Beyoncé's country era is here. Will it change anything for Black country musicians?
CBC
On the surface, Beyoncé and Sacha have little in common.
Where Beyoncé was born in Houston, Sacha grew up in the tiny town of Warkworth, Ont. While the former was inspired to become a musician by a larger-than-life Michael Jackson concert, the latter credits her passion to the soulful Patsy Cline records her mother would play on repeat.
And when at 17 Beyoncé had released her debut album with superstar group Destiny's Child, Sacha was living on her own, working at Tim Hortons and only dreaming about getting behind the mic one day.
But after Beyoncé released her recent country singles Texas Hold 'Em and 16 Carriages, Sacha (who performs under her first name) saw her career linked with the superstar for three reasons: they're women, they're Black and they're making country music.
"Usually when people find out that I'm a country music artist, there's this record scratching sound in the background," Sacha said. "And it's like, huh, like, shouldn't you be singing this [other] type of music?"
As Beyoncé became the first Black woman to hit No.1 on Hot Country Songs in February, and with Friday's release of her full country album, Cowboy Carter, that perception is starting to shift. They're each testing how, and whether, the world of country music will adapt to accept more Black artists — both in the short-term and the long-term.
"[I] wake up the next morning, and I'm in Time magazine right up with a few other country acts that are female and of colour," Sacha said, referencing one of many articles highlighting Black contribution to country music that were published following Beyoncé's high-profile releases.
"Beyoncé was obviously the forefront of the write-up. But to have our names mentioned in there was an opportunity that we might not have gotten otherwise."
Sacha is among a slew of Black country artists riding what songwriter and My Black Country author Alice Randall calls a renaissance for Black country musicians. Even before Beyoncé's foray into the genre kicked off conversations from both fans and critics, Randall said more listeners were becoming aware of Black musicians' historical contributions to the genre.
"I think it's a thrilling moment," she said. "[The album] spotlights Beyoncé's genius, yes, but also puts a light on all this other creative genius that is floating in country and Black-country space."
During her 40 years in that space, Randall has seen a glass ceiling. Contemporary Black country artists like Rissi Palmer, Rhiannon Giddens and Canada's Allison Russell each met similar obstacles — a lack of chart success despite incredible talent, followed by the assumption they can't and shouldn't make country music because they didn't have the talent, the look or the discipline.
After the success of Beyoncé's Texas Hold 'Em, Randall says those ideas can rightly be thrown out the window.
"But it suggests that there was something else. Why did people want to say that?," Randall said. "Since I know Rhiannon Giddens had everything she needed to be at the top of the charts, I know Rissi Palmer had everything she needed to be at the top of the charts, I leave it to those people to discuss why they did not get to the top of the charts."
The reason is embedded in the industry's history, University of Ottawa assistant professor and country music researcher Jada Watson argues.
