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Friday, March 29, 2024

Cowboy Carter!


The Bey Hive is buzzing about the latest album from the Queen, Beyonce.

"Cowboy Carter" was released on Friday. It is expected to go No. 1 on the Billboard charts.

The crossover from hip-hop, R&B, pop and now country music.

The album is released through Parkwood Entertainment and Columbia Records.

Executive produced by Beyonce Knowles-Carter, this album has country, soul, folk and gospel.

Bey dropped two hybrid country songs: “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages.” All of that heralded her latest album, “Act ll: Cowboy Carter,” out Friday.

As a Black woman reclaiming country music, she stands in opposition to stereotypical associations of the genre with whiteness. “Cowboy Carter” was five years in the making, a direct result of what Beyoncé has called “an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed … and it was very clear that I wasn’t,” most likely a reference to a 2016 CMAs performance that resulted in racist backlash.

Fast forward eight years, and last month, she became the first Black woman to ever top Billboard’s country music chart. The “Cowboy Carter” doesn’t shy away from country: the track list has teased potential collaborations with Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson and included a mention of the “Chitlin’ Circuit,” a Jim Crow-era network of Black entertainment venues. One song is titled “The Linda Martell Show,” after the performer who became the first Black woman to play the Grand Ole Opry.

Nevertheless, she declared on social media, “This ain’t a Country album. This is a ‘Beyoncé’ album” — in 10 words separating herself from the industry while still identifying herself as someone working in and with the genre.

Conceptually, Cowboy Carter is presented as a broadcast by a fictional radio station (called KNTRY Radio) in Texas, with country singers Dolly Parton, Linda Martell and Willie Nelson acting as radio DJs. The album also features lesser known country artists such as Tanner Adell, Brittney Spencer, Tiera Kennedy, Reyna Roberts, Shaboozey and Willie Jones, alongside collaborations with musicians Miley Cyrus, Post Malone, Rhiannon Giddens, Stevie Wonder, Nile Rodgers and Jon Batiste. Two co-lead singles supported the album—"Texas Hold 'Em" and "16 Carriages".

Upon release, Cowboy Carter was praised by critics for Beyoncé's embrace of country music in context of celebrating the genre's Black roots with emphasis on the vocal performance and lyrics. Publications opined that Cowboy Carter highlighted Black musicians' place within country music, causing the listenership of Black country artists on streaming platforms and country radio to increase.

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