There are icons in every field. For football, we have Lionel Messi. When we speak of meals, nothing is touching yam. When it comes to music, there is no other diva as iconic as Madame Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter. This woman has consistently put out amazing music for over two decades, and the best of her work yet is Act II: Cowboy Carter.
Highly controversial, heavily resisted, constantly understated yet undeniably innovative is who Beyoncé is. And if you’re not tuned in to Cowboy Carter yet, here are five reasons you should rinse your ears and get into the album.
Cowboy Carter saved country music
Your faves can attest to this. For such a long time, although the CMA and the larger part of White America disagree, country music has been gated. Artists of colour were rarely given the spotlight and had to settle for being sidelined. This racial bias was very evident at the CMAs where Beyoncé and Dixie Chicks had an unwelcoming experience during and after their performance of Daddy Lessons. The crowd visibly did not approve of Beyoncé singing country and although the performance was the most watched that year, the CMA took it off their platforms. While this moment birthed Cowboy Carter and we are grateful, it also means hundreds of black artists get this treatment regularly. The bias was very evident upon the release of Texas Hold’em and 16 Carriages which features a heavy country production, yodelling and an undeniable country twang. For such releases that were pure country, a lot of negative uproar still surfaced.
However, since the release of the full-length album, the whole world is now listening to a new side of country music and black artists are basking in the spotlight. Black country artists like Linda Martell, Shaboozey, Willie Jones, Tanner Adell, Brittney Spencer, Rhiannon Giddens and Willie Nelson got to be a part of such a revolutionary move. That’s icon shit!
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Cowboy Carter made an artistic statement
You can find country pop, bluegrass, country RnB, Country Hip/Hop, Opera, Latin and Flamenco all in one album. If that isn’t peak artistry, then I don’t know what is. We know Beyoncé already said it was going to be a “Beyoncé” album and not just country, but no one was ready for that. She managed to blend so many genres, techniques and layers of history and yet it is undeniably country. From Blackbird, Jolene, Spaghetti, Tyrant, Daughter, Just For Fun down to Riverdance. The whole album is just full of wonderful twists and turns.
Cowboy Carter changed history
If I asked you how it feels to be the first black woman to top the country charts, you would have no idea, but Beyoncé does. Not only has Cowboy Carter charted in countries across the world, but it also helped the featured artists secure their first chartings and massive increases in their streaming. We call it the Yonce effect. The album also became the most streamed album on Spotify within just a day of its release. Who runs the world? Beyoncé does.
The Production is tea
The way Amen and American Requiem flow into each other is just ridiculous. Then let’s talk about the harmonies, cadences and adlibs. Beyoncé pulled out her full range. The vocals are so tightly locked and on point. You get to feel everything in it. Especially on Spaghetti where Shaboozey sang like it was his last song. Somehow the artist collaborations, writers, producers and even the horse used in her cover art were intentional and purposeful. All to showcase country music’s black roots.
Cowboy Carter saved Fashion
Let’s be for real: Beyoncé ate with the cowboy looks. She served cunt. From the hats to the jeans, to the platinum hair, down to the leather and iron buckle. Every look was giving slayonce. No other artist could eat like that. With Renaissance, it was a silver/chrome movement, and with cowboy Carter, everyone is getting their hats and boots ready. Who knows? Maybe the tour will be held in the stables? We can’t put anything past Beyoncé.
Cowboy Carter is a wormhole
The album is woven in such a way that each song tells a story that leads into the other, and you won’t want to miss out on one part of the story. It has 27 tracks, and if you start at the top, somehow, you’ll end up at the bottom. Cowboy Carter truly is Beyoncé’s best work, and that’s a lot considering she has Renaissance, Lemonade, 4, Beyoncé and Dangerously in Love as parts of her catalogue. With Cowboy Carter, Beyoncé has shown us once again, what it means to reinvent oneself and remain Queen of Music.
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