“Genres are a funny little concept, aren’t they?” Linda Martell said on “SPAGHETTII.”
With the recent release of Beyoncé’s highly anticipated album “Cowboy Carter,” a wave of new perspectives on country music and music genres in its entirety have taken a complete 180.
Coming off the huge success of the 2022 release titled “RENAISSANCE,” a funky, techno, hip-hop album, her fans and music listeners worldwide expected substantial content from her following album, and she did just that. As seen in previous artists’ careers, switching genres is typically a hard path to follow. However, Beyoncé’s Houston, TX roots accompanying her passion for her work proved that she could. With features from extremely successful country artists such as Dolly Parton, WIlle Nelson and Linda Martell, the album had no room for inconsistencies. Expecting no less, Beyoncé chose to pull up.
Many listening to her music heard “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM” and immediately were turned off by the mainstream, generic sound that was unfamiliar to the BeyHive (the name given to her fanbase). Although “16 CARRIAGES” was not the strongest single to start the album, fans worldwide received the following single extremely well. The intense production Beyoncé and her team put into not only this song, but the album in its entirety, is arguably even greater than in previous releases.
In “COWBOY CARTER,” she covers the well-known “JOLENE,” originally sung by Dolly Parton while adding a unique sound only Beyoncé and her crew could produce. It also included an introduction track spoken by Parton herself.
Aside from the singles and most popular anthems, there is a great variety of choices from true country to more hip-hop-oriented songs within the album. “BLACKBIIRD,” featuring Tanner Adell, Brittney Spencer, Tiera Kennedy and Reyna Roberts along with “PROTECTOR” are two songs that portray the simple country sound many expected from Beyoncé before the release of this album. Additionally, she has tracks on the opposite end of the spectrum. “SPAGHETII” and “YA YA” have a large correlation with hip-hop beats and extremely well-done production.
With all the talk of genres and Beyoncé changing her repertoire, Beyoncé came forward with what she hopes will be the future of music and how listeners view the industry.
“My hope is that years from now, the mention of an artist’s race, as it relates to releasing genres of music, will be irrelevant,” Beyoncé said on genius.com. “The criticisms I faced when I first entered this genre forced me to propel past the limitations that were put on me.”
Even as one of the artists with the most global power, Beyoncé still feels intimidated by the modern day music industry and its labels. The musical breakthrough many received from “COWBOY CARTER” was in addition to a personal breakthrough for Beyoncé herself; hopefully, many will follow from here on out.
In Beyoncé’s words, “This ain’t a country album. This is a “Beyoncé album.”
