Tina Knowles talks Sony’s criticism of “Dangerously in Love”
Klaudia//April 28, 2025
In a new memoir published on Tuesday (22 April), Tina Knowles revealed that when it came to Dangerously in Love, music executives at Beyoncé’s label, Sony, told her that there was “not one single” on the album, and that they needed to push back the release date.
The label suggested bringing in “a few tastemakers” to hear their thoughts on the new music, with Tina recalling that “only a couple people said something mildly positive”.
She added: “But even as they did, they looked around ducking for fear that they would be ostracised.”
Tina revealed that Beyoncé wanted to get her future husband, rapper Jay-Z, on the song “Crazy in Love” because the executives “wouldn’t talk to Jay like” they were allegedly talking to her daughter.
Jay-Z apparently told Beyoncé that every song on the album was “a smash”, speaking “as a fellow artist” who had “the drive the suits could never understand”.
“It was my first time witnessing Jay work,” Tina wrote. “He didn’t write anything down, just listened to ‘Crazy in Love’ two, three times in a row, and went to the mic and started rapping. Beyoncé and I were dancing, screaming, throwing fists in the air. It was a solution – not a compromise of her artistry, but a doubling down.”
While the label executives apparently conceded that “Crazy in Love” could be a hit, they were still doubtful about the rest of the album. Still, Beyoncé refused to push the album back: “I am the artist and I know that this is a hit record,” Knowles recalled her daughter saying.
Dangerously in Love received positive reviews from critics upon its release and debuted at the top of the US Billboard 200. It won five Grammy Awards in 2004 and produced several hit singles including “Crazy in Love”, “Baby Boy”, “Me, Myself and I”, and “Naughty Girl”.
Years later, Beyoncé apparently joked about the label’s opinion on the album not having one hit song: “I guess they were kinda right… I had five.”
The label suggested bringing in “a few tastemakers” to hear their thoughts on the new music, with Tina recalling that “only a couple people said something mildly positive”.
She added: “But even as they did, they looked around ducking for fear that they would be ostracised.”
Tina revealed that Beyoncé wanted to get her future husband, rapper Jay-Z, on the song “Crazy in Love” because the executives “wouldn’t talk to Jay like” they were allegedly talking to her daughter.
Jay-Z apparently told Beyoncé that every song on the album was “a smash”, speaking “as a fellow artist” who had “the drive the suits could never understand”.
“It was my first time witnessing Jay work,” Tina wrote. “He didn’t write anything down, just listened to ‘Crazy in Love’ two, three times in a row, and went to the mic and started rapping. Beyoncé and I were dancing, screaming, throwing fists in the air. It was a solution – not a compromise of her artistry, but a doubling down.”
While the label executives apparently conceded that “Crazy in Love” could be a hit, they were still doubtful about the rest of the album. Still, Beyoncé refused to push the album back: “I am the artist and I know that this is a hit record,” Knowles recalled her daughter saying.
Dangerously in Love received positive reviews from critics upon its release and debuted at the top of the US Billboard 200. It won five Grammy Awards in 2004 and produced several hit singles including “Crazy in Love”, “Baby Boy”, “Me, Myself and I”, and “Naughty Girl”.
Years later, Beyoncé apparently joked about the label’s opinion on the album not having one hit song: “I guess they were kinda right… I had five.”