When Beyoncé announced her new album during the 2024 Super Bowl, the internet exploded with enthusiasm. “It’s a country album!” everyone seemed to think, but we were all corrected via Instagram. “Cowboy Carter” isn’t a country album. It “is a Beyoncé album.” Even so, as a southerner, I really wanted to be the one to cover this album for Scene. Ultimately, it has taken me a week to come up with the words to describe the triumph that is this album.
“Cowboy Carter” is an example of what happens when someone embraces the plurality of the world. This album is not country, but it is country. The basic properties are all there: guitar picking, fiddles and singing about America and horses. That list is not to limit what the genre of country music is, but to speak to the narrowness of what people believe it to be. Beyoncé rejects the need to settle into any genre, while speaking to themes that are familiar to country music listeners.
The album is a feast of different musical styles and songs that somehow come together into a cohesive whole. There are samples from songs like Nancy Sinatra’s hit “These Boots Are Made for Walkin.’” There are new renditions of “Blackbird” and “Jolene.” Beyoncé even sings a small section of Italian aria “Caro Mio Ben.” Through it all Beyoncé sings, raps, growls, belts and proves that nothing is beyond her reach.
At one hour and eighteen minutes, this album also showcases the pros of length in a music culture that accepts shorter and shorter songs and albums. Yes, there are short songs on “Cowboy Carter,” but most of the songs clock in at over three minutes. The longest song is two minutes over that at five and a half minutes long. Compared to some other newer albums — such as Ariana Grande’s new album at 35 minutes long — the length of “Cowboy Carter” allows Beyoncé to develop an album that is fully elaborative, immersive and thematic. It also simply gives us as listeners more to enjoy.
The album stands well on its own, but it also a part of a larger whole. It is act ii of a trilogy of albums that Beyoncé is releasing, with the first part “Renaissance” released back in 2022. While not official, many fans believe that this trilogy is, in part at least, a reclamation of music that was pioneered by Black artists. This project is continued in “Cowboy Carter.” The album includes homages to Black participation in country music with references to the Chitlin’ Circuit, commentary by historic Black country artist Linda Martell and features by emerging Black country artists Tanner Adell, Brittney Spencer, Tiera Kennedy and Reyna Roberts.
“Cowboy Carter” asks you to look deeper at what you imagine country music to be. Black influences are everywhere in this country’s past in present, but they are often erased or overlooked. In this musically masterful album, Beyoncé presents Black musical influences on a platter for everyone to reckon with.
