“It’s no big surprise that Beyoncé makes a song with 90s samples,” says Michele Cuvelier from Studio Brussel† “Drake also just released a house record (see below). It says something that that trend seeps through to commercial artists.”
“Nostalgia goes in phases and you see that the nineties are trendy again,” says the radio host. “Who knows, the next Rihanna album will also be inspired by house music… if we ever get that.”
Professor of pop music Jeroen D’hoe (KU Leuven) Beyoncé’s single mainly contains references to the 80s. “”Break my soul” is a positive, combative song with house and techno influences,” he says. “That sound originated as a counterculture in the 80s. Then the gay and black community came together because they didn’t always feel accepted in society.”
“House has meanwhile become mainstream and rebels against the established norms of our society,” continues D’hoe. “And Beyoncé is now doing that too. She clearly wants to make a social statement. Beyoncé is black herself and can therefore fully identify with this.”
–
