Beyonce’s latest and first country album, ‘Cowboy Carter’ defies social injustice in the music industry by shedding light on racism within the country music genre. Producing her latest album gives empowerment and opportunity for black artists to take up space in that genre. Beyonce performed her hit songs from ‘Cowboy Carter” this past Christmas at the NFL’s half-time show, which stirred up controversy for specific viewers that were opposed to the release of the album. While others- like myself took a deep dive of the correlation between racism and country music.
Systemic racism being portrayed in country music
Despite the country music genre being heavily influenced by Western-African musical instruments. Black artists like Linda Martell were an outcast in the country music genre. Martell was the first successful black female country artist that topped the genre’s charts in the late 1960’s-early 1970’s. However, during her peak she was discriminated against based on her race and eventually was blacklisted from her label. This was due to her final single, Under the Bad Case of the Blues not reaching selling goals.
Moving forward, in Brittany Luse’s podcast, “It’s Been a Minute”, she discussed how racism became a marketing tool for country music with Amanda Martinez, a historian. It was intriguing to know that the country music category was made as a strategic marketing objective to gain new consumers.
In the 1920’s, music labels wanted to expand the industry’s demographic. Executives traveled to the South to record musicians during the era of Jim Crow segregation. “Hill billy” and “old-time music” were the two categories created and overtime it evolved into country music. Overall, a historical time period impacted racism being portrayed in country music. Even in our modern era, country artists have been profiting from it.
Beyonce Continuing her Legacy
Beyonce won ‘Album of the Year’ at the Grammys for Cowboy Carter for the first time. Making her the fourth black female artist to win this category. Also, she’s the first black female artist to win the top prize category in the 21st century! Additionally, she won the ‘Best Country Album’ and the ‘Best Country Duo/ Best Performance’ with Miley Cyrus for ‘II Most Wanted’. During her speech, she tributes Linda Martell for being an inspiration for creating her first country album and referenced Martell in her songs, The Linda Martell Show and Spaghetti.
Key Takeaway
Beyonce uses her platform to uplift and liberate marginalized groups. Hopefully, this will inspire music labels and listeners that cater into country music to be more open-minded. Lets change the narrative of incorporating racism into a genre that secludes black people. Inclusivity cannot only give music labels a diverse portfolio, but reach their goal to expand to a wider audience and gain new potential consumers.
To listen to Beyonce’s, ‘Cowboy Carter’, you can stream it on Amazon music, Apple music, Spotify, and Tidal!