Album Review - Cowboy Carter by Beyoncé
Intent: a mental state in which the agent commits themselves to a course of action.
Perhaps it’s because her albums no longer feel like albums but more declarative statements on her outlook on the world, matched with angelic harmonies; but these days, the word intent is the best word to describe Beyonce’s latest (well, last four projects) album Cowboy Carter.
Her eighth studio album, Cowboy Carter, is a twenty-seven-track declarative love letter to Black women, her southern roots, and maybe the biggest middle finger since Motumbo to those who would challenge her authenticity to the country genre.
When the Queen Bee informed the world of new music via a Super Bowl commercial, this statement not only superseded the iconic Football event itself but sent the world into a frenzy. Her words are simply that powerful. Music from her is not music anymore but events on a global scale.
Leading the charge of this event were two singles, “16 Carriages,” a moving and piteous body of art stapled to the singer’s country-genre upbringings, and “Texas Hold 'Em,” a pop-country balled chalked with Tik-Tok energy and fun dive-bar influence.
The singles are fun, adventurous, and top-quality on their own. However, amidst the larger scope of the album, Beyoncé captures the essence of the term intent as the single’s placements tell the story of the singer’s upbringing as a Black woman within the predominantly white genre.
“16 Carriages” is placed during the almost history lesson-esque first half of the album, and “Texas Hold ‘Em” comes following a Willie Nelson interlude that shows the legend giving Country-genre faux-pundits a slick-tongue lashing about gatekeeping the genre.
Speaking of history lessons, throughout the hour-long album, Beyoncé prioritizes keeping the conversation about country music's Black legacy. Ushering in the project with a cover of "Blackbiird," a cover of The Beatles’ historic song written in response to the harassment Black teenagers received in Arkansas after the end of segregation via Brown v. Board of Education.
Beyoncé, as crafty as ever, uses this moment to feature an Avengers-level squad of Black women in country music, featuring Tanner Adell, Tiera Kennedy, Brittney Spencer (whom I originally read as Britney Spears), and Reyna Roberts. While beautiful is a word I would typically use to describe this song, check out a few reaction videos to this track, and you will see how the term "intent" comes to mind.
While the next few songs are indeed upbeat anthems, matched with a modern-day cover of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” (approved by the legend herself), and the ever-powerful dark-balled “Daughters.”
However, the second half of the album takes time to remain steadfast in its INTENT to remind the world that Country music is flexible, but Beyonce's music is genreless. Led by the Swizz Beats’ produced "Spaghetti," the project takes a twist to offer country-rap, a fun country-pop track featuring hip-hop artist-turned-rock-star Post Malone, and a vocally-strong power-ballad featuring Miley Cyrus (who surprisingly holds her own while paired with Beyonce).
This mesh-mash of genre flipping lasts to the end of the album with the Dolly Parton-assisted track "Tyrant."
If nothing else, Cowboy Carter offers a masterpiece of dialogue, impactful lyrics, and some of the greatest harmonies in the history of recorded music. This album is a reflection of what can be achieved when the best resources are available to the artist.
Viewing the project as a piece of musical art, perhaps at times a moment can feel off, such as the case where songs like "II Hands II Heaven" feel more appropriate to feature in the singer's 2022 project Renaissance, but in terms of a complete project, it simply does not get any better than this.
You can listen to, what is maybe the album of 2024 here.
