Hold your horses

It was just a normal Tuesday morning for the DJs at KYKC, a small country musicA music genre that began in southern and southwestern USA. It often includes themes of working class American life. station in OklahomaA state in the south-central USA.. A listener emailed asking to hear Beyonce's new single, Texas Hold 'Em. The station said: "We do not play Beyonce at KYKC as we are a country music station."

Case closed. But the listener put this message on X, formerly known as Twitter. It was viewed by 3.6 million users. Fans bombarded KYKC with complaints. The station was forced to relent. Beyonce was now a country artist.¹

Soon after, Beyonce announced her album Cowboy Carter. Its cover shows the singer riding a horse wearing a red, white and blue one-piece and stetson. She holds an American flag like a rodeoAn exhibition or competition in which cowboys show their skills. queen.

Yet when the record was released last Friday, listeners discovered that Beyonce had wrong-footed them again.

Cowboy Carter is a 78-minute epic that takes country as its starting point to explore countless genresCategories of art, music or writing. of music, unified by Beyonce's voice.

It is a critical hit. Commentators have been keen to point out Beyonce's effect on country music. US vice president Kamala Harris tweeted at Beyonce: "You have redefined a genre and reclaimed country music's Black roots."

This is significant. Country is huge in the United States. But it is often associated with conservative politics and prejudiceAn idea about something, especially a group of people, that is not based on reality. . In 2021, country pop singer Morgan Wallen used a racist slurAn allegation that will harm someone's reputation. while drunk. He apologised. But he opened up debate on whether country music was racist.

Cowboy Carter tacitly rejects the racism present in the country scene. It asks listeners to think about how Black American music relates to country. As Alex Abad-Santos writes in Vox, it allows "mainstream culture to acknowledge just how much country music owes its sound and history to Black artists".²

Others believe Beyonce has not really embraced country. A trio of country legends are relegated to spoken wordLanguage, especially poems, that is spoken out loud - not written or sung. interludes.³ Beyonce duets instead with fellow pop stars Miley Cyrus and Post Malone.⁴

Some think Beyonce is turning to country for cynicalNot trusting in the goodness of others. reasons. According to Billboard, in the first half of 2023 country music consumption was up 20.3% year-on-year. Cowboy Carter is merely the crest of a money-making wave. Country guitar virtuosoSomebody who is highly skilled in music, or another form of art. Yasmin Williams says: "it feels as though Beyonce has put the Carter before the horse."

Is this a cultural turning point? 

Yes: In recent years, country music has become associated with conservatism, racism and misogynyHatred of or discrimination against women. The term comes from the Ancient Greek "miso", meaning "hate", and "gyne", "woman".. Beyonce has helped America to rediscover that the genre can be positive and forward-thinking.

No: Anyone can wear a stetson and shout "yeehaw". Beyonce is an astuteHaving the ability to assess a situation quickly and take advantage of it. businesswomen and going country is just her latest record-selling trick, just as two years ago she marketed herself as a dance diva.

Or... Country music is already enjoying a period in the limelight. Pop stars are queueing up for country collaborations. Cowboy Carter is not itself a turning point. But it is a part and a product of one.