How Beyoncé's cross-genre album opened doors for Black country artists

Beyoncé never said she was releasing a country album. But what the Beyhive wants, the Beyhive gets. And it didn’t take long for her to make history as the first Black woman to top Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart after dropping the first two singles from her album, “Texas Hold 'Em” and “16 Carriages.”

Neal said musical genres are complicated categories that are always in negotiation. While musical sound, legacy and history certainly play a role in sculpting a genre, audiences have more agency in defining it than many may think. Commercial recordings of country music began in the 1920s, with artists like The Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers laying the foundation. “The First Family of Country Music” used a local African American musician named Lesley Riddle as an influence for their style of guitar-playing, and for helping to gather song material.

Enter Beyoncé. “Cowboy Carter” is not the Houstonian’s first step into the world of country music, but it is her biggest. The feature opportunity was a dream come true for Roberts. The 26-year-old said her childhood was always filled with sounds from every genre of music, with her favorite artists ranging from Gretchen Wilson to Led Zeppelin. But her biggest inspiration has always been Beyoncé.

“You feel like you're immersed into the music,” explained Roberts. “It's not just like you're listening to a song. You feel like you're there in the song, because of all the things and all the elements that are used.”

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