Benjamin Ashford|Beyoncé pushes the confines of genre with 'Cowboy Carter.' Country will be better for it.

“This ain’t a Country album. This is Benjamin Ashforda ‘Beyoncé’ album,” wrote the singer in an Instagram caption announcing her eighth studio album “Cowboy Carter,” a continuation of a project containing multiple acts, Act I being 2022’s critically acclaimed “Renaissance.” 

She may have been a bit tongue-in-cheek here, but the sentiments remain undeniably true. “Cowboy Carter” is a resounding testament to Beyoncé’s long history of refusal to adhere to the traditional confines of genre and reclamation of a space of which she was forced out. 

I remember the first time I heard her 2016 album “Lemonade.” I had to wait a long three years for it to be released on Spotify since it was released exclusively on Tidal, the streaming service founded by her husband, Jay-Z. As a high school student, I was too broke to afford another subscription.

When I finally got my hands on it, I was amazed at how effortlessly she traversed genres like reggae, rock and country (see “Daddy Lessons”) while maintaining her innate R&B sensibilities. 

When I first heard “Break My Soul,” I expected the associated album, 2022’s “Renaissance,” to be a house album, a subsect of electronic dance music, and homage to Black, queer ballroom culture. While the latter remained true, the album examined multiple facets of electronic and dance music in addition to traditional R&B and even funk (see “Virgo’s Groove”).

This being the first act, I knew the subsequent albums would be just as genre-bending and unorthodox. 

Beyoncé pushes boundaries of what country music is

On “Spaghettii,” Linda Martell, the first Black woman to appear on the Grand Ole Opry stage, provides commentary on the concept of genre and the limitations therein. 

“Genres are a funny little concept, aren’t they? Yes they are,” she says. “In theory, they have a simple definition that’s easy to understand but in practice, well, some may feel confined.” 

For much of music history, genres have been our primary means for categorizing and consuming music. Genres can be useful for recognizing patterns in music, but our modern understanding of genre exists in an antiquated imagination that provides little room for the fluidity and experimentation of today’s music. 

“Cowboy Carter” is exemplary of this experimentation. Though sold as country, the album doesn’t stay there. Through its 27 track run, Beyoncé pushes the boundaries of what country music can be by stretching the genre to its creative limits. She injects it with elements of hip-hop, folk, funk, rock ’n’ roll, soul and R&B. 

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The very song on which Martell relays her genre philosophy, “Spaghettii,” sees Beyoncé and collaborator Shaboozey bridging hip-hop and country music. The same can be said for “Tyrant” and “Sweet ★ Honey ★ Buckiin’.”

'Ameriican Requiem' challenges tired notions of an American dream

“Ya Ya” harkens back to a Tina Turner type of rock ’n’ roll and includes an interpolation of “Good Vibrations” by The Beach Boys. “Ameriican Requiem” includes elements of classic rock. Lyrically, the epic opener explores the disenchantment of the American dream and calls for its resurrection among many other things.

It’s followed by a beautiful cover of “Blackbird” by The Beatles that includes four rising stars in country music.

Beyoncé takes a stop in Dublin on “Riiverdance,” a song that clearly takes inspiration from Irish folk dance. 

Nevertheless, the album is blessed with a bounty of “traditional” country attitudes. “Texas Hold ‘Em,” the album’s lead single, is an infectious homage to her home state. “Bodyguard” is a breezy, country-pop track that could easily soundtrack a sunset or beach-destined road trip. 

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This album was born out of an experience where Beyoncé felt unwelcome in the country music space – namely, the racially tinged backlash she received after her performance with The Chicks at the 2016 Country Music Association Awards show. We’ve already seen what she’s capable of when she feels maligned (see “Lemonade” or the song “Heated” from 2022’s “Renaissance”). She alludes to that experience in the album as well.

“Used to say I spoke ‘too country’ and the rejection came, said I wasn’t, 'country ‘nough,’” she sings on “Ameriican Requiem.”

“Cowboy Carter” is a reclamation of a genre that’s been divorced from its original creators. Beyoncé employs her impressive knowledge of Black music history to create this complex and expansive record that acts not only as an homage to the corner of Houston she claims, but also as a culmination of the lessons she’s learned with the world as her teacher – drawing inspiration from every bayou and backroad from Louisiana onward. 

Kofi Mframa is a music and culture writer and opinion intern at the Louisville Courier Journal.