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Pure/Honey

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"Pure/Honey"
Song by Beyoncé
from the album Renaissance
ReleasedJuly 29, 2022 (2022-07-29)
StudioThe Juicy Juicy, Kings Landing West, and Parkwood West, Los Angeles
Genre
Length4:48
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Lyric Video
"Pure/Honey" on YouTube

"Pure/Honey" is a song recorded by American singer Beyoncé. It is the fifteenth track on her seventh studio album, Renaissance (2022), which was released on July 29, 2022, through Parkwood and Columbia.

Composition

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It is a love letter. It's a love letter to my community, the Black gay community. And the gay community too, but I'm not going to be pussyfooting. I'm trying not to call people out or anything like that. All I'm saying is that it's a bit different [being] Black and gay in America. When someone like Beyoncé [sees you] ... it's incredible. There's so many kids that have a hard time. I'm very lucky. I have a beautiful mom, a beautiful dad, and they love me, I love them. But there are a lot of kids who don't have that and are kicked out of their homes. So if someone like Beyoncé can make their day better because she is embracing all of that and a bag of chips, Miss Thing, and just carrying and looking ovuh and amazing, very confident about it and not wish-washing, then that's beautiful.

— Kevin Aviance on "Pure/Honey"[1]

Similar to many songs in Beyoncé's career, the song consists of two parts, "Pure", a "steely and sexy" ballroom track, and "Honey", a "paisley and passionate" disco track.[2][3]

"Pure" samples "Feels Like" by MikeQ & Kevin Jz Prodigy and "Cunty (Wave Mix)" by Kevin Aviance and features sharp synth-bass-led instrumentation with Beyoncé rapping in the same vein as a ballroom emcee.[3][1][4]

"Honey" samples "Miss Honey" by Moi Renee and features Beyoncé singing over a "soulful", funk-influenced brass production, done by Raphael Saadiq.[3][4] This part of the song was compared to Beyoncé's 2013 track "Blow".[5]

I had a tube in the 251 mic going bad during recording. It was noisy, and at first I was like: '[...] I'm gonna have to use noise reduction software and hope it still sounds right.' Then I realised that in the context of the song it was kinda cool, so I made it work. [...] I added compression, and this brought up the room sound, and I also added some McDSP FutzBox saturation, and it became part of the effect.

— Stuart White on producing "Pure/Honey".[6]

Critical reception

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In a ranking made by Billboard, Kyle Denis ranked the song at number six, calling the second half of the song an "overall highlight" in Beyonce's career and praising her versatility of going from "full ball emcee" to a "funky, sultry vocal performance".[2]

Julianne Escobedo Shepherd, a writer at Pitchfork, called the track "stunning", saying it braided together years of ballroom culture.[7] Jordan Danville of The Fader compared the second half of the song's vocal melodies and funkiness to Janet Jackson and Prince respectively.[3] In a review by Rolling Stone, Will Dukes commended the song, deeming it a "vogue-friendly bop" that showcased Beyoncé's vocal abilities that was reminiscent of Etta James and Tina Turner.[8]

Craig Jenkins of Vulture wrote that along with many other songs on the parent album, "Pure/Honey" illustrated Black dance music history, saying it "juxtaposed '80s radio pop, brash beats, braggadocious commentation of ballroom competitions, and rhythmic gymnastics of New York rap".[9]

Use in other media

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In 2024 the song was use by Rabanne for fragrance campaing directed by Mert Alas and Manu Cossu, with Gigi Hadid as ambassador.[10][11][12] Tamara Santillán of Elle Mexico wrote that the song " seems to be created for the perfume thanks to the verse that goes, “It should cost a billion to look this good.”"[13] Marie Claudel of Harper's Bazaar France wrote that the song rappresent the message of the campaing about "the ultimate anthem of female empowerment and success".[14]

Commercial performance

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After the release of Renaissance, "Pure/Honey" debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart at number 64 and on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart at number 26.[15]

Personnel and credits

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Samples

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  • contains a sample of "Miss Honey", written by Andrew Richardson, Count Maurice, and Moi Renee and performed by Moi Renee.
  • contains a sample of "Cunty (Wave Mix)", written by Eric Snead and Jerel Black and performed by Kevin Aviance.
  • contains a sample of "Feels Like", written by Michael Cox and Kevin Bellmon and performed by MikeQ & Kevin Jz Prodigy.

