Catalaya Rates: "Cowboy Carter" 8/10
Beyoncé’s highly anticipated country album hit streaming services on March 29. Cowboy Carter is the second act of the Renaissance trilogy. Even with her being Beyoncé, the racism and sexism that has always existed in the country music space created barriers she had to overcome.
Cowboy Carter is Beyoncé’s ode to the often forgotten Black voices that have been in country music since the beginning. In this work, she sketches the many different aspects of what is considered country, and what can be considered.
An empowering body of songs with heavy country and pop influences, Beyoncé showed off her vocal prowess in new ways and on new sounds. Act II transports you to the countryside, despite it having rap and pop influences on many songs.
Beyoncé invited many Black country artists to sing on this album. Tanner Adell, Brittney Spencer, Tiera Kennedy and Reyna Roberts are a few. Many are hoping Beyoncé releasing this album will trigger the success of many other Black artists in the genre.
On “American Requiem” and “Daughter,” Beyoncé delivers tear jerking vocals reminiscent of opera and classical legends.
“II Most Wanted” featuring Miley Cyrus is pure country. The addition of Miley’s raspy vocals to Beyoncé’s warm and strong voice is like milk and honey together. They both deliver powerhouse belting and leave you completely shocked by how good they actually sound together.
She created interludes with country legends, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton and Linda Martel, playing emcees to add to the storytelling aspect of this album. Both were entirely created in a radio host format for the fictional network “KNTRY Radio,” a rebranding of “KNTY Radio” from Act I’s Renaissance era.
On “Tyrant,” Beyoncé creates a hip hop country track reminiscent of Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road.” Dolly Parton starts the song off with a small speaking role. “Spaghetti” is similar with its hip hop overtones and country undertones. Beyoncé raps in a style similar to Kendrick Lamar’s spoken word flow. Shaboozey delivers a slower verse with a heavy southern accent emphasizing the importance of comradery in desperate times.
Although this album isn’t completely a country album, Beyoncé pushes the limits of what even is country music. Cowboy Carter feels country in a cultural sense rather than sonically. Country in the slamming-screen-doors and trail rides with the fam kind of way. Beyoncé is redefining country and kicking the door open for the hidden Black country musicians who have been robbed of their flowers.
I think it is fun to see the Beyoncé be a baby at something again. With such a long and prosperous career in pop and R&B, it feels refreshing for her voice to be on a new sound and with a new flow.
Beyoncé miraculously blended together all her inspirations and learnings from throughout her 25+ year career. Cowboy Carter is a genre bending masterpiece that was obviously made for music lovers and connoisseurs. A casual listener would not be able to see the intricacies and true art behind the revolutionary album. Cowboy Carter will go down in history as one of the most groundbreaking albums of the decade.