Around this time last year, Beyoncé released two singles that would officially kick off act two of her three-part musical project. With “Renaissance” being the first act of this trio, the release of “16 Carriages” and “Texas Hold ‘Em” was our introduction to this new era of Beyonce. Returning to her Texan roots, the BeyHive and the rest of the world were about to get an unexpected country album. Now, “Cowboy Carter” has broken boundaries and earned critical acclaim but also received mountains of backlash regardless of its numerous accomplishments.
On the night of the Grammys, Beyoncé went home with three awards, two of them being for Album of the Year and Country Album of the Year. As usual, there was an uproar on the internet coming from various fandoms, talking about how she did not deserve either of these awards. I saw plenty of people saying that there were lyrically better albums than “Cowboy Carter” and that it wasn’t real country, and I even saw people saying that her husband, Jay-Z, had rigged the awards in her favor. In reality, these were all just pathetic excuses to justify being hateful on the internet because they couldn’t comprehend that “Cowboy Carter” was a complete piece of art that deserved the wins.
When Beyoncé first announced that “Cowboy Carter” was going to be a country album, I was a tad apprehensive about listening to it because I don’t like country music. I’ve always seen country music as a genre for white people, talking about fishing, hunting, beer and women. Although it’s stereotypical of me to think that, it’s a large reason why I’ve never even tried to venture out and give it a chance. Along with the presence of racism in the country world, I knew that this type of music was not for me and that I was never going to be the target audience.
Automatically, all of this changed for me when I listened to “Cowboy Carter” for the very first time. To me, it’s so much more than an album — it’s a lyrical masterpiece that speaks to Black women and Black patriotism and overall sends a greater message to those who listen to it. It may not be the “normal” country people are used to, but does that really matter? Having collaborations with Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton and Linda Martell, who are icons in the country scene, only solidifies the fact that “Cowboy Carter” is real country.
Even though I see it as real country, many have excluded her from the country music scene, refusing to recognize her as a country artist — we saw this earlier in the year when the Country Music Awards didn’t give her a single nomination. But this wouldn’t be the first time a successful Black artist was outcast by their peers when it comes to country music. The same thing happened to Shaboozey at the CMAs or when Billboard refused to recognize Lil Nas X with “Old Town Road” because it wasn’t country enough.
To say that Black people aren’t country enough even though our ancestors made the genre is proof of the constant struggle Black people face by being unappreciated and overlooked. There is never any validity in people’s arguments of why Beyoncé isn’t country enough because they never apply the rules to anyone else. I’ve never heard anyone say Post Malone isn’t country enough when his album was arguably less country. He’s a white guy from New York — what does he know about country music that Beyoncé, a Black woman from Texas, doesn’t already know?
“Cowboy Carter” is a piece of work that touches on the struggle of being in the industry for so long, racism, the oppression of Black women and motherhood, all in one album. Doing this all while still having a country sound is a feat on its own. There was no clearer choice than “Cowboy Carter” for Country Album of the Year, and I hope people can come to this conclusion on their own by actually taking a second to digest the album for what it is.
These are the same reasons why it was worthy to win Album of the Year as well. For Album of the Year, I think people get confused about how its winner is chosen. It’s not an award about who got the most streams or how many times your songs trended on the internet — it’s about influence and impact.
Looking at the other albums in the Album of the Year category, “Cowboy Carter” is the only album to show that music should make us feel uncomfortable sometimes and requires higher-level thinking to fully grasp it — just another reason why Beyoncé went home with the Grammy and her fellow nominees didn’t. The themes in the other nominee’s albums, such as Billie Eilish and Sabrina Carpenter, were love and heartbreak, and while there is nothing wrong with that, you must admit it just doesn’t live up to the same standard as “Cowboy Carter.”
Not only was it deserved, this win was something that should have happened years ago. Year after year, the Academy has snubbed Beyoncé for Album of the Year and I’m so glad her time has finally come. The pure art that she was able to create is so deserving of praise, despite all the hatred she received. Society holds Black people, especially Black women, to different standards than their white counterparts. Whenever they finally reach the bar, someone raises it higher to discredit their hard work.
The significance of “Cowboy Carter” now being a Grammy-winning album means so much more than some people could imagine. It shows that even 25 years into your career, you can still try new things and be great at them. It shows that your past losses do not define you. Most importantly, this win demonstrates to every Black woman that greatness is always attainable, irrespective of negativity from others.
Danae Poteat writes primarily about pop culture and current events. Write to her at [email protected].