Recording locations

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  • Kings Landing West (Los Angeles, California)
  • The Juicy Juicy (Los Angeles, California)
  • Parkwood West (Los Angeles, California)

Personnel

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Performers

  • Vocals by Beyoncé
  • Background vocals by Dixson and Blu June

Musicians

  • Beyoncé – drum programming, horn
  • Lee Blaske – strings
  • Bloodpop – drum programming
  • The-Dream – additional drums
  • Keyon Harrold – trumpet
  • Kenneth Whalum – saxophone
  • Stuart White – additional drums

Technical credits

  • Beyoncé – production, vocal production
  • Bloodpop – co-production
  • Matheus Braz – assistant engineering
  • Chi Coney – engineering
  • John Cranfield – engineering
  • Hotae Alexander Jang – recording, assistant engineering
  • NovaWav – production
  • Andrea Roberts – engineering
  • Stuart White – mixing, recording

Live performance

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Beyoncé performing "Honey"-part on the Renaissance World Tour in 2023

Beyoncé first performed "Pure/Honey" in Stockholm, Sweden on the opening night of the Renaissance World Tour.[16] The song takes place in the "Mind Control" act of the tour, following "America Has a Problem". The performance begins with an introduction by Kevin Jz Prodigy, calling Beyoncé the "Mother of the House of Renaissance".[17] During this introduction, a fish-eye lensed selfie camera is brought to Beyoncé, which is then held by her while her and her dancers are voguing. During the "Honey" portion of the performance, Beyoncé includes elements of "Blow".[18]

Charts

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Certifications

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Certifications and sales for "Pure/Honey"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[27] Platinum 40,000‡
United States (RIAA)[28] Gold 500,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ a b Frank, Jason P. (July 30, 2022). "Kevin Aviance Was 'Overwhelmed' When He Heard Beyoncé Had Sampled His Music". Vulture. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
  2. ^ a b Denis, Kyle (July 29, 2022). "Every Song Ranked on Beyonce's 'Renaissance': Critic's Picks". Billboard. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d Danville, Jordan (August 1, 2022). "Song You Need: Beyoncé brings us to her ballroom on "PURE/HONEY"". The FADER. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  4. ^ a b Brain, Eric (August 2, 2022). "Dissecting Beyoncé's 'RENAISSANCE' Samples". Hypebeast. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
  5. ^ Morris, Wesley (July 30, 2022). "America Has a Problem and Beyoncé Ain't It". The New York Times. Retrieved November 2, 2023. On "Pure/Honey" Beyoncé breaks through wall after wall until she gets to the chamber that holds all the cousins of her 2013 sizzler "Blow."
  6. ^ Tingen, Paul. "Stuart White: Recording & Mixing Beyoncé". Sound on Sound. Retrieved 2024-03-27.
  7. ^ Escobedo Shepherd, Julianne (August 1, 2022). "Beyoncé: Renaissance". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
  8. ^ Dukes, Will (July 29, 2022). "Beyoncé Hits a Seductive Sweet Spot on 'Renaissance'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
  9. ^ Jenkins, Craig (August 1, 2022). "Beyoncé's Sequined Revolution". Vulture. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
  10. ^ Longabaugh, Aj (August 26, 2024). "Gigi Hadid is Pure Million Gold for Rabanne". V Magazine. Retrieved August 27, 2024.
  11. ^ Weil, Jennifer (August 26, 2024). "Gigi Hadid gets snap happy for Rabanne's Million Gold for Her: the supermodel appears in the fragrance's campaign set to Beyoncé's "Pure/Honey."". WWD. Retrieved August 27, 2024.
  12. ^ Romagnuolo, Vittoria (August 26, 2024). "Beauty, Gigi Hadid è il nuovo volto di Million Gold For Her di Rabanne". Sky TG24 (in Italian). Retrieved August 27, 2024.
  13. ^ Santillán, Tamara (August 26, 2024). "Gigi Hadid es la imagen de Million Gold de Rabanne y baila al ritmo de Beyoncé". Elle Mexico (in Spanish). Retrieved August 27, 2024.
  14. ^ Claudel, Marie (August 26, 2024). "New face : Gigi Hadid devient l'égérie du parfum Million Gold For Her de Rabanne". Harper's Bazaar France (in French). Retrieved August 27, 2024.
  15. ^ Zellner, Xander (August 8, 2022). "Beyoncé Sends All 16 Songs From 'Renaissance' Onto Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  16. ^ Ruggieri, Melissa (May 10, 2023). "Beyoncé Renaissance tour set list: See all the songs on her nearly 3-hour show". USA Today. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  17. ^ Greenberg, Zoe (July 1, 2023). "The voice of Beyoncé's 'Renaissance Tour' is a Philly legend. Kevin JZ Prodigy told us what it was like to work with the Queen". Inquirer. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  18. ^ Calise, Gabrielle (August 17, 2023). "Review: Beyoncé's Tampa concert was a fierce celebration of Black, queer love". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved November 2, 2023. There was a sprinkle of "Blow" during "Pure/Honey"
  19. ^ "Beyonce Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  20. ^ "Beyonce Chart History (Global 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  21. ^ "Beyoncé – Alien Superstar". AFP Top 100 Singles. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  22. ^ "Local & International Streaming Chart Top 100 Week 31-2022". The Official South African Charts. Retrieved June 1, 2024.
  23. ^ "Beyonce Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
  24. ^ "Beyonce Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  25. ^ "Hot Dance/Electronic Songs – Year-End 2022". Billboard. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
  26. ^ "Hot Dance/Electronic Songs – Year-End 2023". Billboard. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
  27. ^ "Brazilian single certifications – Pure/Honey" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
  28. ^ "American single certifications – Beyoncé – Pure/Honey". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
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