In honor of her birthday Beyoncé drops a fully remastered, expanded 20th anniversary edition of her iconic second studio album B’Day.
Originally released on September 4, 2006, the iconic collection was recorded in just two weeks with a then-25-year-old Beyoncé, that included two guest appearances from her then-boyfriend JAY-Z, while the deluxe and international editions featured Bun B of UGK, Slim Thug, Shakira, and Alejandro Fernández.
In advance of the superstar singer/songwriter’s July 4 trip around the sun, Queen Bey released ‘Morning Dew (Donk),’ which was orignally leaked in 2003, followed by a JAY-Z remix a month later.
The new expanded 2026 iteration includes a series of Spanish-language songs featuring Colombian superstar Maluma on ‘Cuerpo Tumbao (Get Me Bodied,’ that samples ‘Celia Cruz’s ‘La Negra Tiene Tumbao’ in a tribute to Hispanic legend’s pride and defiance. ‘Irreemplazable (Como La Flor)’ features Selena – a rare approval from the late singer’s estate and a symbolic duet between two Texas icons who broke barriers in their genres.
In addition to the music, Mrs Carter had the original 35mm videos remastered and re-colored in 4K, including the Sophie Muller-directed ‘Déjà Vu’ with JAY-Z.
Fans will enjoy never-seen photos shot in New Orleans during the city’s post-Katrina rebuild – a place the songstress has deep family roots and wanted to honor.
Wanting the re-issued project to be “big, percussive, hard, up-tempo, and energised”, “preserving the bridges, melodies, and harmonies that have always been at the heart of R’n’B,” the now ?-year old musician said:
“I wanted the album to be big, percussive, hard, up-tempo, and energised,?and it was important to me that we used live instrumentation.” “Hip-hop was taking over at the time, but I was fighting to preserve the bridges, melodies, and harmonies that have always been at the heart of R’n’B. The goal was to blend those two worlds through the art of sampling. I loved the minimalism of a beautiful vocal arrangement over a simple drum loop or a classic guitar like ‘Irreplaceable’…but only if that 808 was banging underneath.”
The anniversary edition arrives in multiple formats, including standard and deluxe vinyl, CD and a digital deluxe with 31 tracks.
Fans can also collect the Deluxe Vinyl: a 4LP Bayou Blue edition with a 60-page booklet, art prints and previously unreleased tracks including ‘Can I Watch You’ with Pharrell and ‘My First Time,’ originally cut from Dangerously in Love. B-sides ‘Lost Yo Mind,’ ‘Creole’ and ‘Back Up’ also return.
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Author: Al Dente
Photo: J.ébey