海角大神

Just before the official release of 鈥淐owboy Carter,鈥� the second act of Beyonc茅鈥檚 鈥淩enaissance,鈥� I thought about a number of Black artists who had been disrespected by the country music establishment. The most local, if not the most notable, for me, was James Brown.

There鈥檚 a recollection of Brown鈥檚 March 1979 performance at the Grand Ole Opry from Rolling Stone, which recounted some of the angst from other country music performers. 鈥淚 could throw up,鈥� piano player Del Wood reportedly said to the Nashville Banner. The Memphis Press-Scimitar offered this headline: 鈥淛ames Brown brings disharmony to Grand Ole Opry.鈥�

It reminded me of the icy reception Beyonc茅 received at the 2016 Country Music Association Awards, where her performance of 鈥淒addy Lessons鈥� with the Chicks drew backlash. That pushback from the CMAs has reportedly inspired her latest work, and much like James Brown didn鈥檛 take no mess,聽neither does Mama Carter.

I love 鈥淐owboy Carter鈥� because among the serenity and severity of the album, there is a brashness that comes through. I can鈥檛 stop listening to the thumping 鈥淪PAGHETTII鈥� and the strings on 鈥淭YRANT,鈥� two tracks with straightforward lead-ins from female country music icons that make way for defiant anthems. The sultry lyrics of 鈥淐owboy Carter,鈥� buoyed by the likes of Black country music icon Linda Martell and legends Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson, give roots to Beyonc茅鈥檚 experimentation. 鈥淕enres are a funny little concept, aren鈥檛 they?鈥� Martell asks at the beginning of 鈥淪PAGHETTII,鈥� and Beyonc茅 wrote on Instagram that 鈥淐owboy Carter鈥� isn鈥檛 a country album 鈥� it鈥檚 a 鈥淏eyonc茅 album.鈥� Her song titles are in all capitals and threaded with Roman numeral II鈥檚 throughout, as a visual callback to the album being Act II of 鈥淩enaissance.鈥�

Since the April 2016 release of 鈥淟emonade,鈥� Beyonc茅鈥檚 sense of empowerment through her studio albums has been pronounced, and no one is exempt. I can still visualize a baseball bat-wielding 鈥橸onc茅 marching down the street, her lyrics a damning indictment of the behavior of her husband, Jay-Z. The first act of 鈥淩enaissance鈥� elicited the spirit of Black disco icons such as Donna Summer, but also saved room for systemic angst, exemplified in phrasing such as 鈥淎merica Has a Problem.鈥�

鈥淐owboy Carter鈥� opens up with 鈥淎MERIICAN REQUIEM,鈥� which goes beyond the problem and acknowledges that status quo is what makes this country and establishment go:

Nothing really ends
For things to stay the same, they have to change again
Hello, my old friend
You change your name but not the ways you play pretend
American Requiem

And then, the explicit pushback on notions that she isn鈥檛 鈥渃ountry enough鈥�:

Used to say I spoke, 鈥淭oo country鈥�
And the rejection came, said I wasn鈥檛 country聽enough
Said I wouldn鈥檛 saddle up, but
If that ain鈥檛 country, tell me what is

This is a reminder that we鈥檝e known Beyonc茅 since she was a child 鈥� that even when she fell among the stars, it was only a setup for an illuminating career. It would have been easy for Beyonc茅 to lean into scorn and vindictiveness, taking a Louisville Slugger to country music鈥檚 elite institutions. But success has always been her best revenge. 鈥淎lways stay gracious, best revenge is your paper,鈥� she told us in 2016鈥檚 hit 鈥淔ormation.鈥�

In that same song, she told women to organize, which is the true beauty of 鈥淐owboy Carter.鈥� This album is a clarion call, an 鈥淥K, ladies鈥� to the 鈥淏lackbirds鈥� of country music, to giants such as Parton and Martell. (She covers the Beatles classic in 鈥淏LACKBIIRD.鈥�) A requiem requires an invocation. Beyonc茅, the living successor to Tina Turner, is an evocation. She is Proud Mary on 鈥淵A YA.鈥�

鈥淏ODYGUARD.鈥� 鈥淧ROTECTOR.鈥� She鈥檚 letting us know where she sits, not just on a throne, but on a horse, as a defender of the past and the present. One of her husband鈥檚 most famous lines ends with 鈥渘o, [I] did that, so hopefully you won鈥檛 have to go through that.鈥� So much of pop music has become homogenized, which is why her genre-bending effort shines through. It鈥檚 not just informed by history, but also soulful and avenging.聽

One of the promos for the album mentioned the 鈥渃hitlin鈥� circuit,鈥� which is a fancy way of saying the underground railroad, or the Negro leagues. It is a callback to second-class citizenship, or, rather, to the attempts to instill such policy. Beyonc茅, a native of Houston, uses it to affirm her family and musical legacy, and also to uplift the Martells of the world and give them a voice. Sonically, it is 鈥淏lack Girl Songbook鈥� author鈥檚 Danyel Smith鈥檚 recollection of unappreciated women in music, and this exhortation 鈥� 鈥淪hine Bright.鈥�

Another promo featured a taxi driver who rode through the countryside, and a sign: 鈥淩adio Texas, 100,000 watts of healing power.鈥� James Brown owned radio stations throughout the country as well, a response to the difficulty Black artists had distributing their music. 鈥淚f you can鈥檛 beat them, buy them.鈥� This sense of capitalism can rub folks the wrong way, and so it went with Brown and Beyonc茅. The Black Panthers challenged Brown, and Beyonc茅 has received criticisms about her radio silence on Gaza.

When Brown said it loud 鈥� that he was Black and proud 鈥� it resonated. Beyonc茅鈥檚 efforts at Black reclamation 鈥� including Black Panther homages at the Super Bowl and the Grammys 鈥� have done the same.

I am finding that the people who criticize her the most are not the targeted audience. I have a good friend, a proud Houstonian, who has followed Beyonc茅 figuratively and literally, having attended her Coachella set. 鈥淚 love Beyonc茅 and she loves me,鈥� Crystal Franks proudly has listed on a social media page.

Quite naturally, she calls 鈥淐owboy Carter鈥� a masterpiece. But she also called this latest episode of 鈥淩enaissance鈥� a refrain.

鈥淥nce you get past melodies and beats, you鈥檙e in the middle of a history repeating itself lesson,鈥� Ms. Franks says. 鈥淥verall, I鈥檓 pleased with her representation of our past and present in this country. No better woman [or] man for the job of putting America in its place.鈥