A new sheriff has rolled into town, and her name is ‘Cowboy Carter!’

To preface this review I would like to note that I have never been a fan of country music. When anyone asks what kind of music I listen to I specifically say “anything but country.” My dislike of the genre is not a dig at the music but it has never appealed to me and to be honest I’ve never really given it a genuine try, but when Beyoncé announced her next album would be country I knew I had to be tuned in. 

Beyoncé’s 27-track album, “Cowboy Carter,” was released on March 29 and is the second act in her “Renaissance” series. The first act, “Renaissance,” was a dance album which won her four Grammys and made her the person with the most Grammy awards ever, with 32 wins.   

Prior to the release of the new album the discourse surrounding it was mixed. Obviously, Beyoncé’s fans, the Beyhive, were excited and supportive. They seem to take any new music from Beyoncé with excitement, no matter the genre or aesthetic. Unsurprisingly, others outside of the Beyhive were skeptical about Beyoncé’s venture into this new genre, but most casual listeners don’t realize Beyoncé has made country music before.

On her 2016 album “Lemonade,” Beyoncé sings of lessons from her father on the song “Daddy’s Lessons,” which happens to be my favorite song from that album. Although the song was not the lead single of the album it was significant enough to get Beyoncé invited to the Country Music Association awards, or the CMAs, to perform the song alongside The Chicks, formerly known as the Dixie Chicks. 

Beyoncé’s surprise performance had everyone who was at the performance on their feet. Despite the good reception from the Beyhive and those at the performance, Beyoncé received backlash over the performance. 

Online, some fans of the award show criticized her attendance of the award show by deeming her not country enough to be performing. Others cited her politically-charged album “Lemonade,” and a recent Super Bowl performance, which showcased topics like race, black power and the Black Lives Matter movement, as reasons for her to be excluded. 

Although the country genre is associated with more conservative ideas it still was shocking that an artist as beloved as Beyoncé would be exiled from the space. 

In an Instagram post ahead of the album’s release Beyoncé revealed the inspiration for the album was because of an unwelcoming experience she’d had, prompting her to look deeper into country music. 

“It was born out of an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed… and it was very clear that I wasn’t. But, because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of Country music,” Beyoncé said.

After her negative introduction into the country genre, I look at “Cowboy Carter” as a revenge album, and revenge has never sounded so sweet. This album is a redefining of what country is and can be. Beyoncé proves that her art cannot be limited by imaginary boundaries and her album excels because of her denial of those boundaries.     

Beyoncé has an ability to transport her listeners into the album and make an immersive experience. The songs made me feel as though I was riding a horse or getting eaten up by mosquitoes while at my paw paw’s house in the woods. I felt the love and intensity of her more serious songs like “16 Carriages” while also enjoying the playfulness of her more fun songs like “Levi’s Jeans.”

I thought her transitions from song to song were creative and I loved the radio theme she had in between songs to introduce the next one. I thought they were well used and I enjoyed the cameos from legendary country artists like Dolly Parton, Linda Martell and Willie Nelson.

One of my favorite songs on the album was “II Most Wanted,” featuring Miley Cyrus. Not only was Cyrus on the song but she sang with Beyoncé the whole time. The most notable part of the song was the end when they take turns belting the chorus with an undeniable amount of emotion, making me tear up.

Although you can’t get much better than Beyoncé and Miley Cyrus singing their hearts out in a duet, “II Hands to Heaven” takes the cake as my favorite song on the album. The beat of the song and visuals of the lyrics are transformative. The song makes me feel like I’m dancing in the desert and the sun is going down but I’m not scared because I feel so happy. 

I know it seems suspicious that someone who doesn’t usually like country loves Beyoncé’s country album, even though she isn’t usually a country artist, but I think my enjoyment of the album attests to the artistry of Beyoncé. She immersed herself into a genre so well that she was able to remain true to it while also putting her own spin on it and allowing someone like me to enjoy the genre as well.   

She was able to pay homage to country greats while simultaneously pushing the genre forward. She’s changed how the genre can be thought of and has used this opportunity to share her platform with other overlooked black country artists like Taylor Adell and Willie Jones. 

This album is Beyoncé’s unofficial response to the backlash she received in 2016. Her being shunned from country gave her a reason to remind everyone she can do whatever type of music she wants and do it well. This album is Beyoncé’s demand for respect and it worked. “Cowboy Carter” makes Beyoncé the first black woman ever to have a country album at number one on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart.

The most striking thing about the album is not its success or the history surrounding why she wrote it in the first place, but the way the lyrics in some of her songs reflect that when she was creating the album she knew she was creating a new and impressive piece of art that would break barriers.   

In the last verse of her final song on the album, “Amen,” Beyoncé directs her audience to “say a prayer for what has been” because “them old ideas are buried here.” The old ideas of what country can be and who can participate are put to rest with this amazing album as Beyoncé rides off into the sunset on her white horse, kicking dust into the eyes of the people who doubted her.