If Beyoncé Isn't Country, Tell Me What Is
for what it's worth, musical escapisms, and bodies, bodies, bodies
Welcome, to hyperfix’d - a low-stakes publication where I share everything and anything I’m excited about with anyone who will listen. Cowboy Carter is here! Here with all my admiration and affection for the new album + other recommendations is new hyperfix’d:
Cowboy Carter 💿
Beyoncé’s spectacular second act and eighth studio album Cowboy Carter is here, and it’s some of her greatest work yet. Just shy of a ninety-minute runtime, the monumental twenty-seven-track album takes its audience on an illustrious journey through the ethnography of American country music, excavating and reclaiming the ever-present folk, bluegrass, and rock and roll roots that have shaped and defined the modern music soundscape. Cowboy Carter was ‘born out of an experience where (Beyoncé) did not feel welcomed,’ her performance of Daddy Lessons at the Country Music Awards which was met with disparaging reaction from the industry years prior. Her empowering response is a rich restoration of decades of musical influence and history, a sonic masterpiece brought to life through a culmination of talents - writing and producing credits range from trusted collaborators Pharrell and The-Dream to notable newcomers Ryan Beatty, Mamii, and Raye.
For things to stay the same, they have to change again.
Cowboy Carter is made to be heard in its fullest form, as Beyoncé invites her listeners to ‘start from the beginning and never stop.’ New Yorker staff writer Doreen St. Félix pens a nuanced commentary on the album, a brilliant companion piece that dives further into the multifold musical and historical influence captured within each track.
American Requiiem serves as an extraordinary opening to the artist’s visionary oeuvre, finding harmonious coalescence in its psychedelic dissonance, signaling to its onlookers that what they’re about to witness is nothing short of a masterpiece. Beyoncé’s ethereally reimagined rendition of Blackbiird follows, with rising country stars Tanner Adell, Brittney Spencer, Tiera Kennedy, and Reyna Roberts beautifully complementing the Beatles’ beloved timeless tribute to the black women at the forefront of the Civil Rights Movement.
Used to say I spoke too country / And then the rejection came, said I wasn’t country enough / Said I wouldn’t saddle up, but / If that ain’t country, tell me what is.
Smoke Hour is the first of several spoken interludes featured across the album - here, Willie Nelson introduces ‘KNTRY Radio’s’ listeners to Texas Hold ‘Em with a shuffling of radio channels, catching glimpses of the musical influences in time that helped shape Beyoncé’s country soundscape - from Chuck Berry’s Maybellene to Sister Rosetta Tharpe’s Down by the Riverside. Bodyguard leans into the organic soundscapes of Linda Rondstadt and Carole King, a soft rock classic best experienced cruising in the backseat of a convertible, long hair flowing in the wind. Dolly Parton personally extends an introduction to Beyoncé’s stellar reinvention of Jolene, one with a little more heat and lyrics to match. Daughter, a stirring aria straight out of an Ennio Morricone western (Daddy Lessons’ spiritual successor), sees Beyoncé flawlessly execute a passage from Caro Mio Bien, before switching up gears once again - to go from opera to rap … the other girls simply aren’t doing it like she is! Spaghetti playfully riffs on the album’s subversion of genres, as Linda Martell, country trailblazer and first black woman to perform at the Grand Ole Opry, breaks the fourth wall to confront and call out preconceived notions of how certain music should present itself in our cultural zeitgeist. Shaboozey, a rapper whose highly stylized work is known to draw from a vast pool of genres, also features on the record, featured later on Sweet. Honey. Buckin’. Cowboy Carter takes great love and care in uplifting its many collaborators, all innovators of the genre in their own right - in II Most Wanted, Miley Cyrus has never sound better, her ethereally soaring harmonies beautifully complimenting the instantly beloved, Fleetwood Mac inspired/Thelma & Louise coded serenade.
This particular tune stretches across a range of genres/And that’s what makes it a unique listening experience.
Martell returns to the final act of the album reintroduce Ya Ya, one of the album’s biggest crowdpleasers, a maximalist production and nod to the historic Rodeo Chitlin’ Circuit that hits the ground running with notes of Nancy Sinatra’s These Boots Are Made For Walking, The Beach Boys’ Good Vibrations, and Mickey & Sylvia’s Love Is Strange. Ya Ya is the best kind of sensory overload, a glorious culmination of country extravaganza and rock and roll spectacle - with every listen, there’s something new to discover. From Ya Ya to Amen, the final acts of Cowboy Carter are a race to the finish - Ya Ya seamlessly transitions into Oh Louisiana and Desert Eagle, funk-infused interludes grounded in the psychedelic tones of Parliament/Funkadelic, followed by the ear worm grooves of Riiverdance, Tyrant, and Sweet. Honey. Buckin.’ As the album comes full circle with Amen, its’ house and dance influences become more and more prevalent, a loving and perpetual continuation of Beyoncé’s celebrated Renaissance.
At the beginning of the album, Beyoncé prepares us for a ‘lot of taking up space’ - in Cowboy Carter, she does just that. Beyoncé reaches new heights of idiosyncrasy while honoring the legacies of the artists who came before her, her visionary work extending beyond any singular genre or iteration. I would do anything to experience this body of work for the first time again - I haven’t seen Dune Pt. II but can imagine that this is what it felt like. Cowboy Carter is a cumulative representation of everything Beyoncé is, and all that came before her, rising above every expectation of what a country album, or any album, should and can be. As with Stevie, Michael, Prince, and Tina, we are witnessing the triumph of one of the greatest superstars the world will ever know - how lucky we are to see it in our lifetimes. 🌹
Some of my favorite tracks from the album:
Ameriican Requiem
Blackbiird
Protector
Texas Hold ‘Em (Pony Up) Remix
Spaghettii
Alliigator Tears
II Most Wanted
Ya Ya
Riiverdance
Sweet Honey Buckiin’
More Hyperfixations ✨
As a parting note, here are a few more pieces from every corner of the internet that I couldn’t resist sharing, for your hyperfixation consideration:
A24’s Bodies Bodies Bodies is finally getting the attention it deserves - the modern cult classic perfectly captures the double-edged morality of today’s adolescence, and girlhood at its absolute best (or worst). Streaming on Netflix.
Raye’s debut performance on Saturday Night Live is a gift to behold - her mesmerizing live vocals and rich orchestrations elevate her soulful musicality to another level - watch Raye’s performance of Worth It here.
Hope Tala’s I Can’t Even Cry, Omar Apollo’s Spite, Lizzy McAlpine’s Older, and Jalen Ngonda’s Illusions are just a few of the new music releases I’ve been loving listening to on constant repeat. 🤍
