Beyonce’ Knowles-Carter has officially revealed the cover art for her upcoming album “Cowboy Carter”, set to be released in nine days. The album serves as “Act ii” of a musical trilogy, following Renaissance (Act i) which was released Summer of 2022. We are all familiar with Beyonce’ the voice, Beyonce’ the musical genius, but over the years we have had the pleasure to continue to witness the progression and evolution of Beyonce’ the ARTIST. One of the things her audience has grown to love most about her individuality and her artistry is her ability to tell a complete story through her music, her videos, her art, and the worldwide tours that all coincide to reinforce their corresponding themes.
Whether it was the surprise midnight release of self-titled, including videos for each track, or the short film that accompanied us as we experienced the vulnerability of “Lemonade” for the first time, or the way that every corner on the “Renaissance” project opened a door for us to something else. What remains consistent is the intentionality she puts into every single thread of her work, as well as her work ethic, which is what keeps her fans up at night begging her to “Release the visuals!!”
Last month, during another Superbowl advertisement collaboration with Verizon Wireless, Beyonce’ hinted at a possible new release, and kept her promise by dropping two songs later that evening. Despite hesitation from the self-proclaimed “traditional” country music fan base, Texas Hold ‘Em and 16 Carriages immediately shot to the top of the country charts. She later formally announced the album release date (3.29), as well as the album title, “Cowboy Carter”. Earlier today, on Instagram, she followed up those previous announcements by revealing the album cover art to the world for the first time, along with an explanation of the visual themes, and the inspiration behind it all. When the original “Act ii: Cowboy Carter” album announcement was made, the honorable Tina Knowles, AKA Mama Tina, mentioned that her daughter had been working on the album for quite a while. Queen Bey herself also confirmed earlier today that the album had in fact been in the works for over 5 years, which actually makes sense when you pay attention to the timeline.
In the release today, Beyonce’ referenced how the Cowboy Carter album was shaped by an experience in which she didn’t feel welcomed by the primary audience of the category she was representing. That experience pushed her to further explore the history of “our” role in the formation of folk and country music, as well as challenge race and gender roles when it comes to segregating genres of art. She also later explained how one of her goals behind Cowboy Carter was to set a standard whereby race “shouldn’t even be mentioned when discussing an artist’s ability to release specific genres of music.” For familiar fans, these references are likely attributed to her 2016 “Black Panther-Themed” Superbowl appearance, and the performance of her beloved hit “Daddy Lessons,” alongside the Dixie Chicks at the annual Country Music Awards. Both appearances received a “not-so-warm” welcome from the majority of those audiences. The Dixie Chicks, The Chicks, a world-renowned country music group, are no strangers to controversy within the country music world. Post 9/11 chaos and just ten days before the invasion of Iraq, Natalie Maines, The Chicks front woman stated during a concert, “Just so you know, we’re on the good side with y’all. We do not want this war, this violence, and we’re ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas.” This prompted severe backlash from a large part of The Chicks conservative and southern Republican audience. However, Beyonce was determined to work with them for these very reasons – their bravery, fearlessness, and commitment to their message.
According to British Vogue, even Beyonce’s stage set designer Es Devlin has acknowledged the fact that Beyonce’ may have had a less than welcoming and somewhat uncomfortable experience at the CMA’s, fueling her passion to research and reflect the major cultural contributions that African-Americans have had on the origins of country and folk music. And with the album cover art being released, many fans have already dusted off their binoculars and cowgirl boots to search for the hidden messages in between the visuals, the lyrics, and the stories that connect them. One of the most popular fan-based hypotheses surrounding “Cowboy Carter” is that the album was named as a reference to the Carter family, which to some has been considered the “first family of country music”. It’s no coincidence that the Queen herself and her husband, Jay-Z, both share the last name Carter, which only makes the story more serendipitous if anything. Although Beyonce’ has yet to confirm any direct influences or ties to the Carter family, many fans have already unearthed further associations between the infamous Carter family and the African-American guitar player Lesley Riddle who played a pivotal role in the success of the Carter family and the development of country music. This isn’t surprising especially being that over 50 percent of cowboys were African-American in the 19th and 20th centuries. According to Devlin, “[She] wanted to reappropriate Americana and country music from a Black perspective.”
From the choice to announce Cowboy Carter during Houston’s rodeo season, to proudly positioning herself upon her white horse (which Black Twitter has respectfully named Neighdine) as a nod to Black women rodeo trailblazers, to the symbolism of strictly highlight the red and white stripes of the American flag she’s holding, to the color of her hair…when it comes to Beyonce’ Giselle, there’s always a deeper meaning. And if you can’t find it, she always finds a way to remind us “You ARE the visual baby!”
