Beyoncé is getting ready to embrace country on her next album, and she opted for a title that perfectly reflects her genre shift. The release date of Queen B’s country-themed album is just two weeks away, and it will be called Act II: Cowboy Carter.
Cowboy Carter will be released on March 29 via Parkwood Entrainment and Beyoncé’s label teased its release by sharing a photo of saddle with a sash that features the album’s title. She’s previously given us a taste of things to come with the chart-topping single “Texas Hold ‘Em” and its companion “16 Carriages”.
Beyoncé’s decision to make a shift to country took some of her fans by surprise, but it makes total sense in the grand scheme of things. She grew up in Houston, Texas, and country music has always been a huge part of her childhood.
“I grew up going to the Houston rodeo every year. It was this amazing diverse and multicultural experience where there was something for every member of the family,” she previously told Harper’s Bazaar.
She decided to tackle this genre after researching its African-American roots and learning more about the overlooked history of the American Black cowboy. Cowboy Carter won’t be her first album to reclaim a genre that was first pioneered by Black artists—she did the same with house and dance music on Renaissance, and they’re both a part of a three-piece project.
