1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:07,000 Downloaded from YTS.MX 2 00:00:03,962 --> 00:00:09,801 [music playing] 3 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:13,000 Official YIFY movies site: YTS.MX 4 00:00:11,302 --> 00:00:16,725 - Beyoncé is the greatest entertainer of her generation. 5 00:00:16,808 --> 00:00:20,979 This is a person who has a very intense 6 00:00:21,021 --> 00:00:25,150 relationship with a very large body of fans. 7 00:00:25,191 --> 00:00:27,152 - You went to the concert, and you 8 00:00:27,235 --> 00:00:28,445 saw the concert filmed, right? 9 00:00:28,486 --> 00:00:32,073 Three hours, yes, well-spent. 10 00:00:32,156 --> 00:00:36,161 - (SINGING) I wanna house you and make you take my name 11 00:00:36,202 --> 00:00:39,122 I've met so many of my goals, and I just 12 00:00:39,164 --> 00:00:42,250 keep making new goals because I'm never satisfied, 13 00:00:42,334 --> 00:00:44,627 and I always want to grow. 14 00:00:44,669 --> 00:00:46,504 - Well, the highly anticipated second act 15 00:00:46,546 --> 00:00:49,299 to Beyoncé's Renaissance project, Cowboy Carter, 16 00:00:49,341 --> 00:00:50,425 dropped last night. 17 00:00:50,508 --> 00:00:55,638 - You guys, oh, my god. 18 00:00:55,680 --> 00:00:57,307 - I'm crying. 19 00:00:57,349 --> 00:00:59,976 - She's the first Black woman ever to top the Billboard's 20 00:01:00,018 --> 00:01:01,561 Hot Country Songs chart. 21 00:01:01,644 --> 00:01:04,897 - There is a public perception about country music 22 00:01:04,980 --> 00:01:07,776 that it is a predominantly white genre. 23 00:01:07,859 --> 00:01:09,486 - I mean, I've seen people say things like, 24 00:01:09,527 --> 00:01:11,321 I didn't know that there were Black country singers. 25 00:01:11,363 --> 00:01:14,783 - It's kind of an industry that takes care of its own. 26 00:01:14,866 --> 00:01:17,660 - It has not been a genre that has been 27 00:01:17,702 --> 00:01:20,372 accepting of Black people. 28 00:01:20,455 --> 00:01:23,291 - You often find partisans of country music 29 00:01:23,375 --> 00:01:26,378 saying, well, this is or that ain't country. 30 00:01:26,419 --> 00:01:30,548 - Beyoncé, honey, you need to stop. 31 00:01:30,590 --> 00:01:32,717 - How is that supposed to be country? 32 00:01:32,759 --> 00:01:35,011 - That Beyoncé bullshit country song? 33 00:01:35,053 --> 00:01:36,888 [scoffs] Bitch, please. 34 00:01:36,930 --> 00:01:38,723 - I think, pretty clearly, what Beyoncé 35 00:01:38,765 --> 00:01:43,520 is trying to do is shove open a door for other Black artists. 36 00:01:43,561 --> 00:01:45,646 - When I heard "16 Carriages--" 37 00:01:45,729 --> 00:01:50,402 - (SINGING) 16 carriages driving away while I watch them 38 00:01:50,443 --> 00:01:53,238 - --I was like, it has begun. 39 00:01:53,279 --> 00:01:55,073 [laughs] 40 00:01:55,156 --> 00:02:02,122 [music playing] 41 00:02:02,205 --> 00:02:04,958 - We love Beyoncé! 42 00:02:05,041 --> 00:02:06,876 - Beyoncé doesn't do anything small. 43 00:02:06,918 --> 00:02:10,338 When she releases an album, she rolls 44 00:02:10,422 --> 00:02:13,008 it out and invites the world. 45 00:02:13,091 --> 00:02:19,097 - This is the greatest rollout moment of an album ever. 46 00:02:19,180 --> 00:02:23,768 Beyoncé does a commercial on the Super Bowl. 47 00:02:23,810 --> 00:02:25,228 - The network is crazy powerful. 48 00:02:25,270 --> 00:02:26,271 I bet you can't break that. 49 00:02:26,312 --> 00:02:28,356 - [laughs] I bet I can. 50 00:02:28,440 --> 00:02:29,733 - Wait, what? 51 00:02:29,774 --> 00:02:32,027 - All of America is already watching. 