Beyoncé Has Always “Been Country”

Yee-haw, or should I say, “Bey-haw!” The queen has done it again. On Friday, March 29th, Beyoncé dropped the second installment of her trilogy-musical project, Cowboy Carter. This 27-track album features artists such as Dolly Parton, Miley Cyrus, Post Malone, and Willie Nelson. On the record, Beyoncé shares the spotlight with Black country artists who have historically not received the recognition they deserve in the music industry. Track 2 is a cover of The Beatles’ “BLACKBIIRD,” (with two “I”s to represent Act II) with vocals from Beyoncé, Tanner Adell, Brittney Spencer, Tiera Kennedy & Reyna Roberts. The beautiful blend of voices brings this song to life in a way never heard before.

Beyoncé Knowles Carter dropped Renaissance in 2022 as a tribute to house music and a love letter to the Black, queer artists who invented and progressed the genre. Renaissance and Cowboy Carter are two albums of what will be a three album trilogy. During the pandemic, Beyoncé used this project to escape from the chaotic world around her and tap into every ounce of her creative self. Making the album gave her “a place to be free of perfectionism and overthinking.” Two years after releasing Renaissance, Beyoncé revealed the album cover of her second “act,” Cowboy Carter, in full Cowboy-esque attire as she is saddled upon a Lipizzaner horse, in a stunning latex red, white, and blue suit and a cowboy hat that acts as the queen’s crown. She holds the reins to the horse in one hand as a testament to her southern Texas roots, and an American flag in another hand that is fading away into the darkness. 

After the successful release of Renaissance and a world tour with an accompanying film, Beyoncé has decided that her fans were ready for more content. A Beyoncé album is never just an album. It’s a movement. A renaissance, if you will. Cowboy Carter is Beyoncé’s highly anticipated country-inspired album which sparked much backlash and controversy online. Beyoncé announced Act II of her musical project at this year’s Super Bowl in partnership with Verizon and their Super Bowl commercial which ends with Beyoncé saying, “Okay, they’re ready, drop the new music.” This announcement left fans in a frenzy, running to their respective music streaming apps to eagerly refresh their feeds. When “Texas Hold ‘Em,” and “16 Carriages” dropped, it became clear that the queen was going country. At least, that’s what the internet thought. But what many fail to realize is that Beyoncé didn’t just go country, she’s always “been country.”

Much of the controversy has stemmed from “die-hard” country music fans who claim that Beyoncé is “making anyone think they can go country” and ruining the genre’s reputation. Many failed to realize that Beyoncé was not only born in Houston, Texas but has released many tracks that fall into the country or Americana genres over the course of her career. A prominent example is Beyoncé’s track “Daddy Lessons” from her 2016 album, Lemonade, along with songs dating back to her membership in the girl group, Destiny’s Child. That same year, Beyoncé performed “Daddy Lessons” alongside the Dixie Chicks, who are well-known country musicians, at the Country Music Association Awards, or CMAs. Attendees of the award ceremony have since spoken out recalling the response to the performance, claiming that audience members were booing the performance, and heckling racist remarks during and after the performance. When posting the album cover on Instagram, Beyoncé writes in the caption that this album has “been over five years in the making. It was born out of an experience that [she] had years ago where [she] did not feel welcomed.” While she has not confirmed whether or not this resulted from the CMA performance, many fans speculate that it is the catalyst of the album.

It’s become clear that Beyoncé’s “going” country isn’t the issue, but rather a Black, female artist reclaiming the genre, is. Country music has and always will have its roots in Black artists. The truth is that country music has never been white. Country music is Black. Country music is Mexican. Country music is Indigenous. When Renaissance was released, Beyoncé made it known that she researched the history behind the dance and house genres, and gave a spotlight to the Black queer artists that created the genre. In the film, Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé, she talks about the importance of reclaiming the space and “giving this community the flowers they’ve always deserved.” The album acts as a love letter to the community in which its legacy has been rewritten for them. Cowboy Carter is no different. 

Beyoncé has always made it clear that she is proud of her roots and her ancestry. In “Formation,” she takes pride in her “Alabama daddy” and her “Louisiana mama.” She frequently mentions these home states in her lyrics. Cowboy Carter rumored to have been set to be titled Beyincé, a nod to the history of her family’s surname and how her name came to be. Beyoncé’s mother, Tina Knowles, has spoken out about her family’s name and its history. Beyoncé intentionally misspelled her name to refer to a clinical error that happened on her mother’s birth certificate and other members of her family. Tina Knowles revealed that her maiden name is Celestine Beyincé, and that the misspelled name, “Beyoncé” was due to an error on behalf of the hospital staff. She further comments on the difficulty of changing names as a Black family living under Jim Crow laws, and recalls telling Beyoncé, “‘Be happy that you’re getting a birth certificate’ because, at one time, Black people didn’t get birth certificates.” In an alternate cover of the album, Beyoncé is seen standing nude in a post similar to the Statue of Liberty with a sash that reads “Beyincé” to honor her family’s true legacy.

Cowboy Carter speaks to her roots and her ancestry, but goes beyond her connection and acts as an ode to the concept of generation, pride, and pushing beyond the status quo. The album also dissects America’s identity and gives a voice to those silenced. From a musical standpoint, the album itself is nothing short of genius. From the instruments and the lyrics, to the flawless transitions between each song, the album acts as a piece of art. An example I find most interesting happens when you play the album on a loop, (which many members of the BeyHive have been doing) you end with the track “AMEN.” As the song closes, listeners can hear a whir, and a change in tempo as the track seamlessly transitions to the opening track “AMERIICAN REQUIEM.” The opening line of the song? A beautiful harmony of the simple phrase, “Nothing really ends.” A testament to not only the beauty of the album, but the ambiguity of our nation as the rest of the track asks you to think about your place in America. I encourage you to give the album a listen, if not for the musicality, but for the poetry woven in. Beyoncé is shining a light on the face of our nation and is telling us, “Now is the time to let love in.”

Photo Credit: The cover of Cowboy Carter was shot by L.A.-based photographer Blair Caldwell.