Beyoncé has released the second act of her RENAISSANCE franchise, titled COWBOY CARTER, which explores a blend of disco and country music. She gave us a glimpse of this unique combination with her debut tracks “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages.” Notably, “Texas Hold ‘Em” made history by propelling Beyoncé to the top of the country music charts, making her the first black woman to achieve this feat.
During Super Bowl Sunday, Beyoncé announced the upcoming release of COWBOY CARTER while also unveiling her debut tracks. The inspiration behind this album stems from her controversial performance at the 2016 CMA Awards, where she performed “Daddy’s Lessons” from her album LEMONADE alongside The [Dixie] Chicks. Unfortunately, her performance received backlash and racism from the country music community.
In response to the negativity, Beyoncé delved deep into the history of country music and created a twenty-seven track album. COWBOY CARTER features collaborations with country legends like Willie Nelson, Linda Martell, and Dolly Parton. Additionally, she includes artists such as Post Malone, Miley Cyrus, and emerging black country artists like Tanner Adell, Brittney Spencer, Tiera Kennedy, Reyna Roberts, Shaboozey, and Willie Jones.
The success of COWBOY CARTER is evident, as it has claimed the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 chart. This achievement marks Beyoncé’s eighth studio album to reach No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
COWBOY CARTER took fans by surprise with its country theme, especially after the disco and house music of the first act, ‘RENAISSANCE’.
“I honestly didn’t expect Beyoncé to do country music; she has dabbled in it before but I didn’t see it coming after Renaissance with it being so pop-esk,” said Madison Joubert. “But Beyoncé, she’s from Texas she has a soul in her, so I’m really glad that she’s dabbled into it more and is getting back to her roots.”
Everyone’s first impression is different but you can’t deny the visionary that Beyoncé is when it comes to her work.
“Prior to listening to it my first impression was like…well you know how Beyoncé fans are we be on 10 and everything she does is a 10 out of 10,” Nomi Green said. “So I’m like ‘okay it’s gonna be a decent album and they’re gonna hype it up,’ but when I first listen to it I was like ‘Oh okay she really did that, like maybe they were on to something when they were hyping it up.’
But when it comes to COWBOY CARTER, one thing that’s not hidden from this album is the history that Beyoncé includes in the album. Reclaiming a genre of music that black people helped create but long been prohibited.
“It actually means a lot to me because during COVID I started listening to country music and I found it disheartening to not see as many black artists. But then I found a few and thought to myself ‘It’s not enough for us,’ because we really shape the way of music so for her to come and do country it gives a lot of black country artists something to expand and do more and actually have their name recognized.” Kiera King said.
This album is one of the biggest hits of 2024 not only for the music redefining country music and turning this into a “Beyoncé album” but making a place for black people where race doesn’t define our talent.
