Alpha: Best of 2024

Alpha is a space for redefining the meaning of a woman’s power. Power doesn’t have to be about fighting, standing up or changing history. The power of these artists lies in their existence. From there flows truth, authenticity, vulnerability, nuanced representation. Before Beyoncé rode into town with her country album COWBOY CARTER—a triumphant reclamation of a genre that has excluded Black artists for the past century—she dealt “TEXAS HOLD ’EM” as its lead single. Set against a plucky banjo—played by Pulitzer- and Grammy-winning folk artist Rhiannon Giddens—the icon, with unbridled joy, demanded a worldwide hoedown: “Don’t be a bitch, come take it to the floor now.”