By Maya Mackey
Call it progressivism or call it the Beyonce effect.
Newcomer Country Crooner, Shaboozey (a paramour on his last name Chibueze) has spent the last ten weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts for his breakthrough single, A Bar Song (Tipsy). I reported this past summer about how Shaboozey performed his hit at the BET Awards and won the crowd over by bringing out J Kwon (the original creator of “Tipsy” which Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song” interpolates).
This is quite a feat considering Beyonce’s own pure country singles “Texas Hold’ Em” and “16 Carriages” were flashes in the pan as far as commercial success is concerned. “Texas Hold’ Em
charted at number one, a mere week after release but sadly never climbed that high again. “16 Carriages” made the number nine slot on the Hot Country chart, respectively. And while those two specific singles bombing are a bit of a head scratcher, her lack of Country Music Association (CMA) nominations is less confusing. Some Beyhive members will claim outrage but those of us who can stand up to Bey with a sliver of objectivity know that album isn’t worthy of a country music award.
Perhaps she should have been nominated at best for her two lead singles but I’m not sure if it would be worth the fight. Beyonce herself told us, days before Cowboy Carter was uploaded to our Spotify and Apple Music apps that Act II in her three act distribution of new music (and we’re hoping at least film to follow), “is not a country album. “It’s a Beyonce’ album.” A discriminating statement that annoyed me and I honestly ignored. But alas, the queen said what she said! Cowboy Carter is not a country album. Not in its entirety. It has country songs but it also has classic rock n’ roll, R&B, Funk and even a random flamenco song thrown in for fun.
We’re better off paying attention to newcomers and groundbreakers like Shaboozey, Tanner Adell, Brittney Spencer, Willie Jones, and Reyna Reynolds. Adell, Spencer and Jones all played the Stagecoach Music Festival in Coachella Valley – the country version of the Coachella Festival following their Cowboy Carter debuts. In addition to Stagecoach, Spencer has gotten to perform at Tiny Desk and at the CMA awards.
Tanner Adell was already making waves pre -Beyoncè with her debut hit, “Buckle Bunny”, which garnered her a platform at this year’s Coachella. Willie Jones, who is featured on Cowboy Carter’s “Just for Fun” – a sullen and sultry ballad about moving through pain has said “Beyonce honestly saved my life with that call” (to be on Just For Fun). While Jones’ hasn’t realized anything since Carter debuted, we can only imagine how far a co-sign will take him. Jones has two full length albums available out now.
Brittney Spencer, who recently received a birthday bouquet of flowers from Beyoncè, was featured on the queen’s rendition of BlackBird, the Beatles’ 1968 tune, alongside Tanner Addell, Reyna Reynolds and Tierra Kennedy. Brittney released her first album in January of this year and has since performed at Tiny Des.
Beyonce’s blessing was especially timely for Tiera Kennedy who had a tumultuous time trying to break through in country music. Kennedy was dropped from her record label, Big Machine, at exactly the same time she was hand picked by Bey to sing on Black Bird and Tyrant. Kennedy’s debut album, “Rooted” is set to drop this fall..
Reyna Roberts who is the backbone of my favorite Cowboy Carter track, Tyrant, has vehemently expressed what acknowledgement and a public platform alongside Beyonce means for her personally and professionally. Roberts has said she’s received brand endorsements and opportunities to work with her idols such as Reba McEntire after her “Beyonce Effect”. She’s even planning an appearance at Comic Con and says her next album Bad Girl Bible Vol. 2 will sound like “country music meets superheroes. My life stories, but i want them to feel bigger”. That’s the kind of genre-expanding ambition and vision Beyonce intended for all artists to explore with Cowboy Carter.
Of course, this really all started with Lil Nas X in 2019, when his smash-hit, Old Town Road received similar backlash as Beyonce’s Daddy Lessons (from her Lemonade album, marking her very first foray into Country-Blues) from white, racist disc jockeys who called it “not country.” A lie so egregious that Billy Ray Cyrus personally asked X to be on the remix, backing X up and crowning him a certified country boy. Their collab went number 1 on the Hot 100 Billboard Chart after being disqualified from the separate Country Chart and the song is still a hot debate today.
The point that seems to be lost on paler ears is that when Black people make country music, it’ll sound a little different because well we are a little different. The same can be said for regional Mexican country music or Tejano music.
And umm, like almost any American genre of music you can think of, Country Music was invented by Black people anyway. We’re free to make whatever music we damn well please and it need not be validated by white radio program directors. So get your dosie-do on yeehaw til your lil black heart’s content if you so please. There’s a small crew of melanated country crooners that have your back!
