Beyoncé’s latest album, “Cowboy Carter”, has taken the music world by storm, debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and claiming the biggest week of 2024 with 407,000 equivalent album units. Despite “Cowboy Carter” dominating the charts, breaking records, and marking Beyoncé as the first Black woman to top Billboard’s Top Country Albums list, she was notably absent from the Country Music Association (CMA) Awards nominations. This snub raises uncomfortable questions about racism and the persistent gatekeeping within country music—a genre rooted in Black history.
In case y’all forgot: country music was born out of Black culture. Early country music drew heavily from African American spirituals, blues, and folk traditions. Yet, despite this, country music has been whitewashed for decades, with Black artists often sidelined or outright excluded from the genre they helped create.
Beyoncé’s exclusion from the CMAs despite “Cowboy Carter”’s undeniable success is a stark reminder that country music’s gatekeepers are not ready to let go of their outdated notions of who belongs in the genre. The fact that Beyoncé’s singles “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages” reached No. 1 and No. 9 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart, yet still didn’t warrant CMA recognition, speaks volumes.
This snub mirrors the treatment of other Black country artists, from Charley Pride to Mickey Guyton, who have faced systemic racism throughout their careers. While the industry likes to tout itself as inclusive, moments like this.
Good thing Beyonce did say its not a “country”album its a “Beyonce” album.
