Credit: Raph PH

Beyoncé has changed recently. From her transition into country music with her album Cowboy Carter to her exploration of house music on Renaissance, she is far more than just a pop artist in 2024.

When she broke the mainstream in 2003 with her debut album, Dangerously In Love, it was unclear whether or not the vocalist would have a short-lived career or would be a mainstay on the charts. With hindsight, it was obviously the latter.

Although Bey has always boasted velvety vocals as a solo artist, her early tracks can be seen as an extension of the 1990s neo-soul era. With her southern roots, she arguably followed in the footsteps of acts such as Erykah Badu and Robert Glasper in bringing the region’s rich musical history to the masses. Although this may be argued by many.

Despite the ever-changing landscape of music and the growth of rap as a genre, the more she evolves, the more it seems like Beyoncé is moving away from hip-hop. Whether it’s Jersey club music or a modernised style of disco, her versatility has become more apparent, and her albums more ambitious.

Even with the chasm between her and rap culture growing larger, Beyoncé remains hip-hop adjacent. Since her marriage to Jay-Z in 2008, she has been a permanent part of the culture and has wielded her power by featuring on tracks with various MCs, including the likes of Nicki Minaj, DJ Khaled and Megan Thee Stallion.

It’s worth noting, though, that Bey has collaborated with her husband the most frequently. However, the vocalist has always loved hip-hop and soul. In a 2009 interview with Ken Bruce for the BBC segment ‘Tracks Of My Years’, Beyoncé listed the songs she considers the closest to her heart.

While speaking about her love of soul music, Beyoncé explained to Bruce, “I grew up in Houston, Texas, and my mother owned a hair salon. And they always listened to really smooth music, and I will never forget my childhood – I had my share of Anita Baker. She has the smoothest voice, and her tone is so beautiful.”

In previous interviews, the ‘End Of Time’ singer has even cited landmark figures such as Nina Simone and Billie Holiday as inspirations, which shows her deep knowledge of musical history, a wisdom that cannot be attributed to her peers.

As she elaborated on her love for Anita Baker, Beyoncé told Bruce, “It doesn’t matter what lyrics or what melody [she’s singing], it’s just to hear her sing ‘ooh’, ‘aah’, or anything – it’s just so beautiful and soothing. I love how this song makes me feel, and Anita Baker is one of my inspirations. I’ve met her quite a few times, and she’s one of the legends that is so sweet and embraces young talent. She is one of my heroes.”

However, unexpectedly, the Texas native turned to rap music, heaping praise upon Lauryn Hill and her track ‘Ex-Factor’, professing, “Lauryn Hill is one of the best hip-hop rappers ever, not to even mention her vocal ability as a singer and a songwriter. This was another album where it was hard to pick the song I love the most. But I admire her so much”.

She added: “She is just raw, and her soul shines through when she sings. This song is so passionate; it’s a little sad but infectious, I could listen to it over and over again.” However, there was one last British singer Beyoncé turned her attention to: Sade.

From the 2000 album Lovers Rock, the vocalist unveiled that the song ‘By Your Side’ has a great deal of meaning to her for family reasons. Delving into the details, the Houston singer explained, “Picking a Sade song is really hard because she has so many classics. ‘By Your Side’ is a really important song to me because my first nephew was born to ‘By Your Side’.”

She concluded, “It was playing in the delivery room, and it was one of those moments. It was so incredible; we were all crying.” You can see a list of Beyoncé’s three favourite tracks below.

Beyoncé’s three favourite songs:

• Anita Baker – ‘Sweet Love’, Rapture, (1986)
• Lauryn Hill – ‘Ex Factor’, The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill, (1998)
• Sade – ‘By Your Side’, Lovers Rock, (2000)