From Shaboozey's smash hit “A Bar Song” to Sabrina Carpenter's “Please Please Please” and Post Malone and Morgan Wallen's Billboard Hot 100 hit “I Had Some Help,” country music is back on top. Of course, a major player right now, especially in the platforming of Black country artists right now, is Beyoncé.
The Billboard 200 was released at the top of the year Cowboy Carterthe second act of her still-unfolding trilogy featuring a host of rising Black country stars, including Reyna Roberts, who features on “Blackbiird” and harmonizes in the background on “Tyrant.”
“From the moment I heard my voice [“Tyrant”]I couldn't believe it,” Roberts said Advertising sign backstage after her appearance at the Blavity House Party on Saturday (June 15). “I'm still so grateful that Beyoncé brought us into a project and made us a little part of her legacy because people here didn't do that, but she did.”
Despite the fact that Black artists were fundamental to the creation of what is now recognized as country music, the roots of the genre have been whitewashed and obscured by those who wanted to erase the contributions of key players such as Leslie Riddle, Rufus “Tee Tot” Payne, Arnold Schultz. and Gus Cannon. With his release Cowboy Carter — which, in addition to Roberts, featured collaborations with Tanner Adell, Brittney Spencer, Tiera Kennedy, Shaboozey, Willie Jones and the legendary Linda Martell — a dominant Black Country explosion unfolds in real time.
None of the artists showed up Cowboy Carter are new to the country music industry. Many of them have been trying to break through for nearly a decade, but Beyoncé's latest LP was the catalyst she needed to override the Nashville machine and force the industry's gatekeepers to really pay attention. After all, when Beyoncé released “Texas Hold 'Em,” Cowboy Carter's Hot 100-top single, in February, Advertising sign reported a residual stream boost for other black women's catalogs in the country. Robert's streams increased by 250% in the week after “Texas” was released.
“When I was [first] coming to Nashville, I was telling people my goals, my dreams, like I'm going to work with Beyoncésays Roberts. “People just didn't see it. I met with many labels [in Nashville], and everyone passed me. It's so interesting to see how people treat me now. I'm the same person, I'm thankful that my personality hasn't really changed, my talent hasn't changed, I'm the same person. But it took Beyoncé and a lot of answered prayers from God for some people to see what they couldn't see before.”
For Roberts, the rest of 2024 is about making sure this moment isn't just a flash in the pan. The 'Stomping Grounds' singer is currently hard at work on her new album, the follow-up to 2023 Bad Girl Bible, Vol. 1as well as exciting endeavors in different spheres of entertainment.
“With this next album, every song will have a story [and] to have perspective,” he reveals. “I want to make sure I'm telling the best stories I can, so it takes some time. It's definitely coming. It's going to be something I'm proud of and want to sing about for the rest of my life.”
