The Lyrics To Beyoncé’s “I’m That Girl” Are Peak Main Character
She is that girl. Never forget.
Beyoncé’s long-awaited album, Renaissance, is finally here. Let’s just say, I smell a well-deserved Grammy nomination with this drop. The record, which dropped on July 29, is the singer’s first full-length album since the release of Lemonade in 2016. Sure, Beyoncé’s kept busy with other projects like her Homecoming: The Live Album and the Afrobeat-inspired Black Is King soundtrack, but Renaissance is the singer’s first solo album in six years; however, the hiatus turned out to be absolutely worth it.
Beyoncé returned to her status as a pop icon on Renaissance. In her signature fashion, the “Break My Soul” crooner delivered a lush and haughty record destined for the summer, specifically with the first track, “I’m That Girl.” Sonically, this number is a gift that keeps on giving, and it finds Beyoncé tapping into some braggadocious energy. “I’m That Girl” is a blockbuster opener that sets the tone for the whole album.
The track begins with a gritty sample of Tommy Wright III and the late Princess Loko’s 1998 hit, “Street Sh*t,” which is such a perfect touch to this song. On the classic record, Princess Loko effortlessly flows about, well, that street sh*t. The South Memphis rapper confidently boasts about how she’s the original “It Girl,” and no one can replicate her aura. That fiery energy was meant for this song.
The trap sample heavily shines throughout Bey’s track, even with the production peddling back and forth between different sounds. In the first verse, Beyoncé is well aware that she’s the main attraction, as she should. She coos,
“I pull up in these clothes, look so good / ‘Cause I'm in that hoe / You know, all these songs sound good / ‘Cause I'm on that hoe.”
As she gradually flows to the chorus, the “Street Sh*t” sampling slightly washes out and a pulsing beat flows in. Charismatically, Beyoncé reminds listeners that her confidence doesn’t lie in her “diamonds and pearls” or “her man” (sorry, JAY-Z) but in her natural aura, just like Princess Loko did on “Street Sh*t.” She radiates magnetic energy by just being herself.
“It's not the diamonds / It's not the pearls / I'm that girl (I'm that girl) / It's just that I'm that girl (I'm that girl) / It's not my man / It's not my stance / I'm that girl (I'm that girl) / It's just that I'm that girl,” she warmly croons in the chorus.
Beyoncé steadily builds the ammunition by adding those layered harmonies in the second verse. She even taps into her inner Yoncé in the bridge, flexing raunchy lines like, “You know love is my weakness / Don't need drugs for some freak sh*t,” and “I'm just high all the time, I'm out of my mind / I'm tweakin’.”
Suddenly, Beyoncé goes beast mode (or should I say “Ape Sh*t”) in the final verse. The gritty “Street Sh*t” sample slightly fades out and paves the way for the singer to go all in. Seriously, I mean all in. Beyoncé’s infectious Texas drawl makes its debut here, and it’s so good. With those ghostly melodies floating in the background, she devours the beat with such pulsing tenacity. She belts,
“Freakin' on the weekend / I'm indecent, let it begin / I be pullin' up in that '92 DeVille Cadillac with them vogues, losin' my mind.”
She even teases the fact that she owns a couple of Basquiat’s paintings, which is such a flex. Finally, that ravenous “Street Sh*t” sampling makes its last appearance before slowly fading out to the end. With an upbeat opener such as this, I have no other choice but to bow down.
Check out the lyrics to Beyoncé’s “I’m That Girl” below via the singer’s official lyric video on YouTube.
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