Myo Thiha 

Opinions Editor 

Beyoncé in a cowboy hat. Photo credit: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images/The Recording Academy 

Beyoncé recently surprised fans with a Super Bowl commercial announcing that she was releasing two songs, “Texas Hold ’Em” and “16 Carriages.” What caught many people off-guard was that they were both country songs rather than her typical sound. True fans may not have been as surprised since she has been teasing a foray into country music since 2016 with the song “Daddy Lessons” from her critically acclaimed album Lemonade.  

Beyoncé is also no stranger to experimenting with different genres. Her last album, Renaissance, revitalized the dance music genre. The album embraced the history of dance music that inspired it—like 1970s disco, Jamaican dancehall, and internet-speed hyperpop—while moving it forward to the 2020s.   

These two new singles suggest that Beyoncé may explore country music more fully on a new album, which would be consistent with her Houston upbringing and the wardrobe clues she’s provided at recent live appearances.  

However, not everyone is excited. Controversy ensued when a Beyoncé fan called into Oklahoma’s KYKC station to request them to play “Texas Hold ’Em.” The station plays country music; by general criteria, the song is a country song. However, the station’s general manager responded, “We do not play Beyoncé on KYKC as we are a country music station.” This decision led to the station receiving thousands of emails and calls with claims of racism for not allowing Beyoncé on country airwaves.  

During an interview, dukes of Hazzard actor and country musician John Schneider said of “lefties in the entertainment industry” that “They’ve got to make their mark, just like a dog in a dog walk park.” This type of dog-whistle rhetoric is dehumanizing and racist toward artists who are attempting to make country music. A similar issue happened in 2018 when Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” hit the Billboard Top Country 100 list.  

What constitutes a country song? Is it in the structure, melodies, or lyrical subjects? “Texas Hold ’Em” is a country song by all those criteria, with lyrics referencing dive bars, whiskey, and hoedowns. The same gatekeeping doesn’t happen when white artists delve into historically Black genres like jazz or hip-hop. White rappers like Eminem, Macklemore, and Jack Harlow have achieved high levels of commercial and critical success as rappers, charting on rap Billboard lists and winning awards in rap categories.  

Is this gatekeeping even logical? Dr. Marcus Collins of the University of Michigan argues that country music’s gatekeeping against Beyoncé is cultural appropriation since it owes much of its sound to Black music and traditions. Collins argues that country music’s “melodies were lifted from hymnals performed in the Black church. Its stylings were borrowed from Black musicians. The banjo, a country music staple, was created by enslaved Africans.”  

The notion that country music is exclusively made by and for white people is objectively wrong, and it erases the Black country musicians who have helped shape its sound, like Charley Pride and Darius Rucker. It seems that some want to erase the Black roots of country music and, therefore, silence Black country artists by crediting it as a sound and art form reserved for white Americans.  

The Oklahoma radio station’s resistance was ultimately fruitless—KYKC eventually folded and played “Texas Hold ’Em” after receiving significant backlash. KYKC did not consider the power and reach of the BeyHive. Beyoncé fans are steadfast in their support to the detriment of those who oppose her.  

Whether or not it involves Beyoncé, the continued gatekeeping of country music against artists of color is an act of white supremacy we should advocate against. Country music is at an inflection point where more artists of color are embracing its sounds. The country community can continue being racist and only allow white musicians, or it can evolve to be more inclusive and welcome a new country renaissance.