Pure/Honey


"Pure/Honey" is a song recorded by American singer Beyoncé. It is the fifteenth track on her seventh studio album, Renaissance, which was released on July 29, 2022, through Parkwood and Columbia. It was written by Beyoncé, Nova Wav, BloodPop, Dixson, Michael Pollack, The-Dream and Raphael Saadiq, and produced by Beyoncé, Nova Wav and BloodPop.

Composition

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.
"Pure" samples "Feels Like" written and performed by MikeQ & Kevin Jz Prodigy as well as "Cunty ", written by Eric Snead and Jerel Black and performed by Kevin Aviance. This section features sharp synth-bass-led instrumentation with Beyoncé rapping in the same vein as a ballroom emcee.
"Honey" samples "Miss Honey" written by Andrew Richardson, Count Maurice and Moi Renee, and performed by Moi Renee. It features Beyoncé singing over a "soulful", funk-influenced brass production, done by Raphael Saadiq. This section was compared to Beyoncé's 2013 track "Blow".
The track had additional production by Saadiq, The-Dream, Stuart White and Mike Dean.

Critical reception

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".
Julianne Escobedo Shepherd, a writer at Pitchfork, called the track "stunning", saying it braided together years of ballroom culture. Jordan Danville of The Fader compared the second half of the song's vocal melodies and funkiness to Janet Jackson and Prince respectively. 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.
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".

Use in other media

In 2024 the song was use by Rabanne for fragrance campaign directed by Mert Alas and Manu Cossu, with Gigi Hadid as ambassador. 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.”" Marie Claudel of Harper's Bazaar France wrote that the song represented the message of the campaign about "the ultimate anthem of female empowerment and success".

Commercial performance

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.

Personnel and credits

Samples

  • 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 ", 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

Personnel

Performers
Musicians
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

Beyoncé first performed "Pure/Honey" in Stockholm, Sweden on the opening night of the Renaissance World Tour. 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". 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".
The "Honey" portion returned for the Cowboy Carter Tour in 2025 in a mashup with "Sweet Honey Buckiin" and "Summer Renaissance." Beyoncé sung the first verse of the song to Cowboy Carter's "Honey" instrumental before transitioning to its original Renaissance tune.

Charts

Year-end charts

Chart Position
US Hot Dance/Electronic Songs 99