Few albums have generated more conversation before their release than “Cowboy Carter” by Beyoncé — out today. Nashville Public Radio’s senior music writer Jewly Hight has been listening.
She finds the album is a “rich text” that’s layered and packed with important references, and that it is both a commercial achievement — it has a single that makes Beyoncé the first Black woman to top the Billboard Hot Country chart — and one that’s “bound to become classroom curriculum, because it’s got a lot to teach us.”
You can listen to Hight’s early impressions in the audio essay above. Among the insights, she says the album:
- shows Beyoncé is confidently brushing aside any idea that she doesn’t belong in country;
- maps a radically expansive version of country;
- reminds listeners how often country has been dance music, and;
- shows meticulous curation of tradition, including with interludes with elders like Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, and Linda Martell, the first Black woman to have commercial success in modern country music
Coming up Thursday, April 4, you can catch Hight as guest host of a special episode of This Is Nashville that delves deeply into the history of Black musicians within country music. Guests will take up the Beyoncé album, history and the role and recent work of songwriter Alice Randall, who is reclaiming her legacy with a new book.
It's a museum, it's an education, it's an all out celebration of Country, and it's Black as the winning ace of Spades!https://t.co/n0esX54gEI
— Alice Randall (@MsAliceRandall) March 29, 2024
In the meantime, you can learn more about the album through coverage by NPR Music:
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- Jay-Z and Beyoncé’s blank space
- Why Beyoncé’s foray into country music with ‘Cowboy Carter’ has been polarizing with author Francesca Royster
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