Beyonce's country album is coming, but don't call it a country album. On March 19, the singer unveiled the cover art for her upcoming album Cowboy Carter and explained what the album was about in a letter posted on Instagram, saying the album had been "five years in the making." More than a year."
"It stems from an experience I had years ago where I felt unwelcome...and it was clear I wasn't welcome," she wrote. “But, because of that experience, I learned more about the history of country music and researched our rich musical archives.”
While Bey didn't specify what she was going through, she was likely referring to her performance with The Chicks at the 2016 Country Music Awards, which received hate from some country listeners. Scenic designer Es Devlin revealed in an interview with British Vogue that the Western-inspired visuals for the Renaissance World Tour were born from that experience.
"I think she had a really bad experience at the Country Music Awards and she wanted to explore her African-American roots," Devlin said. "She discovered that in the 19th and early 20th centuries, 50 percent of cowboys were black, and country music was certainly very much appropriated. She wanted to reinterpret Americana and country music from a black perspective."
Beyoncé also spoke about the negative influences she received when she ventured into country music, saying it inspired the album. "When I first entered the genre, the criticism I faced forced me to transcend the limitations placed on me," she writes. “Act Two was the result of challenging myself and taking the time to blend different genres together to create this piece.”
While she hasn't revealed the tracklist yet, Bay did tease that she has "a few surprises" in addition to the first two singles, "Texas Hold 'Em" and "16 Carriages." “I’ve worked with some amazing artists that I really respect,” she said. "I hope you can hear my heart and soul and all the love and passion I pour into every detail and every sound."
Beyoncé said she was "honored" to be the first black woman to top the country charts with "Texas Hold 'Em" and thanked fans for the achievement. "None of this would have happened without the overwhelming support of each and every one of you," she said. "I hope that in a few years, mentioning an artist's race as it relates to the genre of music being released will become irrelevant."
She said at the end of the letter that "Cowboy Carter" is a continuation of her last album "Renaissance". Her goal was to create “another journey” that fans could listen to from start to finish without skipping a beat.
"This is not a country album. This is a 'Beyoncé' album," she declared. "This is the second act of Cowboy Carter and I'm so proud to share it with you all!"
