a TYRANT and a BODYGUARD walked into a saloon
On Cowboy Carter, being a "Banjee Bitch" from Mississippi, and my top five songs for now
Beyoncé, this town ain’t big enough for the both of us, and I will gladly depart so can you (re)claim what’s rightfully ours. I’ll make this quick-ish so we can all get back to streaming.
Growing up in my very small town of Aberdeen, Mississippi, there were few happenings to look forward to. One (out of maybe, three?) annual events held at the Blue Bluff Campground, on the Tombigbee Waterway, was the Bukka White Bluegrass & Blues Festival. Pickup trucks. Grills on the back. Live Blues and Country music. Maybe an attendance of 350 people from across Monroe County, not all at once though, but over the course of two days. A couple rows of old picnic tables on un-mowed grass and a single gazebo-like “event space” for serving food and dancing. All in the middle of a woody campsite. Reflecting on those times now, knowing that I was probably 12 years old the last time I went, I wish I had more pointed observations. But what I do remember is that as a Black girl in Northeast MS, this was a part of my heritage and I didn’t question it whatsoever. It was nothing out of the ordinary and Bluegrass, Blues, and Country were all recognizable sounds to me right alongside Gucci Mane’s debut album Trap House, which gave me Icy - a favorite.
That’s why as my world expanded through going to college and becoming a working metropolitan woman, seeing representations of the rural South and hearing others’ perception of that life was jarring. A lot of their perceptions were true, and some were not. The racism, colorism, sins of the South didn’t register for me when I was kid. But at some point I remembered that when I was in first or second grade, I was chosen to be on our school district’s homecoming court, which was segregated. There was a black queen and a white queen. A black junior maid (me) and a white junior maid (a childhood friend). Mind you, this was in the late 90s and not the mid-50s. I’m turning 31 this year. Over the years I’ve recalled other things that once seemed normal to an innocent child but in hindsight revealed so much about the culture I grew up in. (Sidenote: should I write about how one of my family friends from childhood is an alleged high-ranking klansman, much to my surprise??) Listening to The Album unlocked memories I buried when I moved away from the South, its beauty, and its many, many sins. I wish I remembered more, and I imagined Beyoncé in the studio reflecting on her Houston upbringing and also reckoning with it in a way. So was I!
Beyoncé’s act ii Cowboy Carter dropped on Thursday night and I knew she’d deliver something so niche and special that the reactions would be mixed. Some of the girls are confused apparently. (And who cares? Enjoy the music! Or don’t! Everything does not have to be for you.) There are bangers and there are bops. But at the forefront, I’m hearing her pain, her anger, love for her family and love for the land she grew up in, which some folks are finding peculiar? She has already recognized that America Has A Problem, and now she’s expressing what being an American means to her. At least that’s one of my many interpretations so far.
I was talking to a close friend of mine, Fredd, about the album on Friday morning — we both grew up in Mississippi — and he mentioned some discourse about Bey’s “pro-Americana, pro-USA” language sprinkled throughout. I am no patriot and I wouldn’t call my relationship with America loving or even loyal. But it’s all I know. For many Black Americans, THIS is all we know. Despite a diligent, long-running, and still ongoing political effort to erase it (trigger warning: vile human and big dumbass, T*te R**ves) Blackness runs deeply and intricately through everything American. Every single genre, every facet of the arts, most historic institutions, built or influenced by us. Loudly proclaiming and fighting for your American-ness as a Black woman in 2024 shouldn’t be table-shaking should it? Because it is our natural-born right to do so.
To cut to the chase, I feel seen! “BuT Do yOu eVeN liSteN to CouNtrY MuSic?” Aside from Miss Dolly P’s greatest hits, no I don’t, but perhaps I would if more “Banjee Bitch(es) from Louisiana” made genre-bending bodies of work like this, that represents the genre in a way that’s not exclusive to very white or conservative-leaning experiences like some of today’s country. (I know that’s a stereotype, but be serious — why would I listen to that, lol.) And I’m not saying that Black people in Country music don’t already exist; our contributions to the genre run deep and Black country artists like Tanner Adell (featured on Blackbird alongside Beyoncé) make great music. But today’s mainstream representation is very disproportionate to our past contributions, in my humble opinion.
With ALL of that said. Here are my current top five favorites from the album, Cowboy Carter. I may have more to say later, who knows. I cannot wait until full album credits are available — Bey, the producers, and the writers were VERY deep in their Himalayan Croc Birkins on this one. Much appreciated Beyoncé, I love you deep.
I’d be remiss to not acknowledge JOLENE, YA YA, and SPAGHETTII as favorites as well, but my top five? Truly felt like a glass of my great-grandma’s sweet tea.
original source: thelibraryofalexandria.substack.com