In 2020, pop diva Beyoncé started on a trilogy of albums, the first of which, Renaissance, came out in July 2022. It was her first studio release in six years.
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In discussing the evolution of Renaissance, Beyoncé told Elle: “Creating this album allowed me a place to dream and to find escape during a scary time for the world. It allowed me to feel free and adventurous in a time when little else was moving. My intention was to create a safe place, a place without judgment. A place to be free of perfectionism and overthinking. A place to scream, release, feel freedom. It was a beautiful journey of exploration.”
Letting Loose
One of the irrepressible anthems on Renaissance is “Cuff It,” the album’s second single which was co-written by nine people including Beyoncé, singer/songwriter Raphael Saadiq, and guitarist Nile Rodgers. Saadiq and The-Dream were two of the five co-producers on the track. The song is an exuberant jam with a ’70s and ’80s funk and R&B flavor with funky guitar and brass, sweetly dulcet vocal harmonies, and a more organic sound than a lot of the pop music that’s out today.
Saadiq told Vulture the song was originally meant for his recently reformed group Tony! Toni! Toné! “That record was going to be a Tonyies record, the part that just sounds like [mimics the ‘Cuff It’ guitar riff],” he explained. “But I gave it to a friend of mine and said, ‘I got this record. I was going to do it, but what about Beyoncé?’ She’s one of those people where if she’s feeling it, she’s going 100% in. I said, ‘It’s going to move people. It’s going to work, I’m telling you.’ I think she just put it away. From what I heard, The-Dream eventually found it. And he was like, ‘What is that!’ I already knew it was one of them joints. I always said, if you drop the right music on an artist, it could go, but I’m glad she has so many eyeballs on her, you know what I mean? You can’t really trick people, it’s got to be good. Beyoncé’s a hard worker. I told her, ‘I’ve always knew we would work together at some point.’ Like I said, it’s all about timing.”
Speaking to GQ, The-Dream elaborated about the song’s recording: “With “Cuff it” we were trying to graduate the song to a certain space, so it needed a certain lift on it. ‘F–k Up The Night’ was already there and I remember Bey saying, ‘I need you to do that Dream thing you do. … It just needs to go up.’ And man, we just got in the room and I was just thinking of ideas of who could make it. As a producer, I’m trying to figure out how to simulate exactly what we were feeling or wanted to feel with that song. What’s a Vegas night at 2 a.m. in the morning, you know, what’s going to make it a thing? And I said ‘I gotta call Nile [Rodgers]. I gotta call Nile!’ And of course the base of the record was already there and established and Bey had brought the thing halfway home. It was just about making sure we went to outer space at the end. So we went from the juke joint and put it on the spaceship.”
Interpretations May Vary, But The Vibe is Universal
Fans have really glommed onto the song because it feels like it’s something that they really needed to hear and feel, especially back in 2022 when many parts of the world were coming out of extended lockdowns.
I feel like fallin’ in love (fallin’ love)
I’m in the mood to f–k somethin’ up (tonight, I’m f–kin’ somethin’ up, baby)
I need some drink in my cup (I need a drink)
Hey (pour me a drink)
I’m in the mood to f–k somethin’ up (I’m in the mood to f–k somethin’ up)
I wanna go missin’
I need a prescription
I wanna go higher, can I sit on top of you? (Ooh-la-la-la, la-la-la)
I wanna go where nobody’s been (wanna go where nobody’s been)
Have you ever had fun like this? (Have you ever had fun? Yeah)
Many listeners have interpreted the lyrics to “Cuff It” in different ways. Some view it as an overall liberating anthem in the wake of a socially isolating. Others view it as a song about just getting it on, which the latter half certainly is about. It could be with a longterm lover or a one-night stand. There are also references to getting high as spaceships. Overall, regardless of what one gets from it, the song elicits a joyful reaction, and with this album Queen Bey wanted to express that feeling with aplomb.
Cuffed to Success
While it did not join her large collection of No. 1 singles, “Cuff It” still hit No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and went Top 10 in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Ireland New Zealand, South Africa, and the UK, where it hit No. 5. It did at least 3 million units in sales globally, and it went on to win the 2023 Grammy for Best R&B Song.
Beyoncé has explored deeper personal and social themes on recent albums, but there is always room to party and have fun too. With “Cuff It,” she wanted to inspire a return to the dance floor and getting out there and having fun, and her fans certainly appreciated it.
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Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images for Coachella
