Culture, Collaboration, Community and of course, Country: Artist Development Lessons Learned from COWBOY CARTER

The alternative title to this post is: "Beyonce put out a country album and I have so many thoughts."

I had a bunch of pieces I wanted to write about lately and as I started brainstorming I realized that all the central themes pointed back to Beyonce, but I mean doesn't everything really? 😂

Watching this rollout has been impressive, not just because of Beyonce but because of the ripple effects and the actions of everyone involved. Walk with me here...

#1. You can literally do whatever you want.

I started this a bit faceously because if you've heard COWBOY CARTER in its entirety you'll know it's not really a country album, but it's also not not a country album. It's a Beyonce album and it had rock and roll, opera, country, folk, pop, R&B and everything in between on it.

There's even a line from the great Linda Martell (amongst many things, the first Black woman to perform at the Grand Ole Opry) that says:

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

I could write a whole separate piece on just that quote alone but I'll save that for another time...

To sum it up though, the music industry will tell you you need to fit into whatever neat box they want to assign you to, especially people of color. You can just not. Yes, it's a harder battle to fight to carve your own path and pave your own way but it's possible and don't let anyone convince you otherwise.

As Beyonce opens the album with American Requiem which includes this fantastic lines:

"They used to say I spoke too country. Then the rejection came, said I wasn't country enough. Said I wouldn't saddle up, but If that ain't country, tell me, what is?"

In 2016, Beyonce released "Daddy Issues" on the Lemonade album and then performed it at the CMA Awards with The Chicks to a less than warm reception from many in the traditional country music world.

So, while I'm not saying that this album was made out of spite I am saying that spite is an absolutely fantastic motivator. One of my favorite quotes is "May the bridges I burn light my way" for a reason.

In February 2024, Beyonce became the first Black Woman artist with a number one country song on Billboard's Hot Country chart with "TEXAS HOLD EM". (I'll just leave a little note that they started that chart in 1944).

"TEXAS HOLD EM" had remained #1 for 8 straight weeks on the Hot Country Songs Chart and she subsequently got 15 additional entries into the chart when COWBOY CARTER was released.

Yet, depite that, where the traditional industry holds the full power, the Country Radio Airplay Chart, "TEXAS HOLD EM" has so far peaked at #33.

If the industry won't let you in, you make your way in. You make it so they can't ignore you, or you make it so you don't need them. Either way, you hold the power instead of them.

Most importantly, the best part of literally just doing whatever you want is that you'll find your people. You'll find the people that see the vision. The people that want to help & support you. You'll be the representation people needed to see to know it's possible. You'll find the people that want to come on that journey and the people that end up in your corner may surprise you.

#2. But if you do whatever you want, people will try to dim your light. Don't let them.

When I hear people comment that the Black country artists that have been in this space should be getting this attention, it's never actually framed in a way that centers those artists. It's said in a way that villainizes Beyonce instead. Of course, obviously, I would love to see artists like Mickey Guyton, Rhiannon Giddens, and even more mainstream artists like Kane Brown and Darius Rucker get this level of attention. However, it does seems that a lot of people became Black country music experts in a matter of days whom I never heard discuss country music and especially not Black country music before. But if they want to jump in on the fun, by all means, please do and I hope you stick around and have that energy for all of these artists when it's no longer relevant as a means to diminish Beyonce's success and contributions.

If THE Beyonce Knowles-Carter gets booed at the CMAs, what hope do those developing and even established artists actually have to move in the traditional country world and reach these height?

So, why is no one asking the music industry why it took Beyonce to have many people mentioning these artists? Why didn't the country world champion the artists themselves? Why haven't any of these artists ever received the budgets for a project that even comes close to this budget?

So, why weren't these grassrotes artist getting more attention before? I promise you... it's not Beyonce's fault.

#3. Shoot your shot (but don't be obnoxious)

One of my favorite side plots about this album is hearing how the various features came together and seeing exactly who's in Beyonce's corner and who Beyonce has chosen to uplift through this album.

An incredibly striking track on the album is the cover of The Beatles' "Blackbird" titled "BLACKBIIRD" which features Tanner Adell, Brittney Spencer, Tiera Kennedy, Reyna Roberts. The reason why this is so powerful requires a bit of a history lesson, so hope you're still walking with me...

"Bird" is a colloquial term in British English for a girl. So the track essentially translates to "Black Girl" and Paul McCarty said, "I remembered this whole idea of 'you were only waiting for this moment to arise' was about, you know, the black people's struggle in the southern states, and I was using the symbolism of a blackbird."

So the power of having 4 Black woman established in country music who quite literally are waiting for their moments to arrive (see above...) featured in this track is undeniable and to be a cover of a track from a band often heralded as the greatest rock band of all time who were also incredibly influenced by Black American music... Well, the layers run deep here and I could go on about this for a much longer time but hopefully you get the point.

The other reason I bring this up is because on Feb 12, 2024 Tanner Adell posted this:

To be honest, the replies did not pass the vibe check to say the least with comments like, "u trying to hard love" and "Baby that album is finished with all the songs cleared."

