beyoncé also canceled an interpolation of “Milkshake” from “Energy” after Kelis criticized her for using the 2003 hit, calling it an act of “theft.” The removal of lyrics, as with these two songs, also raises questions about the growing malleability of music as a digital product.
