Yeehaw Yoncé is coming!
Social media is hootin’ and hollerin’ over Beyoncé‘s official Act II: Cowboy Carter announcement on the gram where she kicked off the 10-day countdown to the genre-blending album’s release while revealing its red, white, and blue-splashed artwork.
The world-stopping entertainer started her lengthy IG caption by thanking fans for supporting her surprise 2-pack of hit singles “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM” and “16 CARRIAGES” before touching on a variety of thangs.
While Bey said she “feel[s] honored to be the first Black woman with the number one single on the Hot Country Songs chart,” she went on to reveal that this album stemmed from an unpleasant experience where she didn’t feel welcomed.
“This album has been over five years in the making,” she wrote. “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 and studied our rich musical archive.
It feels good to see how music can unite so many people around the world, while also amplifying the voices of some of the people who have dedicated so much of their lives educating on our musical history.”
Naturally, the Hive speculated that it was Bey’s racism-marred experience performing “Daddy Lessons” with The Chicks at the 2016 CMAs that pushed her to make Cowboy Carter.
Beyoncé left the CMAs after that Daddy Lessons performance and said “oh they got me fucked up. I got a trick for that ass” 😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/QSJ3r0sOSd
— Dante (@AllThingsDante) March 19, 2024
At the time, TMZ reported that CMA execs were “concerned about the reaction to Beyoncé’s support and the support of the Dixie Chicks for the Black Lives Matter movement.” Shortly after, the performance was completely scrubbed from the internet (or so they thought).
Thankfully, this racist experience didn’t break Beyoncé and only served as inspiration for her to dominate the notoriously whitewashed genre on her own terms.
Beyoncé in the studio the day after that CMA’s performance pic.twitter.com/pX3ORksaL1 https://t.co/I64ULkWX4r
— SWÉCRED (@Dr_Sway) March 19, 2024
And, with that said, Bey left us with an epic mic drop before galloping off into the sunset (for now).
“This ain’t a Country album. This is a ‘Beyoncé’ album,” she wrote ahead of its release March 29.
“This ain’t a country album. This is a Beyoncé album.” pic.twitter.com/OXEe56TsIy
— 3/5 🎈♓️ (@itsKARY_) March 19, 2024
Do you think Bey’s unpleasant experience was at the 2016 CMAs or somewhere else? What are you wearing on Cowboy Carter release day? Tell us down below and peep the social media hysteria over Yeehaw Yoncé’s official Act II: Cowboy Carter reveal on the flip.