Cowboy Carter By: Beyonce
Cowboy Carter, the album that you are.
My friends listening to me rant about Cowboy Carter
As a kid, I knew very few Beyoncé songs. I knew what was on the radio but my mom did not keep her on constant rotation. I think it's because when I was eight years old I was singing “Ego” with the confidence of a grown woman who knew how to keep a man. I didn’t understand the words or what they meant, but I knew how they made me feel: powerful, pretty, untouchable. Beyoncé gave me feelings I couldn’t name. She was simply That Girl.
Then came Renaissance. I listened to that album like it was the only thing I’d ever hear again. It became the soundtrack of my senior year of college. Once again, Beyoncé made me feel powerful, pretty, untouchable. That same unnameable confidence. I instantly became a Beyoncé stan. I love that horse lady. So when Cowboy Carter dropped on March 29, 2024, I was sat.
I truly cannot express what this album means to me—as a little country Black girl who grew up loving country music and got told, that’s not what Black people like. This album is important to me metaphysically. It’s for the girls who understood “Daddy Lessons” the first time. For the girls who ran barefoot on the pavement in the heat of summer.
The way she structured the album—from traditional country roots, to a middle section that feels like newborn country, to the final seven tracks that are wholly her version of country—is brilliant. Musically genius.
And the features? I’m astounded. She brings in artists like Tanner Adell and Willie Jones—two young, Black artists who should be country stars, if not for the color of their skin. Tanner had a song go viral on TikTok, and once people realized she was Black, they started leaving hate comments under her posts. Willie sang a country song on X Factor and didn’t win, because his sound didn’t match the vibe people expected from him. Now? They’re featured on a country album by the biggest star in the world since Michael Jackson. Black people invented country music, then got pushed out of it. And here Beyoncé is, taking it back—and while doing so, uplifting the future of Black country. They could never make me hate her.
And then there’s Miley and Post Malone—two artists who are arguably the future of country, both of whom have explored Black-influenced genres like hip-hop and R&B. Seeing them return to their country roots alongside Beyoncé? Beautiful. Full circle.
Picking a top five was nearly impossible, but I did my best:
5. Just for Fun – This was a tough call between this and “Ya Ya.” But “Just for Fun” won out because I can’t get over the arrangement. It’s a gorgeous track that means so much to me.
4. II Most Wanted – This one reminds me of my sisters. When I hear it, I don’t think of romantic love—I think of friendship. Of the way sisterhood has made me stronger and better. Everything I know about love, I learned from the women in my life.
3. Daughter – “Daddy Lessons’” big, more evil sister. And since “Daddy Lessons” is in my top ten Beyoncé songs ever, of course this made the list. Her operatic vocals in this? I levitated.
2. Protector – I’ve cried to this one. I’ll sing it to my babies when I welcome them into the world. It’s the definition of undying love and devotion. It means more to me than I can explain.
1. Bodyguard – When I trained for a half marathon last year, this was the song. It’s fun, boppy, full of joy. I blasted it in my car on the highway, ran across the Brooklyn Bridge with it in my headphones, danced to it while getting ready to go out. It was the soundtrack of my summer.
Cowboy Carter was so excellent I literally bought it on vinyl before I was done listening to the album. This is dedicated to little ole me that loved to run in back fields and wanted to learn the guitar.
