New Beyoncé music is coming our way and we couldn’t be more excited. On Thursday, the Queen Bey announced that her highly-anticipated seventh studio album Renaissance is dropping July 29. Following her 2016 award-winning record Lemonade, the forthcoming album includes “act i” in the title, leading fans to hope for multiple releases.
The Beyhive knew something special was on the horizon when the artist removed all of her profile photos from social media. (Beyoncé pulled a similar stunt before Lemonade‘s release.) With four unique box sets available for pre-order on Beyoncé’s official website, the package comes complete with a T-shirt, CD, a mini poster, and a 28-page photo book. The box sets begin shipping out on July 29 in concert with the album’s release.
On Thursday morning, both Columbia Records and the streaming service Tidal, posted a black square with “act i” and RENAISSANCE emblazoned on each side, captioning the post, “Beyoncé RENAISSANCE July 29.” The Grammy-winning artist changed her social media bios to reflect the upcoming release. According to a tweet from BeyLegion, it appears the album will have 16 tracks.
Renaissance will mark Beyoncé’s first solo album in the last six years. She released her debut solo project Dangerously in Love in 2003 after her start with the trio Destiny’s Child. The record follows 2006’s B’Day, and 2008’s I Am…Sasha Fierce, 2011’s 4, 2013’s Beyoncé, and 2016’s Lemonade.
Since 2016, the star has appeared on 2018’s Everything Is Love alongside her husband Jay-Z, The Lion King: The Gift soundtrack for the 2019 live-action Disney adaptation, and 2019’s Homecoming: The Live Album, commemorating her Coachella performance from the year before.
On June 15, the “Formation” singer’s BeyGOOD Foundation tweeted a statement in tribute to Black Music Month, posting a collage of iconic records alongside the words, “Celebrating the brilliance and creativity of Black Musicians who have influences the world through their art.”
Fans and members of the hive spotted the cover of Brandy’s 2020 album B7, noting that Beyoncé’s next album would also mark her seventh studio album as well.
