Breaking Down Beyoncé's B'Day...20 Years Later | The Rolling Stone Studio

20 years after the ‪@beyonce‬ delivered her pop masterpiece 'B'Day,' social media editor Elise Brisco and writer Larisha Paul head to The Rolling Stone Studio to discuss the superstar's sophomore project. #beyoncé On Beyoncé flexing her acting chops: "I want to say 'Irreplaceable' was honestly the video that kind of stuck out the most to me off bat. I feel like there's not as much narrative in pop videos [these days]. And she was really acting like her and that man they hired to play in this video was just like...they were going through this horrific breakup. And I was like, nobody wants to do a fake breakup for the cameras anymore. Just go and do the stuff, throw the stuff outside, throw the keys, snatch, do all the things. And I think she was just such a. And obviously she was leaning into her acting stuff a little bit more around this time." On the influence that B'Day had on Beyoncé's discography: "It is so foundational to everything that we know and love and understand about Beyoncé now. I think we've obviously seen her come into this mastery of a certain kind of craftsmanship and skill and that goes on the production side, on who she's recruiting and the rooms that she's working in and how she's presenting it. Even the visual album stuff we mentioned before, but also just the way that she, the Beyonce, the experience live, all of that, the way she is kind of archiving her career starts with B'Day in a lot of ways. I think for me, it's like you don't get "Diva" without B'Day. You don't get "Don't Hurt Yourself" without B'Day. You don't get "Cuff It" without B'Day. Every single album that came after B'Day is rooted in that record so deeply." On the 'B'Day' song that has stood the test of time: "I think the more time that I've spent with 'B'Day' throughout my life, "Get Me Bodied" is the most consistent probably out of all of them. I was hearing it at the family cookouts and the family reunions and the block parties. I think especially growing up and being in New York, being in the Bronx specifically, it was just one of those songs you could blast out your car and you're driving around. You're in the backseat of someone's car who's driving around and you're just kind of hearing it everywhere. But then I also think it lends itself to community in a very specific way of having this dance break moment." ⸻ Hosts: Elise Brisco, Larisha Paul Director of Social & Video: Waiss Aramesh Executive Producer: Christopher Hwisu Kim Senior Producer: Viviane Feldman Producer & Colorist: Mitch Saavedra Social Video Editor: Sim Tumay Creative Director: Joe Hutchinson Executive Music Editor: Christian Hoard Co-Editors in Chief: Sean Woods, Shirley Halperin CEO: Julian Holguin    / rollingstone