Houston, Texas born and raised, Beyoncé has risen from Destiny’s Child, a genre-splitting solo career, to a cowboy.
As famous as she is, people only see the surface of what she is capable of.
At the Country Music Awards performance of “Daddy Lessons” featuring The Chicks in 2016, she was met with outrage.
Country music said she had no right to claim the stage because she was not “country enough.”
Most people say Beyoncé is not country enough for the music scene, but too country for others.
Beyoncé is a reminder that no matter how much success, wealth or legacy you create, there is not enough space for Black voices to be heard in mainstream country.
So she made her own country.
Despite what critics say, COWBOY CARTER holds layers within its genre-bending, innovating storytelling and profound bravery.
Call Beyoncé an outlaw. Or say the album is unconventional.
In the end, isn’t that what Country music is all about? Maybe not mainstream, but authentic country. Dolly Parton, Patsy Cline, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard are all considered the greats of country now, but were they then?
In order to understand the significance of what COWBOY CARTER means, we listen first. This album represents the cornerstone of how the historically one-sided country music genre and the future of music meet in the present time through Beyonce.
The past: In order to move forward, we first have to go back.
Beyoncé opens up on the cinematic opener “AMERIICAN REQUIEM,” and she gets straight to the core of the album.
As much as we see the past as history, we forget the possibility that the past is coming to haunt us in the present.
“You change your name, but not the way you play pretend.”
We think we are different from the past, but are we?
Like Beyoncé or not, she creates something out of her thoughts, while many only listen to them.
One of the main ideas in the song is, if we are not pushing the limits, are we really any different?
“BLACKBIIRD,” originally recorded by the Beatles, was inspired by the Civil Rights movement in America.
Following “AMERIICAN REQUIEM,” it is hard to not recognize the discrimination Black Americans still face today.
While we strive to allow for all Americans to have equal rights, we do not provide all Americans with the right to be free and accepted into this country.
Beyoncé grew up as a young Black artist amongst white business tycoons.
Which is why on “16 CARRIAGES,” Beyoncé explains how she has given up more than people know for her music, herself and her family.
She’s sacrificed emotions for the sake of progress.
It was not lost on her that being a Black young successful entertainer meant going against all odds.
And still, Beyonce must keep riding along, because the odds are against her after decades of success and awards.
The present:“This ain’t Texas” are the first words Beyoncé sings when she released “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM” as a single one year ago.
A natural hit, Beyoncé is paving her own definition of country.
Don’t believe it? She is a Texan native, and yet people are rejecting her from her own birth rights.
Beyoncé is saying, this is not the Texas and the country folks she grew up with.
If they were, people would know anyone can sing country, but not everyone can be country.
What do you do when you feel alone, but there is nowhere to go? You grab the nearest person and “take it to the floor.”
You release the anger, the mind, your job, the time, stress and most importantly love.
You embrace the people who accept you and you embrace them back.
And if you don’t like the music, “go find yourself a jukebox.”. That’s country music at its finest.
The future: “YA YA” is a patriotic anthem proclaiming a story of America, except it accepts the ugly and the beautiful of this country.
Beyoncè gallops through history.
And for the finale, the three part song “TYRANT,” “SWEET ★ HONEY ★ BUCKIIN’” and “AMEN” reminds us there is only one Beyoncé.
She can manage to create new sounds of country trap, modern zydeco and psychedelic pop while also singing about modern ideas in country music today.
The truth is that Beyonce is not the first to come into a genre and change the game, and she won’t be the last.
Above all, she continues to aim to bring people together through music and continues to tell her truth: the journey is long and we will make mistakes, but we must not give into hate when we are uncomfortable.
We must grow even when we think we can’t.
We grow for ourselves, each other and for all the people who fought hard for us to go further, no matter how unfamiliar it may look.