Cowboy Carter and the R&B-Country Line: What Beyoncé's Album Tells Us About American Music History

FAQ

Is Cowboy Carter an R&B album or a country album? Beyoncé herself said, "This ain't a Country album. This is a 'Beyoncé' album." Critics categorized it across country pop, R&B, Americana, and multiple other genres. The album's stated conceptual intent was to document the Black roots of American music traditions, an argument that challenges the premise of genre classification itself rather than trying to fit within any existing category.

Why did Beyoncé make Cowboy Carter? The album grew out of Beyoncé's experience at the 2016 CMA Awards, where she performed "Daddy Lessons" to critical praise but was subsequently met with backlash suggesting she didn't belong in country music. The Recording Academy's country committee rejected the song for Grammy consideration. Beyoncé's response was five years of research into American music's Black roots, resulting in Cowboy Carter.

Who are the Black country artists featured on Cowboy Carter? Shaboozey, Tanner Adell, Brittney Spencer, Tiera Kennedy, Reyna Roberts, and Willie Jones all appeared on the album. Following the album's release, Shaboozey's "A Bar Song (Tipsy)" reached No. 1 on both the Hot 100 and Hot Country Songs, replacing Beyoncé's "Texas Hold 'Em", the first time two Black artists topped the Hot Country Songs chart back to back.

What were the chart milestones for Cowboy Carter? The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, Top Country Albums chart, and Americana/Folk Albums chart. "Texas Hold 'Em" became the first country song by a Black woman to simultaneously top the Hot 100 and Hot Country Songs charts. All 23 eligible songs debuted on the Hot 100. The album won Album of the Year and Best Country Album at the 67th Grammy Awards.

What is the R&B perspective on Cowboy Carter's historical argument? R&B, like country, is a commercial category created by the music industry to segment audiences, not a natural musical category derived from the music's actual origins. Both genres draw from the same pool of American roots music traditions, including blues, gospel, folk, and African American musical traditions. Cowboy Carter makes the case that the "crossover" narrative between R&B and country gets causation backwards: the Black musical roots that inform R&B were present in American music before the genre categories that now separate them.

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