In 1981, Maze featuring Frankie Beverly released a hit that’s cemented its presence from cassette tapes to streaming services for your summertime cookout playlist. “Before I Let Go” found a home at the thirteenth spot on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart during its release, but now its melodies are being housed under a new rendition.
In mid-April, Beyonce gifted fans with her take on the aforementioned single, which debuted to fanfare with the release of her Netflix Homecoming documentary. The program displayed a behind-the-scenes look at the production of her 2018 Coachella performance.
In an interview with Billboard, Beverly said the “All Night” singer’s team connected with him “a week or two age” to notify him of the remix. “When they played it, that’s when I heard the first draft of it, and I was blown away. It’s a blessing,” he said. “It’s amazing how she works, she’s very smart. I’m caught off guard, but in a beautiful way…Then the way she just released it, it’s off the chain. She’s done so much, this is one of the high points of my life.”
On the premise of the original song, Beverly said he reached a crossroads in a past relationship. “It was just up and down, and by the end of it, I wrote a song because I was feeling I needed to get out of it,” he shared. “I was so into the girl, but it just wasn’t working out. I was thinking, ‘What am I gonna do?’ and that thought inspired the song. I was going to try to do all of these things ‘before I let go.’ It was a situation I had to get out of, but I was in love.”
The legendary artist also revealed that he never imagined “Before I Let Go” would persevere in this capacity. “It really changed everything for me,” he said. “It was a huge song at the time, and it’s one of those things this band will be able to carry on forever.”
Beyonce’s rendition also sparked a #BeforeILetGo challenge which she promoted via her Instagram Story.
finally ! Beyoncé used IG stories for the first time since the first time (once) last year! And this time she used it to share fan videos of the #BeforeILetGoChallenge ! Y’all better go make some videos while she’s blessing y’all on her page! and play the lotto if your featured pic.twitter.com/OdYF4txj4A
— 🇵🇸 FADIA KADER (@FADIA) April 23, 2019
Nobody:
Absolutely Nobody:
My arse: #BeforeILetGoChallenge take 22! Action! pic.twitter.com/kaOXf0QzOv
— SyllabusMag (@SyllabusMag) April 23, 2019
#Get it in, Granma!! This is some inter-generational love. 🖤#BeforeILetGoChallenege pic.twitter.com/CdeEfJXG3i
— AliyatLecky (@aliyatlecky) April 25, 2019