Six weeks later, the world heard her doing harmonies on the second track of Beyonce's COWBOY CARTER album as a featured artist on "BLACKBIIRD". Of course, I don't know exactly what transpired after that initial tweet but it was the only tweet she wrote herself about it. Her fans did some additional work with so many posts about how this would be a perfect collaboration and the rest of history.

Unrelated, but (actually high key, very much related) she went on to wear bantu knots to the CMT awards right after the album was released. Wearing a traditionally Black hairstyle to a country award show is just such a flex. Though if a few days prior, I was featured on a Beyonce track, you quite literally couldn't tell me nothing, so...

So, while a lot of people rightfully like to move in silence, there's a whole lot of advantages to shoot your shot loud & publicly! I personally default to transparency almost all the time because you never know what you can get when you shoot your shot.

My best friend, Monique, once told me about a time when a mutual friend expressed bewilderment on how I always got access to festivals, approvals for interviews, etc. when I ran my music magazine years ago and Monique replied:

"She just asks..."

I half joke that so many young people have a fear of basically being perceived in anyway, which given they've grown up in a constant surveillance state, it's not surprising. However, if you want people to listen to your song, despite it feeling "cringe" you may have to tell some people on social media that you released on a song... 🙃

The flip side to this is to not be obnoxious and to not be delusional. A really important part of being the music industry is to learn to read the room. A few tips here is that:

• No one owes you their time.
• You have to try to help yourself before you ask for help.
• You need to be prepared to receive something before you get it.
• If someone tells you no, you have to accept that.
• The music industry actually cares first about what you've done before who you know.

Tanner was already qualified to make that ask she did and she didn't belabor the point beyond that. She did the work first and while the music industry is certainly not always a meritocracy, you usually need to do the work first to even stand a chance.

#4. Take your fans on the journey with you

Shooting your shot also speaks to bringing your audience with you on a journey. From "Daddy Issues" in 2016 signposting a potential country album years later, or Tanner Adell including the line, "Looking like Beyonce in a lasso" on her absolutely bop of a track "Buckle Bunny" if you make your intentions known, your fans aren't surprised and more importantly, they'll come with you on that journey (and maybe even help you get there).

This doesn't mean revealing everything all at once (or even ever). A journey is just that. The breadcrumbs being sprinkled and the information coming out in drips COWBOY CARTER's release (like Stevie Wonder playing harmonica on "JOLENE", which Bey casually dropped as a thanks when receiving an award presented by him) will continue to keep the magic alive long after the initial release.

#5. When someone gives you an opportunity, don't squander it

While I'm thrilled for Beyonce's success, what has transpired in the weeks since the release has be wonderful to watch. The artists featured on COWBOY CARTER have seized the opportunity!

On April 12th, Shaboozey released a track "A Bar Song (Tipsy)" (a track featuring a chorus that is an interpolation of J-Kwon's "Tipsy") that reached 1M streams on Spotify in 12 hours and hitting #1 on the iTunes US chart (a first in his career). It's a fantastic reminder that Black folks were the originators of 'stomp, clap, hey' music.

Tanner Adell released a self released track "Whiskey Blues" reaching 100K streams in a day. It was incredibly smart to release new singles right away. While the CC feature alone gained each artist tons of attention, capitalizing on that is what will help keep those fans they've acquired. All the artists featured on this album are incredibly talented and have had success before Beyonce and will continue to after but I'm sure this bit of spotlight didn't hurt to receive.

Plus, I must mention the countless records that have been broken & milestones achieved. Including, Linda Martell earning her first ever appearance on the Hot 100 this week with "SPAGHETTII" at the age of 82, and six Black country acts appearing simultaneously on Spotify's US daily top artist chart for the first time.

If you're lucky enough to receive an incredible opportunity, don't blow it. Use it to your advantage, make plans, build a strategy. You can't rely solely on the kindness of others to get you where you need to be. They took you to the water, so make sure you drink.

And a personal thank you to Beyonce...

All that being said, I must end on a note about how special this album is to me.

In Act I (Renaissance) and Act 2 (COWBOY CARTER) Beyonce has been a part of reclaiming genres that originate with Black folks and reminding the world in such a large, dynamic and monumental way that it's still ours if we want it.

My love of country music, primarily in americana, folk, roots and pop country has grown over the past decade and it will be amazing to see a few more people of color next time I see Kasey Musgraves live and I hope this leads to more actual support for the Black country artists that have been putting in the work, creating incredible genre bending, thoughtful, beautiful, fun music.

I should add, though, if Act III is actually a rock inspired album as it's rumoured, I promise you, you will be absolutely sick of how much I talk about it because this little pop punk kid will lose her mind if I get even 3 tracks sound like Lemonade's "Don't Hurt Yourself".

It feels fitting to end this with some music to check out and as to not repeat the work of others, I'll share The Black Opry's Playlist which features Black artists that are members of The Grand Ole Opry. (Big thank you to my friend Alexa for introducing me to The Black Opry).

Spotify's The Sound of Black Americana playlist:

And Spotify's Country Frequency playlist, showcasing Black country artists:

Some of my favorites (outside of those that have credited performance features on COWBOY CARTER) include Joy Oladokun, Allison Russell, The War and Treaty, Rhiannon Giddens, Jon Batiste and Rvshvd.