Beyoncé has once again outdone herself with this profound masterpiece.
Beyoncé worked on this country album for five years: With COWBOY CARTER, which was released today (March 29th), she is opening a new musical chapter.
With the key singles “16 Carriages” and “Texas Hold ‘Em” as well as a long list of country colleagues (for example Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton) who contributed to the album, the singer has once again achieved a major coup. The album is the continuation of a trilogy that Beyoncé began with “Renaissance” in 2022. She had already surprisingly released the two lead singles at the Super Bowl 2024 in a rare advertising appearance for her. And even though the album came out quickly, Beyoncé had been working on COWBOY CARTER for years.
Beyoncé: COWBOY CARTER is a statement for the country genre
As the US “Rolling Stone” reports, the project is mainly due to her experience of feeling excluded from this genre. “This album was worked on for over five years,” said the musician. “It grew out of an experience I had years ago when I felt unwelcome… and it was very clear that I wasn’t.” She was probably talking about the reaction to her performance with the Chicks at the CMAs Awards in 2016, where she performed the country song “Daddy Lessons” from “Lemonade.”
Her performance sparked outrage in Nashville and culminated in controversial conversations about her place as a Black woman in the country music genre. In COWBOY CARTER, Beyoncé highlights the history of country music and reminds us with a wink that it is an unmistakably black genre. One track on the album, “The Linda Martell Show,” shines a spotlight on the first Black female solo artist to perform on the Grand Ole Opry, whose promising country music career was destroyed by audience and management racism.
Listen to COWBOY CARTER here:
Here you will find content from Spotify
In order to interact with or display content from social networks, we need your consent.
Activate social networks
“I delved deeper into the history of country music and studied our rich musical archive. It’s a good feeling to see how music can unite so many people around the world, while amplifying the voices of some people who have dedicated so much of their lives to educating ourselves about our musical history,” said Beyoncé. “The criticism I faced when I first entered this genre forced me to overcome the limitations imposed on me. Act II is the result of the challenges I faced and the time I took to bend and mix genres to create this work.”