It’s not everyday that Beyoncé takes to social media to send us commoners a message, but that’s exactly what we got on Tuesday when the “Texas Hold’em” singer posted new art for her upcoming new album, “Cowboy Carter” to her Instagram and X/Twitter.
Having caused a slight commotion in the country music world with the release of her country-sounding songs — the aforementioned “Texas Hold’em” and “16 Carriages” last month— Bey hopped online to not only share another look at the artwork for the forthcoming album but also the inspiration for its direction.
With only 10 days before “Cowboy Carter’s” release, Bey explained: “Today marks the 10-day countdown until the release of act ii. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to all of the supporters of TEXAS HOLD ‘EM and 16 CARRIAGES. I feel honored to be the first Black woman with the number one single on the Hot Country Songs chart. That would not have happened without the outpouring of support from each and every one of you. My hope is that years from now, the mention of an artist’s race, as it relates to releasing genres of music, will be irrelevant.”
She continued:
This album has been over five years in the making. It was born out of an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed…and it was very clear that I wasn’t. But, because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of Country music and studied our rich musical archive. It feels good to see how music can unite so many people around the world, while also amplifying the voices of some of the people who have dedicated so much of their lives educating on our musical history. The criticisms I faced when I first entered this genre forced me to propel past the limitations that were put on me. act ii is a result of challenging myself, and taking my time to bend and blend genres together to create this body of work.
I have a few surprises on the album, and have collaborated with some brilliant artists who I deeply respect. I hope that you can hear my heart and soul, and all the love and passion that I poured into every detail and every sound. I focused on this album as a continuation of RENAISSANCE…I hope this music is an experience, creating another journey where you can close your eyes, start from the beginning and never stop.
That “experience” Bey mentioned is likely in reference to her 2016 performance of “Daddy Lessons” at the Country Music Awards with The Chicks (f.k.a. as The Dixie Chicks). Having shown up for the very first time — and at a time where she was very vocal in her support for the Black Lives Matter movement when others viewed it as a polarizing entity — Bey’s presence was overwhelmingly negatively received.
In fact, it caused such an uproar with racist fans, the CMAs took the performance off all of their social media and their official YouTube channel. (The performance has since been uploaded by other users).
Despite the backlash, Bey and The Chicks’ performance became the highest rated 15-minutes in CMA history.
“This ain’t a Country album. This is a ‘Beyoncé’ album. This is act ii COWBOY CARTER, and I am proud to share it with y’all!,” she concluded. Well Yee-Haw, then Bey Yee-Haw!