The Rich Black History That Runs Through Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter
“New” Black country music fans aren’t following trends. We’re reclaiming the ones our ancestors set.
My maternal grandfather, who we lovingly called Poppy, is a country boy from Ohio who loved horses, westerns, and good music, especially jazz, gospel, and country. Though he gave up on dive bars as a young man, Poppy was rarely seen without his cowboy hats. I, on the other hand, never really liked country music. In fact, I used to take pride in my affinity for R&B and rap music, because I thought those genres alone were an extension of my Blackness. I’ve said the same about many other genres of music like rock, house, and EDM, which I ignorantly referred to as “white people music.”