Art, unlike anything else, is far too subjective and personal to consistently categorize. Music, like any art form, has the power to transcend political, cultural and social divides.
It feels like an obvious sentiment, but the backlash to Beyoncé’s long-awaited country debut directly contradicts this.
The country music scene, on the surface level, has a seemingly specific demographic. Its deep roots and soft-spoken vastness have the power to eliminate this stereotype; if only it wasn’t so buried.
Beyoncé’s strong and successful efforts to retrieve country’s roots and create the nonconfining “Cowboy Carter” as Act 2 of her three-act project are simply mind-blowing. With humility and grace, this album responds to those arguing she doesn’t belong in country.
Her 2016 CMA Awards performance triggered negative and racist responses from said stereotypical listeners. But, this isn’t a revenge album. She’s taking back what is inherently hers. Among others, there is one lesson to be learned here: there are more creative and holistic ways to express grievances with the music industry than a diss track.
It’s not that I don’t enjoy country music, but time and place are important. However, “Cowboy Carter” not only deserves to be uplifted in the country genre, but its nonconfining nature leaves it to be celebrated in all music scenes.
In full transparency, my inspiration for this column came from Brittany Broski’s podcast episode: “EVERYONE SHUT UP COWBOY CARTER IS OUT,” which captures my message in one short, justifiably aggressive sentence.
In natural Virgo – and queen – tendencies, this album is full of intentional and strategic moves. The choice to make every “I” read “II” to symbolize the second of the three-album project went right over my head at first. Then, I remembered Beyoncé is pure genius. My personal favorite was the decision to title the album “Cowboy Carter” instead of “Cowgirl Carter.” This was a powerful move to stray away from the sexualized, immature and unserious connotations that the word “cowgirl” holds – because that’s not what this is.
These are the most vulnerable lyrics we’ve gotten from Beyoncé. She draws from rock, pop and folk genres to touch on her personal values and stories, her relationship with Jay-Z and those that came before her.
Collaborations with legends like Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson and Linda Martell and her rerecordings speak to her desire to be in touch with her roots as it pertains to her personal life and her music.
I’m currently in a yoga phase, and, of course, being mildly intolerable about it. However, I went to a class this weekend that was Cowboy Carter-themed. If a group of 20 strangers can gather in an unbearably hot room and enjoy only one album for the entire hour, it should win every award there is – not that she’ll need any help with that.
I’ll let Brittany Broski take over again. In the episode, she says, “Asking Beyoncé to pick a genre is like asking a rainbow to pick a color.” At first, I laughed. Seconds later, I realized she’s never been more correct. The most powerful artist of our generation can’t be contained in simple categories. Enjoy it for all that it is.
But, Beyoncé herself said it best: “This ain’t a Country album. This is a Beyoncé album.”
She’s done it, once again.
Layne Rey is a sophomore studying journalism at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnist do not reflect those of The Post. What are your thoughts? Let Layne know by tweeting her @laynerey12.
