Ever since “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM” and “16 CARRIAGES” dropped, there’s been plenty of coverage about Beyoncé and country music. As a Beyoncé fan and a Black listener, the discourse has been interesting, especially since the dominant narratives seemed to be either “Why in the world would Beyoncé be interested in country music?” or “Yes! ‘Daddy Lessons’ was amazing, the CMA performance was amazing, and she’s literally from Houston, so of course country is in her blood.”
But consider this: “This ain’t a Country album. This is a “Beyoncé” album.” That’s not the opinion of an academic, a music critic, or a random person on the internet). That’s Beyoncé’s own assertion.
Track 12 on Cowboy Carter, “SPAGHETTII,” opens with a voiceover from another Black woman pioneer — Linda Martell, the singer who previously held the highest charting single from a Black woman on the Billboard Country chart until Beyoncé broke it with “Texas Hold ‘Em” earlier this year. During the intro, Martell says, “Genres are a funny little concept, aren’t they? … In theory, they have a simple definition that’s easy to understand. But in practice, well, some may feel confined.”
Beyoncé historians will note that Beyoncé’s previous foray into country music was back in 2016, with “Daddy Lessons” on Lemonade. That year, she performed alongside the Dixie Chicks (now known as the Chicks) at the 50th Country Music Awards to much backlash. To some, it was impossible to avoid the political motivations, since Beyoncé had recently taken a more overtly political stance on other songs in the album, including “Formation” and “Freedom,” which was at odds with the conservative viewpoints of some country stars and fans.
Posting about Cowboy Carter on Instagram, Beyoncé wrote about how that experience, in which she “did not feel welcomed… and it was very clear that [she] wasn’t” was part of what birthed this album. That doesn’t mean the backlash is over, but Beyoncé noted, “The criticisms I faced when I first entered this genre forced me to propel past the limitations that were put on me.”
The confinement of genre is an external sensation that oppresses Black artists and attempts to stifle their creativity. Nowhere is this more apparent, I’d argue, than in the negative responses to the CMA performance in 2016 and the release of “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM” earlier this year. Many have noted the similarities between today’s discourse and the release of Lil’ Nas X’s “Old Town Road,” which seemed to gain legitimacy as a country song only after his remix featuring (white) country legend Billy Ray Cyrus was released.
While an Oklahoma radio station was quickly bashed for rejecting a request to play “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM,” it was later explained that they had not yet heard the song and didn’t realize it was country. Still, it’s telling that they heard the name Beyoncé and instantly responded that they “do not play Beyonce’ … as we are a country music station.” Beyoncé had already been boxed in, despite the fact that she’s explored many genres (again, including country) in the past.
It’s almost amusing that Beyoncé saw the backlash coming and wrote it into “AMERIICAN REQUIEM,” the opening track of Cowboy Carter: “Used to say I spoke, ‘Too country’/ And the rejection came, said ‘I wasn’t country ‘nough’ / Said I wouldn’t saddle up, but / If that ain’t country, tell me what is? / Plant my bare feet on solid ground for years / They don’t, don’t know how hard I had to fight for this / When I sang my song.”
Consider this your friendly reminder that nearly every genre of music out there was pioneered by artists of color, from country and blues to jazz and rock and roll. Even modern-day pop has its roots in the Black church.
Her callout of her critics touches on their hypocrisy, as well as her claims to the genre. A key part of this claim is recognizing the role that Black people have served historically in the formation of the country genre (along with others). But while Beyoncé uses Cowboy Carter to pay homage to Black country artists of past and present like Linda Martell, Willie Nelson, Tanner Adell, and Shaboozey, she also uses it to blur the traditional lines of genre and prove that genre doesn’t need to be confining if you ignore the fact that it’s there at all.
From the rap focus of “SPAGHETTII” (featuring Shaboozey, a Black artist who’s recently risen in fame as an avid genre-bender and genre-blender), to the operatic aria that serves as the bridge of “DAUGHTER,” Beyoncé makes it clear that she can work in any genre she’d like to — even on the same project.
Genre, as a form of categorization, for artists of color has been — to put it plainly — oppressive. It’s gone beyond categorizing art to shape dominant views of communities and cultures that are already often underrepresented in the mainstream. This can be seen in the exclusion of Beyoncé from country-oriented spaces while other (white) mainstream stars can browse genres as they like, or in the way that ideas of “Black music” seem to be restricted to R&B and hip-hop/rap. Consider this your friendly reminder that nearly every genre of music out there was pioneered by artists of color, from country and blues to jazz and rock and roll. Even modern-day pop has its roots in the Black church.
What Beyoncé is doing through Cowboy Carter isn’t new. Of course, we can go back to Renaissance and the way it defined the Summer of 2022 by celebrating Black queerness and house music, putting a spotlight on a tradition that certainly hadn’t died, but had become relegated to the background. We can also go back to 2019, when The Gift and its accompanying visuals Black Is King featured Beyoncé collaborating with African artists on afrobeats tracks and showcasing the diverse beauty of the diaspora. Even Beyoncé’s Coachella performance in 2018, Homecoming, celebrated Blackness by bringing in marching band music and dancers emblematic of HBCUs.
By crossing genres, Beyoncé and other artists of color are able to reclaim the styles of music that they pioneered before the mainstream pushed them out.
As one of the biggest performers on the planet, every time Beyoncé so much as breathes, the world seems to pay attention. While she may not be known for using that power to explicitly involve herself in political or social issues with formal statements, she does so deliberately through her artistry. It’s not just Black Panther berets at the Superbowl or cops in music videos, it’s also in the lyrical content. “AMERIICAN REQUIEM,” instantly evoked, for me, the traditions of Black protest music, from Sam Cooke to Marvin Gaye.
The whole album is rich with Black Southern tradition, from the focus on religion and the mentions of grits and Jiffy cornbread to the shoutouts of specific places, like New Iberia, Louisiana, Galveston, Texas, and Gadsden, Alabama.
Her working with other artists in the genres she’s exploring gives their name a boost in recognition, and hopefully introduces a new audience to another great artist. By crossing genres, Beyoncé and other artists of color are able to reclaim the styles of music that they pioneered before the mainstream pushed them out. That’s what the idea of a renaissance is all about, after all: revival and renewal.
Hopefully, all three acts of Renaissance will continue to push the traditional mainstream, challenge genre boundaries, and open doors for more Black artists across the industry to exist in genres that pushed them out or blend the genres that interest them. Of course, we as consumers have to be a part of that change by recognizing the importance of representation across genres. (Black singers do more than R&B, y’all.)
And even if you’re not a country fan, I encourage you to try out Cowboy Carter and its featured artists. It’s not just country. It’s Beyoncé.