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Entertainment November 3, 2016
After the announcement that Beyoncé would be performing at the 50th Annual Country Music Awards last night, many country fans weren’t excited about her appearance.
Skeptics put out a “Mean Girls” You can’t sit with us! vibe, suggesting that the Texas-native popstar wasn’t “country enough.”
Sure, Queen Bey isn’t known as a country artist, but her placement in the country genre isn’t as peculiar as disgruntled fans make it out to be. So-called purists forget that their favorite genre, just like many other music genres, has roots in black history.
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For starters, the banjo, a historical country music staple, was originally invented and played by slaves brought to the Antebellum South. Before it was popularized by white artists, it was played on slave plantations along with the fiddle, another instrument that’s no stranger to the country music genre.
And If we’re giving credit where credit is due, many black musicians laid the foundation for what is currently believed to be a southern white genre. Black artists including DeFord Bailey, Charley Pride, and even Ray Charles contributed to the development of a genre that Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert, Luke Bryan now thrive in.
In other words, Beyoncé doesn’t need to “stay in her lane” because country is right where she needs to be. She’s thriving right beside other current black country artists including Rhiannon Giddens and Cleve Francis.
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Despite the push-back, Mrs. Carter took the CMA stage with the Dixie Chicks to perform “Daddy Lessons,” the surprise country song on her latest top-charting album, Lemonade. Her performance was a necessary reminder of country music’s black roots. Additionally, the “Formation” singer proves that there is room for artists of various backgrounds and perspectives in country music.
So, if you think Beyoncé doesn’t belong in country, think again.
