It seems that in the hours following Beyoncé’s Grammy win, every discussion I saw on social media determined she didn’t deserve it. Though I myself was hoping Billie Eilish’s album, “Hit Me Hard and Soft,” would win Album of the Year, the most coveted Grammy title, I can’t help but feel proud as a Black woman that Beyoncé finally won, becoming the first Black woman to win the title in the 21st century.
Several songs from the album made large waves after its release, including “II MOST WANTED,” “16 CARRIAGES” and most famously — and probably most hated — “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM.”
Despite being nominated four times before, Beyoncé had never previously won Album of the Year. Though I won’t argue whether it is better than all the other nominated albums, I will try to show exactly why the concept album deserves praise and recognition for breaking genre definitions and the respect it pays to Southern culture and music.
“COWBOY CARTER” is an album dedicated to Black America, honoring its past and hoping for a better future. Despite growing up in the South, Beyoncé has never been acknowledged as a part of the country genre, a genre created by Black people and ironically lacking in Black representation. “COWBOY CARTER” pushes back on the boundaries of what makes a genre, especially since these boundaries make it difficult for Black artists to thrive in the industry.
The album itself highlights more than just country, which is why it is so difficult to pin into just a single genre. Beyoncé pays tribute to blues, pop, R&B, gospel and even opera, highlighting her classical training.
The album’s concept is a country radio show with hosts Linda Martell, Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson as disc jockeys who, in certain tracks, give a liner in between or at the beginning of the songs pertaining to the album’s drive to break the boundaries of the country genre.
You might be asking, ‘‘Who even is Cowboy Carter?,” which I have seen many people complain about following Beyoncé’s win. “COWBOY CARTER,” the name of the album, is both a play on Beyoncé’s last name, Carter, and a homage to the Carter family, who are considered the first country group and had an immense influence on the bluegrass genre, a genre which country stems from.
The first song I’d like to talk about is “AMERIICAN REQUIEM,” the opening track for the album. The song declares the intentions of the album — its dedication to the Black Americans before Carter and the Black lives lost in slavery, those who had built the country to uplift Black Americans. She says there is “a lot of talkin’ goin’ on / While I sing my song,” showing the struggles she’s faced as a Black woman in the industry and the struggle to be heard. She is “taking up space” in her profession, asking “Can you stand me?” as she refuses to be quiet.
The track is accompanied by layered vocals reminiscent of church choirs. The song also samples the 1812 overture, a classic Fourth of July tune, demonstrating the liberating nature of the song while celebrating the Black Americans whose shoulders Beyoncé stands upon.
Track three, “BLACKBIIRD,” is a cover of Paul McCartney’s “Blackbird.” The track keeps the same instrumentals but is instead sung by a plethora of rising Black country artists — Brittney Spencer, Tanner Adell, Tiera Kennedy and Reyna Roberts. The original song was inspired by the Little Rock Nine in Arkansas, marking the clear honoring of the past Black children who had fought during the Civil Rights Movement for their education. Beyoncé’s cover, alongside female
Black country singers, feels like a beautiful rendition that honors once again the history of Black Americans and their struggles. By doing it in a genre that has been difficult for Black people to succeed in, a genre that even Beyoncé has been denied, “BLACKBIIRD” shows the true capability of these country artists and their work and the props they are fighting for.
The last track I’d like to discuss is “YAYA.” The song references the Chitlin Circuit, a collection of venues in which Black people were allowed to tour during the Jim Crow Era. The Chitlin Circuit, though it allowed Black artists to find musical success during the segregation era, ultimately marked the denial of Black people from the music industry. “YAYA” demonstrates Beyoncé’s dream for the country genre — what it could be if Black artists hadn’t been denied entrance from the music genre, how Black people could be successful in the music industry had they not been dismissed and pushed into defined genres that could be denied recognition.
“COWBOY CARTER” reclaims Beyoncé’s Southern roots and the country genre for Black artists. It expands on the idea of what a country is and what it could be. It challenges the idea of music genres and angrily demonstrates how harmful and constraining they can be, especially for Black artists. It’s an homage to American culture and history, its large breadth of musical knowledge including live instruments and deep references to music history and country history. The album’s ability to honor the culture and simultaneously challenge it is why it deserves Album of the Year.
After being denied Album of the Year for albums that definitely deserved it — Lemonade especially — it feels like a breath of relief that Beyoncé has finally won recognition. No matter how sad you are about your favorite artist losing the category, you can’t and shouldn’t deny that Beyoncé deserved it.