Maps of Music

4 (2011)

Where the lyrics of 4 take you, and where it was really made.

Beyoncé's fourth album was written and recorded in New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Sydney, yet its cover was shot on a rooftop in Paris.

Key places

Where most of 4 was recorded (2011)

Recording site MSR Studios — MSR Studios was the final New York City-based studio used, and it is where most of 4 was recorded. Live instruments such as drums, keyboards, guitar and bass were recorded here. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Early sessions at Jungle City (2011)

Recording site Jungle City Studios — Schoolin' Life, 1+1 and Start Over were recorded at Jungle City Studios in New York. This was one of the studios used during the early New York sessions. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Wiltshire room for Love On Top (2011)

Recording site Real World Studios — During international sessions, the team worked at Peter Gabriel's Real World Studios in Wiltshire to create Love On Top, using Gabriel's multi-instrument room. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

A Sydney mansion studio (2011)

Recording site Albert Studios — Beyoncé joined Jay-Z in a Sydney mansion while he worked on Watch the Throne with Kanye West. There they built a primitive studio to record. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Rooftop cover shoot in Paris (2011)

Album cover Hôtel Meurice — The cover of the standard edition was shot on the rooftop of the Hôtel Meurice in Paris. Beyoncé wore a fox-fur stole by Alexandre Vauthier for the image. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• 4: the fourth studio album by Beyoncé
• Released 24 June 2011 by Parkwood Entertainment and Columbia Records
• Recorded from March 2010 to May 2011
• Produced by Beyoncé with Babyface, Jeff Bhasker, Kanye West, Kaskade, Brent Kutzle, Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic, Switch and The-Dream, among others
• Only featured guest: André 3000 of Outkast
• Conceived as a record rooted in traditional rhythm and blues, apart from contemporary popular music

Background

• Took a career hiatus in 2010 after I Am... Sasha Fierce (2008) and its world tour
• First album made after ending the working relationship with her father and manager Mathew Knowles
• Conceived as an intimate album that departed from the commercially oriented music of her earlier releases
• Collaborators The-Dream, Tricky Stewart and Shea Taylor shaped a subdued tone with 1970s and 1980s funk, hip-hop and soul influences
• Lyrics address monogamy, female empowerment and self-reflection
• Early direction influenced by Nigerian Afrobeat musician Fela Kuti

Recording

• Recording began in March 2010 at Roc the Mic Studios in New York City
• Most of the album was recorded at MSR Studios in New York City
• Sessions also took place in London, Sydney, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Honolulu
• Mixed mostly at MixStar Studios in Virginia and mastered at Sterling Sound in New York City

Cover

• Shot on the rooftop of the Hôtel Meurice in Paris
• Standard edition cover revealed on Beyoncé's website on 18 May 2011
• Fox-fur stole by designer Alexandre Vauthier, embellished with Swarovski crystals by the Lesage embroidery house

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Disc 1

Disc 2

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Rose to fame in the late 1990s as the lead singer of Destiny's Child, one of the best-selling girl groups in history.
• Solo debut album Dangerously in Love (2003) became one of the best-selling albums of the 21st century.
• Destiny's Child disbanded in 2005 after the Destiny Fulfilled... and Lovin' It tour.

Career

• Released B'Day (2006), I Am... Sasha Fierce (2008), 4 (2011), Beyoncé (2013), Lemonade (2016), Renaissance (2022), and Cowboy Carter (2024).
• Renaissance and Cowboy Carter form a trilogy highlighting the overlooked contributions of Black pioneers to dance music and country music.
• Estimated sales of over 200 million records; the most-certified female artist by the RIAA.
• Holds a record 35 Grammy Awards, 30 MTV Video Music Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award.
• Headlined Super Bowl XLVII halftime show (2013) and the Coachella festival (2018).
• Acted in films including Dreamgirls (2006), Cadillac Records (2008), and The Lion King (2019).

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Metacritic assigns a weighted mean score to reviews from mainstream critics; the album received an average score of 73, based on 36 reviews
• Michael Cragg of The Observer, Mikael Wood of Spin and Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone praised the ballads and the personal, retro-informed sound
• Adam Markovitz of Entertainment Weekly and Alexis Petridis of The Guardian were less enthusiastic about the ballads and the 1980s influence
• Several publications placed the album on their year-end lists

Reappraisal

• The New Yorker ranked it the best album of 2011
• Pitchfork ranked it 31st among the 200 best albums of the 2010s
• Rated R&B named it the greatest R&B album of the 2010s decade

Records

• Debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 310,000 copies in the United States
• Became Beyoncé's first album to spend more than one week at number one on the Billboard 200
• Peaked at number one in Ireland, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom
• Certified quadruple platinum by the RIAA in August 2022
• Won R&B Album of the Year at the 2012 Billboard Music Awards
• Love On Top won Best Traditional R&B Performance at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The album was first leaked online in full on 7 June 2011, and Beyoncé's legal representatives sent warnings to infringing websites
• Beyoncé headlined the Pyramid stage at the Glastonbury Festival on 26 June 2011, the first solo female artist to do so in more than twenty years
• Kanye West helped with the production of Party after Beyoncé was impressed by his work on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
• Frank Ocean was asked to write and record I Miss You at MSR Studios
• The deluxe edition was available exclusively through Target stores in the United States
• The album was Beyoncé's first that did not feature a single reaching number one or the top ten of the US Billboard Hot 100

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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