How Beyonce fits into the long history of Black women in country music. Taylor Crumpton , journalist and writer. Rissi Palmer , singer and songwriter. So that's what we're looking at today. Black woman in country music, and we're going to start with Taylor Crumpton. She's a journalist and writer based in Chicago. Taylor, welcome to On Point.
When Cowboy Carter first came out, I listened to the whole thing. And I've listened to it probably 50 or 60 times since then. And I actually consider it an American masterpiece, like one of the finest American albums in the past 50 years, for sure. So beyond that, I'm not sure what else I can add.
I think it was very tongue in cheek for her to say, you know, this is not a country album. But also asking listeners to think about music that comes out of the country of the United States.
I think she almost used it as a Trojan horse. That this album came under the guise of country, but you're hearing Americana, folks, blues, hip hop, all of these American genres that have been created in this country. And every single Black musician, Black artist, Black entertainer is a part of this country.
And has performed and actually innovated every single genre that has come out of the country of the United States of America. And then doing exactly what you said, innovating yet again. And, like, making this declaration now, here's the next step.
