Beyoncé has just released the second album in her musical trilogy project as a response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Renaissance, the first album in this project, was a smash hit last summer and acted as a love letter to the black queer community who have been the backbone of Beyoncé’s success. Cowboy Carter, in comparison, is a deeply personal love letter to Beyoncé’s past, her ancestors and homeland. Unlike the heavily electronic-infused Renaissance, this album takes us into uncharted sonic territory as a modern country album.
Beyoncé is known for experimenting with her sound to explore different parts of her identity, every album she’s released in the past decade has felt like an exploration of her psyche and experiences. Cowboy Carter is no different, Beyoncé draws upon her family’s connection to Southern music and culture, and blends it with her established music style to make a piece that is as daring as it is artistic.
On tracks like Texas Hold ‘Em, American Requiem, Protector, and II Most Wanted, we get true country music. Here Beyoncé demonstrates a more rustic, homely sound that one would never expect the glamorous superstar was capable of. Songs like YAYA, Tyrant, and Bodyguard are more fusion inspired, and blend the line between country, pop and rap in a way no artist has successfully done before. You can even hear some of the bones from Renaissance in the album, with songs like II Hands II Heaven and Sweet Honey Buckin’ calling back to Virgo’s Groove and America Has A Problem, respectively. Beyoncé also makes a point to pay homage to the Black artists who came before her in country, giving a feature to Linda Martell and Willie Jones, two of the very few black artists to receive mainstream country success, as well as Shaboozey who is a rap-country artist. She also gets the co-sign from legends like Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson, and pop-country artists like Miley Cyrus and Post Malone. The multifaceted line-up shows that whatever you think this album has in store for you, it has more!
Overall, the album is a fascinating exploration of country-fusion music, if you’re a fan of Beyoncé you can expect a lot of her trademark style and polish. If you’re a country fan you can expect some decent country tracks. Country-fusion albums are not easy to come by and Cowboy Carter is a masterclass in sound engineering. Cowboy Carter has broken down all containment barriers for Beyoncé’s sounds, and I’m all the more excited to see how she will conclude this project.
WORDS: Fleur Griffin
