Photo: Columbia Records
From starting off in the American musical girl group Destiny’s Child, to her record-breaking 32 Grammy wins, Beyoncé has cemented herself as a household name in the music industry. But for the majority of her career, Beyoncé has mostly stayed within the realm of rhythm and blues and soul music, not branching far.
However, throughout time she has attempted to branch into country music. “Daddy Lessons” on her sixth studio album “Lemonade,” released in 2016, was her first rodeo into country music. Since then, the country music side of Beyoncé has been silent, until this year.
On March 29, Beyoncé released her ninth studio album titled “COWBOY CARTER,” the second installment of a three-act project that she began over the pandemic. Having grown up in Houston, Texas, Beyoncé delivers a 27-song album that relates to her hometown, her love life and African-American country music legends embracing a side of herself that she previously strayed from.
After performing at a 2016 country music award show, Beyoncé felt very unwelcome by the country music community, as they believed that she lacked the connection to the genre. She details this in her album opener “AMERIICAN REQUIEM,” repeatedly asking if the listener can hear her, as well as mentioning the chatter around her creating a country music album, trying to assert herself in a field that she has previously been rejected.
The next song on the album, “Blackbird,” is a cover of the song by English rock band The Beatles. Detailed by Beatles singer Paul McCartney, the song was meant to represent the Little Rock Nine, the famous group of Black students who helped desegregate an all-white high school despite the backlash. The message that Beyoncé sends is that there are still civil rights issues in America, thus not every bird is able to fly yet. This is one of two covers on the album, as she takes on American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton’s iconic “Jolene” as well, with a twist. A majority of the lyrics are changed to assert Beyoncé as a stronger force than Jolene, the fictional other woman attempting to take her lover, while Parton simply begs for Jolene to not intervene with her love life. It seems as if Beyonce chose both of these songs to assert the idea that African-Americans are resilient and strong, cleverly integrating those ideas with callbacks to famous country and folk songs.
After a couple of life and family-centered songs like “16 CARRIAGES” and “PROTECTOR,” Beyoncé’s hit single “TEXAS HOLD’EM” evokes the image of a Texan bar, somewhere that Beyoncé had grown up in. With the poker references and lyrics about getting a lover to confess their feelings coupled with the banjo and strong drum beat, this creates for a “hoe-down” type of song, a chaotic yet lively dance track. This song is the soul of the album, as this is exactly the type of music that one would expect on a country album.
A very unique aspect of “COWBOY CARTER” is Beyonce’s use of mini-songs, similar to interludes in other albums. Although there is very little musicality to these songs that are a minute long or less, they convey context for the next song or give an idea for Beyonce’s inspirations, creating this gradual story throughout the album which is very pleasing to listen to. Some of these interludes include “SMOKE HOUR,” which is composed of radio frequencies tuned to four specific artists. Son House, Chuck Berry, Rosetta Tharpe and Roy Hamilton are the four radio stations that are tuned in, as all of these artists are African-American and have influenced folk or country music in some way. Another one of these is “DOLLY P,” as Parton’s voice talks about Jolene, but also about the person whom Jay-Z, Beyoncé’s husband and American rapper, allegedly had an affair with. This relates the two singers and sets up the perfect context for Beyonce’s rendition of “Jolene.”
Many of the songs in this album are ways for Beyonce to convey love to her husband. For instance, in “BODYGUARD” Beyonce calls herself a companion to someone, “II MOST WANTED” mentions the idea of riding “shotgun” with her partner and “LEVI’S JEANS” is a very flirtatious song in which Beyonce is trying to get attention through physical attraction. Jay-Z has been a large influence on Beyonce’s career and life, which is why the weaving in of love to her partner is a nice touch in this album.
Overall, COWBOY CARTER exceeded my expectations for not just a country album, but an album in general. For Beyoncé to shift away from her comfortable soul and R&B music to pursue a genre like country is very commendable. This album stands out from her previous albums, as intertwining country with soul is a unique twist on what she normally does.
Another aspect of the album that I especially appreciated was the hidden messages and themes throughout the album. Many of the songs related to her loved ones such as her husband, daughters and father. Wrapping that together with her idea of Black and female empowerment, all of this is bundled nicely with a bow on top by honoring the building blocks of country music and the creation of a new form of country music.
Overall, I give Beyonce’s ninth studio album 4.5 out of 5 stars. A couple of songs stray too far away from her intended country sound, but the majority of the album is a really unique balance of country and soul, as well as holding some powerful meanings.
