“A-O-T-Y I ain’t win.”
-Sweet Honey Buckiin
The morning after the 67th Grammys, I opened my phone to outrage on TikTok. “No one even listened to that album,” one user said, “Her album MAY have a nice meaning but the music sucked, she is not a country singer” and “Nobody liked or cared about that album” other comments read. Cowboy Carter, a genre-bending country album released by a black woman from Houston had somehow tilted the world on its axis, upheaving the schema the music industry had put in place decades ago. This reaction by fans was caused by Beyonce having won both Country Album and Album of the Year, though the latter was an honor Beyonce had never received. As a huge music lover myself, I was not shocked by this reaction, but it was unsettling to see the ignorance around this album and black history play out in full effect.
A Texan native, Beyonce was born and raised in Houston, living in the area well into adulthood. She grew up in the Third Ward neighborhood, home to the Eldorado Ballroom. The Eldorado Ballroom historically served as a stage for black artists to perform throughout the 20th century. Among these artists included many black music legends, such as Duke Ellington and Count Basie. Cowboy Carter salutes to Beyonce’s hometown roots, blending Southern genres and subgenres into a body of work that extends beyond being just another country album.
“They used to say I spoke, ‘too country,’ and the rejection came, said I wasn’t ‘country ‘nough.’”
-Ameriican Requiem
The 67th Grammys was not Beyonce’s first time receiving backlash for embracing her southern roots. At the 2016 Country Music Awards (CMAs), Beyonce performed her song “Daddy Lessons,” from her renowned album, Lemonade. This performance featured the Chicks (formerly the Dixie Chicks), which was generally considered a ‘political choice’ due to the Chicks’ prior harsh removal from the country music industry.
Though Beyonce’s performance became the CMA’s most-watched video to date, the CMAs removed the video from social platforms due to pressure from fans. Once the video had been removed, backlash spread, and the CMAs quickly re-released it. In footage and accounts from the original performance, it is evident the majority of the audience was not welcoming to Beyonce, placing her in the stereotypical box of her typical genres. Bey later went on to say, “This album has been over five years in the making, It was born out of an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed… and it was very clear that I wasn’t.” Regardless of the industry’s opinion of Beyonce’s venture into country music, her experience at the 2016 CMAs deeply impacted her future art, propelling her further into the world so determined to keep her voice out.
“Can you hear me? Or do you fear me?”
-Ameriican Requiem
Throughout history, black people have shaped the music we listen to and create, and country music is no different. Race records, recordings of black musicians created between the 1920s and 1940s were established in opposition to hillbilly music created by white Southerners in America. While both race records and hillbilly music were technically the same genres of music, they were advertised and sold to black and white audiences respectively. Even when black musicians were featured on hillbilly records, they were rarely given credit. As time went on, hillbilly music was eventually rebranded as country music, leaving race records, and subsequently black voices, in the dust.
With the rebranding of hillbilly records as country music, the black musicians who recorded race records continued to be marginalized. As country music was simply hillbilly records renamed, the black musicians who had dedicated their lives to creating music of the same sound found their legacies being erased, establishing a genre of white musicians for a primarily white audience. Thus, black country musicians were informally eradicated, furthering the division between these artists and their genres.
Understanding the background of black artists and country music helps us clearly view current dynamics within the industry. Today, black musicians make up less than 4% of artists in country music. This marginalization has been perpetuated by the lack of acceptance and support by the country music industry as a whole, not only to Beyonce but thousands of other black artists, creating the generally white landscape of country music we see today.
“Whole lotta red in that white and blue, history can’t be erased.”
-Ya Ya
Cowboy Carter as a holistic piece of art makes bounds and leaps for artists to create music that extends beyond the parameters of the genre they’ve been placed in. Set as a radio broadcast, the album opens with “Ameriican Requiem,” the double-I’ed title making a nod to the work serving as Act II in a series of Beyonce albums. Throughout the opener, Beyonce reflects on the history of black artists in country music. She discusses her own experience at the CMAs and reminds listeners of how racism has reshaped itself over time, singing, “For things to stay the same, they have to change again.”
“Blackbiird” the second song on Cowboy Carter features black country artists Brittney Spencer, Reyna Roberts, Tiera Kennedy, and Tanner Adell. In a cover of “Blackbird” by the Beatles, the singers weave past and present events together, reminiscing on the Little Rock Nine that originally inspired Paul McCartney’s version. With bird being a British slang term for a girl, both versions overtly reference the silencing of black voices in society, making a clear statement through a simple melody and classic Beatles charm.
Alongside black experiences and history within the country music genre, Cowboy Carter explores themes of motherhood, family, and love. Through the acoustic strumming of “Protector,” Bey whispers a lullaby to her children, telling them, “Even though I know someday you’re gonna shine on your own, I will be your projector.” Themes of love encapsulate many of the other hit songs on the album, including “Bodyguard,” in which Beyonce sings about her adoration for her husband, and “Levii’s Jeans,” a duet performed with Post Malone as an ode to the iconic western jeans brand.
The twelfth song on the album, “Spaghetti” is coyly named in reference to Spaghetti Westerns, films shot in Italy but sold as Americana wild west cowboy movies. This reference serves as a parallel to the country music industry’s roots, with the industry using race records as a platform to gain traction while selling their music off as primarily the white man’s song.
“This house was built with blood and bones, and it crumbled.”
-Amen
Featured on Cowboy Carter include Linda Martell, Willie Nelson, and Dolly Parton. The first black woman to gain commercial success in the country music industry, Linda Martell can be heard on the album saying, “Genres are a funny little concept, aren’t they?” Though Martell was a trailblazer for black men and women alike in the industry, she also was a prime example of the racism hidden just under the surface. During her career, Martell had listeners tell her she didn’t “sound black,” along with venue owners canceling shows due to her race. Eventually, Martell was told by her label that the white country singer they had signed would take precedence over her, indicating an end to her country music career.
Now embarking on her Chitlin Circuit tour, Beyonce continues to make nods to black artists, like Linda Martell, who paved the way for country music. The original Chitlin Circuit included a range of performance venues across America that had primarily black owners and served as a space for black performers and black audiences to connect. These spaces were most prominently used at a point in history when segregation was heavily enforced, including in the music industry. Beyonce’s reclamation of this tour signifies a shift in the way musical artists approach creating their art.
While music is subjective to listeners and critics alike, the impact a piece of art can have on a culture is profound. Serving as a bridge between the past, present, and future, Cowboy Carter transports listeners to a station that does not discriminate. Genres bend, banjos strum, and Beyonce builds a utopia for musical generations to come. Cowboy Carter’s conceptual excellence allows the album to act not only as a tribute to black history but as a work that uplifts black voices in spaces where they have been continuously marginalized.