COWBOY CARTER — Beyoncé

SMOKE HOUR II

0:30

AMERIICAN REQUIEMStandout

5:25

BLACKBIIRD

2:12

JUST FOR FUN

3:24

II MOST WANTED

3:29

16 CARRIAGESStandout

3:47

LEVII’S JEANS

4:13

PROTECTOR

3:00

DESERT EAGLE

1:12

MY ROSE

0:53

SMOKE HOUR ★ WILLIE NELSON

0:51

RIIVERDANCE

4:28

II HANDS II HEAVEN

5:57

TEXAS HOLD ’EM

3:53

BODYGUARD

4:00

TYRANT

4:26

SWEET ★ HONEY ★ BUCKIIN’

4:56

DOLLY P

0:23

AMEN

2:25

JOLENE

3:10

DAUGHTERStandout

3:23

ALLIIGATOR TEARS

2:59

It's a high-production road trip through the history of the South that you didn't learn in school.

A grand, cinematic reclamation of roots that feels both ancient and futuristic.

COWBOY CARTER is a landmark exploration of Americana and country music through the lens of Black southern heritage. Recorded over several years as 'Act II' of a trilogy, the album serves as a direct response to the artist's 2016 experience at the CMA Awards, transforming exclusion into a sprawling 27-track thesis on musical lineage. Sonically, it is an eclectic tapestry that weaves together bluegrass, go-go, rock, and soul, featuring contributions from icons like Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson alongside contemporary innovators. The production is characterized by its 'Smoke Hour' radio interludes, creating a cohesive narrative arc that feels like a journey through a mythic American landscape. Critics have noted its technical vocal prowess, particularly the use of Italian opera techniques in 'DAUGHTER' and the intricate choral layering throughout. It is less a 'country album' and more a 'Beyoncé album' that uses country as its primary vocabulary to discuss power, legacy, and motherhood.

Put this on for

Dust kicking up behind the car on a road with no name That specific silence after a family secret finally gets told Golden hour shadows stretching across a wide open porch Looking at old polaroids of people you barely recognize anymore The heavy air right before a summer storm breaks the heat Walking through a museum of history that forgot your name Late night kitchen floor talk with a bottle of bourbon

Moments worth waiting for

The sudden shift into a haunting operatic aria during the bridge of DAUGHTER.

The way the acoustic fingerpicking on BLACKBIIRD creates a fragile, rhythmic cage for the harmonies.

The transition from Willie Nelson's radio static into the driving, percussive stomp of TEXAS HOLD 'EM.

Sounds like

2024s production with a timeless soul

Sits beside

Golden Hour - Kacey Musgraves, The Lion King: The Gift - Beyoncé, Preacher's Daughter - Ethel Cain, Metamodern Sounds in Country Music - Sturgill Simpson

Lyrical territory

identity, storytelling, nostalgia