A Funny Little Concept: Rediscovering Country Music Through Cowboy Carter

How Beyoncé Reignited My Appreciation for Country Music

In the tranquil darkness of Good Friday morning, as my husband and pets slept, I slipped on my headphones and lost myself in Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter. My relationship with country music has always been complex. Growing up in rural South Carolina, I was a pop music lover in a area steeped in twang. My parents’ go-to punishment was confiscating my stereo’s power cord, leaving me with just my clock radio which only brought in country stations.

I absorbed the sounds of country music in the secrecy of night. To me, the genre became synonymous with punishment—a reluctant way to get my music fix when options were scarce. Yet, in the quiet of my solitude, songs like Whiskey Lullaby or anything featuring Alison Krauss managed to reach me, breaking through my resistance

Cowboy Carter changed that dynamic. It introduced me to Linda Martell, the first Black female solo artist to perform on the Grand Ole Opry stage. Learning she, too, hailed from South Carolina deepened my appreciation and listening to Color Me Country reshaped my view of a genre I had long resisted. Her story reminded me of the Black women whose contributions are often erased—a parallel that resonates deeply with my feminist lens.

In Martell’s spoken-word intro to SpaghettII, she reflects, “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.” Her words captured something beyond music: how labels and expectations box us in…how stereotypes of race and gender attempt to box us into constructs that erase our lived reality.

Much like Martell and Beyoncé’s refusal to be confined by genre, radical feminism pushes back against the societal boxes that constrain women, especially those shaped by male-dominated narratives. Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter challenges the notion that country music is a monolith, much as feminism challenges narratives that sideline women.

The album isn’t just country—it’s a blend of doo-wop, blues, folk, opera, country soul, and hip-hop. It shattered my internalized notion of country as a lesser genre, showcasing its beauty and reminding me of the power in reclaiming spaces and narratives.

When I first wrote this post in March, I was reflecting on how Cowboy Carter reshaped my view of country music. After witnessing Beyoncé’s AMAZING NFL 2024 Christmas Day Halftime Show performance and her choice to perform Blackbiird, a powerful cover from Cowboy Carter, my admiration has grown. Beyoncé sent a powerful message by featuring up and coming Black country singers Tanner Adell, Brittney Spencer, Tiera Kennedy, and Reyna Roberts to join her. Seeing these talented women perform together gave me chills.

The collaboration is especially poignant considering the original meaning of Blackbird and the racism (and sexism) still present in the music industry, particularly in country music. In her introduction for Cowboy Carter, Beyoncé reflected that this album “was born out of an experience where I did not feel welcomed.” She added, “The criticisms I faced when I first entered this genre forced me to propel past the limitations put on me.” Watching her halftime performance last night, I thought about how much those words reflect not just her journey, but the journey of so many women—breaking barriers, reclaiming spaces, and reshaping narratives.

For me, Cowboy Carter was more than an album—it was a revelation. It offered a way to reclaim something I had pushed aside and reminded me of the beauty in breaking boundaries, whether musical genres or societal expectations. As Beyoncé defies categorization, so too can women defy imposed roles, embracing who we are—on our own terms.

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Another version of this post was originally published (on 3/30/24) via another blogging platform before my account was removed for ‘hateful content’ after writing about a man stabbing a woman in a shelter meant for women and their children. 👀