Kevin Aviance Was ‘Honored and Overwhelmed’ When Beyoncé Sampled Him on ‘Renaissance’
Queer nightlife icon Kevin Aviance was one of the many artists that Beyoncé sampled on her smash album Renaissance. When Aviance learned that the Queen Bey sampled one of his own songs, he was thrilled to be recognized by fellow royalty.
Beyoncé sampled Kevin Aviance’s ‘C***y’ on ‘Renaissance’
Kevin Aviance has been a fixture in the underground drag scene for decades. In 1996, he released the track “C***y,” which quickly became a staple in gay clubs.
Renaissance‘s penultimate track, “Pure/Honey,” samples Aviance’s classic song from the ’90s. In addition to Aviance’s sample, the track also includes elements of two other songs from queer icons: “Miss Honey” by famed drag queen Moi Renee and “Feels Like” by ballroom fixtures MikeQ and Kevin Jz Prodigy.
He was thrilled to be ‘honored’ by Beyoncé
While Kelis was famously not happy that Beyoncé sampled her song “Milkshake” on Renaissance, Kevin Aviance was over the moon just to know that his song lives on decades later — and that Queen Bey herself liked it so much that she worked it into a song.
“I feel like someone heard me. I’m vindicated. She gets it,” he told Page Six after the album’s release. “I’m just so honored and overwhelmed.”
“I heard it and I was like, ‘Wow!’ The song lives and that’s all I ever wanted it to do,” he continued.
The phrase “c***y” is often used in the LGBTQ community as a badge of honor rather than a derogatory term. “[It’s] more of… an anointment from God,” Aviance explained. “You’re the hottest. You’re together. You’re protected and no one can come for you.”
As for whether Beyoncé falls into that category? “Yes! [Beyoncé] is very c***y.”
‘Renaissance’ pays tribute to Black queer and trans artists
Aviance is only one of the many Black queer and trans artists whose contributions to culture were highlighted on Renaissance. The album itself is a celebration of house and disco music — two genres popularized by Black queer and trans people.
On the album’s second track, for example, Bey includes a sample from Ts Madison, longtime fixture in the LGBTQ entertainment world, who has gone mainstream in recent years thanks to roles in movies like Zola and Bros. For years, Madison lived largely in meme form, but Beyoncé acknowledged her true impact on culture as we know it. “This was a secret that I had to hold for a long time,” Madison confessed in an Instagram post following the album’s release. “Thank you @beyonce for understanding culture and knowing my staple and place in the community… Thank you for polishing my iconic status in the world and for handling your business professionally and me getting this bag.”
And of course, the album’s lead single “Break My Soul” samples Big Freedia’s 2014 song “Explode.” It’s not the first time Beyoncé has shown love to Big Freedia, as the New Orleans bounce artist was prominently featured in her 2016 hit single “Formation.”
