Yee-haw! Cowboy Carter, the eighth studio album from the one and only Beyoncé, has finally arrived.
A brilliant nod to the 32-time Grammy winner’s Southern roots as a Houston native with parents who hail from Alabama and Louisana, respectively, Cowboy Carter, aka Act II, is intended to pay “homage to the past, honoring musical pioneers in country, rock, classical and opera” while “dismantling accepted false norms about Americana culture,” according to a press release from Parkwood Entertainment. It is the second in a three-act trilogy from the singer, which began with 2022’s Renaissance.
Growing up in Houston, it makes sense that Beyoncé frequented the Rodeo, where she “first saw diversity and camaraderie among people who love Country music and an Americana lifestyle, steeped in community, culinary offerings, grills and Western gear.”
Even the album’s title itself holds deep meaning. According to the press release, the term “cowboy” was intended to be derogatory toward former slaves, “who were the most skilled and had the hardest jobs of handling horses and cattle, alike.” However, by naming the album Cowboy Carter, Beyoncé attempts to destroy “the negative connotation” and honor “the strength and resiliency of these men who were the true definition of Western fortitude.”
Pulling inspiration from numerous films, including Five Fingers For Marseilles, Urban Cowboy, The Harder They Fall and Killers of the Flower Moon, the 27-track LP boasts unexpected collaborations with Miley Cyrus (“II Most Wanted”) and Post Malone (“Levii’s Jeans”).
Cowboy Carter even includes remakes of classic tunes like The Beatles’ “Blackbiird” — which features Brittney Spencer, Reyna Roberts, Tanner Adell and Tiera Kennedy — and Dolly Parton‘s “Jolene.” The latter song is a unique twist on Parton’s 1973 hit song: “Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene/ I’m warnin’ you, woman, find you your own man/ Jolene, I know I’m a queen, Jolene/ I’m still a Creole banjee b**ch from Louisianne,” she sings in the second chorus.
Instrument-wise, it’s a mixed bag in the best way possible, featuring the accordion, harmonica, washboard, acoustic guitar, bass ukulele, pedal steel guitar, mandolin, fiddle, Hammond B3 organ, tack piano and, of course, the banjo. And it wouldn’t be a country album without a Vibra-Slap, handclaps and “boot stomps on hardwood floors.” Fun fact: Beyoncé’s nails are used as percussion.
“The joy of creating music is that there are no rules,” Beyoncé said about the making of Cowboy Carter in the press release. “The more I see the world evolving the more I felt a deeper connection to purity. With artificial intelligence and digital filters and programming, I wanted to go back to real instruments, and I used very old ones. I didn’t want some layers of instruments like strings, especially guitars, and organs perfectly in tune. I kept some songs raw and leaned into folk. All the sounds were so organic and human, everyday things like the wind, snaps and even the sound of birds and chickens, the sounds of nature.”
Songwriter and producer Atia ‘Ink’ Boggs, who helped create the autobiographical “16 Carriages,” told journalist Alana M. Yzola in a recent interview that Cowboy Carter is a testament to Beyoncé’s broad reach as a global artist.
“Representation matters, that sound matters. This sound is Black music, this is what we started,” she said. “’16 Carriages,’ that was one of my favorite songs I’ve ever made and produced in all of my life. Because it’s so personal. I love to see her in that personal light.”
Around 100 songs were recorded for the ambitious project, which was over five years in the making.
“Once that is done, I am able to put the puzzle together and realize the consistencies and the common themes, and then create a solid body of work,” Beyoncé said.
Perhaps the press release’s biggest revelation is that Renaissance was actually intended to drop after Cowboy Carter.
“It’s been really great to have the time and the grace to be able to take my time with it,” she said. “I was initially going to put Cowboy Carter out first, but with the pandemic, there was too much heaviness in the world. We wanted to dance. We deserved to dance. But I had to trust God’s timing.”
Although a country-themed album from Beyoncé may have been the last thing the BeyHive expected in 2024, it demonstrates how the megastar is never one to rest on her laurels, and you can bet that she’s got plenty more surprises up her sleeve.
“I think people are going to be surprised because I don’t think this music is what everyone expects,” Beyoncé said. “But it’s the best music I’ve ever made.”
