Tyrant (Beyoncé song)

The song was written by Beyoncé, Cam, The-Dream, Dominik Redenczki, Ezemdi Chikwendu, and produced by the singer herself with D.A. Got That Dope, Dave Hamelin, Khirye Tyler, and Kuk Harrell.^[1] Musically, the song pays homage to Dolly Parton's technique of rubbing the nails of the hand to reproduce a sound, invented for her song "9 to 5" (1980).^[2] It is a Southern rap track^[3] built on a looped violin sample and programmed trap beats^[4] using a Roland TR-808 drum.^[5][3] In an interview D.A. Got That Dope explained that he sent the song beat to The-Dream in 2023, without knowing it was selected by Beyoncé since her team invited him to Parkwood studio to hear the final result only some weeks before the album's release.^[5]

The song featured vocal contribution by Parton in the first half of the track, addressing Beyoncé as Cowboy Carter and inviting her to "strike a match and light up this juke joint!".^[6][7] The song is the second contribution by Parton on the album track order, after her speaking interlude "Dolly P." which introduces Beyoncé's cover of "Jolene".^[8]

Kyle Denis of Billboard defined the song a "spiritual successor" of Renaissance's tracks "Thique", in which the singer "sing-raps over a sexy, fiddle-laden trap beat".^[9] In another article, Denis noted that there were shared lyrics in songs from Renaissance, such as "Cuff It" and "Alien Superstar".^[10]

Alexis Petridis of The Guardian also praised the song, associating it to Renaissance music influences.^[11] Mawunyo Gbogbo of ABC News Australia appreciated the song which musically "straddles both country and hip hop" and that "it hits you in the chest with that beat instantly and conclusively".^[12]