4

4 is the fourth studio album by the American singer and songwriter Beyoncé. It was released on June 24, 2011, by Parkwood Entertainment and Columbia Records. Recorded from March 2010 to May 2011, the album was produced by Beyoncé alongside Babyface, Jeff Bhasker, Kanye West, Kaskade, Brent Kutzle, and Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic, Switch, and The-Dream, among others. The album features a single lead guest appearance, from André 3000 of Outkast. Following a career hiatus that reignited her creativity, Beyoncé conceived 4 as a record rooted in traditional rhythm and blues that stood apart from contemporary popular music. 4 was Beyoncé's first album after she ended her working relationship with her father and manager Mathew Knowles. She conceived 4 as an intimate album that departed from the commercially oriented music of her past releases. Her collaborations with songwriters and record producers The-Dream, Tricky Stewart, and Shea Taylor resulted in a more subdued tone that incorporates vocal styles and influences from 1970s and 1980s funk, hip-hop, and soul music. From Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4_(Beyo...) under Creative Commons Attribution CC-BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...)