Beyoncé’s album of the year Grammy win for ”Cowboy Carter” has sparked lots of controversy on social media. On one side you have people believing that her win was undeserved while others have stepped up to defend her.
However, you may feel about her recent win, it is important to note that Beyoncé’s album was not just a collection of songs but the celebration of black history. Given that the entire concept for “Cowboy Carter” is a nod to the black community and their contribution to the creation of the country music genre as a whole.
Beyoncé confronts the racial discrimination and erasure of black people head on with “Cowboy Carter”. During the 1900s, Black people merged genres like folk, gospel and blues to create the country genre. The mix of genres were often used by people that were enslaved as a way to connect with each other. But, it was later spread and popularized by non-black people without giving any credit to the Black community.
“Cowboy Carter” takes the time to recognize this part of history while simultaneously bringing light to modern day Black country artists. Beyoncé does this by including featured artists like Shaboozey, Tanner Adell, Brittany Spencer and a plethora of other Black artists that are diversifying the country genre.
The songs on the album are not just the typical country songs you hear on the radio. If anything, they are extremely musically diverse and can’t be put into a box of just one genre. In a way making it more digestible for those who are not too fond of stereotypical country music.
The album is not only rooted in the rich history of Black culture but Beyoncé’s personal struggles as well. “Cowboy Carter”’s opening song “American Requiem” addresses the heavy backlash she had faced after performing at the 2016 Country Music Awards.
“…I did not feel welcomed… and it was very clear that I wasn’t. But, because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of country music and studied our rich musical archive.” Beyoncé stated in an Instagram caption following the release of Cowboy Carter.
Though the album clearly has many country elements, Beyoncé made a disclaimer at the end of her Instagram caption that “This isn’t a country album. This is a Beyonce album.” Clearly emphasizing that this isn’t just some random country album she made but a representation of her and her cultural background.