52 00:02:32,110 --> 00:02:33,945 - The whole crux of the Verizon commercial 53 00:02:33,987 --> 00:02:36,281 is, look at all the ways that I've 54 00:02:36,322 --> 00:02:37,866 already broken the internet. 55 00:02:37,949 --> 00:02:39,784 Look at all the things that I can do that people 56 00:02:39,826 --> 00:02:41,786 will lose their minds over-- 57 00:02:41,828 --> 00:02:43,579 because I'm Beyoncé. 58 00:02:43,621 --> 00:02:44,664 - What if I run for president? 59 00:02:44,748 --> 00:02:45,707 What if I'm an alien? 60 00:02:45,790 --> 00:02:46,708 What if I'm an astronaut? 61 00:02:46,791 --> 00:02:48,251 We can handle anything. 62 00:02:48,293 --> 00:02:49,543 And then she says-- 63 00:02:49,627 --> 00:02:50,628 - OK, they ready. 64 00:02:50,670 --> 00:02:51,963 Drop the new music. 65 00:02:52,005 --> 00:02:53,465 - Fuck the game! 66 00:02:53,506 --> 00:02:54,966 What? 67 00:02:55,008 --> 00:02:56,134 What is she talking about, where is this-- what? 68 00:02:56,176 --> 00:02:57,552 Did she just say that? 69 00:02:57,635 --> 00:02:58,970 Did it really mean-- is there new music? 70 00:02:59,012 --> 00:03:00,889 - I was not even watching the Super Bowl. 71 00:03:00,972 --> 00:03:03,933 I was at a performance for a friend 72 00:03:03,975 --> 00:03:06,061 and had turned my phone off. 73 00:03:06,144 --> 00:03:07,729 And as soon as I got in my car, you 74 00:03:07,812 --> 00:03:10,148 would have thought someone had died because there 75 00:03:10,190 --> 00:03:11,983 were like 50 messages. 76 00:03:12,025 --> 00:03:13,026 Have you heard it? 77 00:03:13,109 --> 00:03:15,779 Did you see it? 78 00:03:15,820 --> 00:03:17,655 - Part of the excitement with Cowboy Carter 79 00:03:17,697 --> 00:03:22,327 was the suggestion that this would be a country album. 80 00:03:22,369 --> 00:03:23,661 The fans are like, yes! 81 00:03:23,703 --> 00:03:24,621 Let's go. 82 00:03:24,662 --> 00:03:25,622 We want this. 83 00:03:25,663 --> 00:03:26,998 They love this. 84 00:03:27,082 --> 00:03:30,251 - (SINGING) family live and died in America 85 00:03:30,335 --> 00:03:32,504 Good ole USA, good ole USA 86 00:03:32,545 --> 00:03:35,423 Shit, whole lotta red in that white and blue 87 00:03:35,507 --> 00:03:39,135 - I mean, there's so much red in the white and blue? 88 00:03:39,177 --> 00:03:42,305 It's, you know, the violence that Black and Brown people 89 00:03:42,347 --> 00:03:47,352 have experienced being in America, but not so overt 90 00:03:47,394 --> 00:03:49,062 that it's a protest song. 91 00:03:49,145 --> 00:03:52,524 We're just saying, America, we have a problem. 92 00:03:52,565 --> 00:03:56,778 Cowboy Carter is a political album, 93 00:03:56,861 --> 00:03:59,280 placing herself in country, where we're 94 00:03:59,364 --> 00:04:03,201 not supposed to feel welcome. 95 00:04:03,243 --> 00:04:06,996 - It's really finna get real because you have to acknowledge 96 00:04:07,038 --> 00:04:08,873 her gift and her talent, and then 97 00:04:08,915 --> 00:04:13,628 she's bringing that to a genre that is not used to change. 98 00:04:13,712 --> 00:04:19,300 [guitar playing] 99 00:04:19,384 --> 00:04:21,886 My love for country music began-- 100 00:04:21,928 --> 00:04:24,806 man, I was probably about knee-high to a grasshopper-- 101 00:04:24,889 --> 00:04:25,724 put it that way. 102 00:04:25,807 --> 00:04:27,225 I was real little. 103 00:04:27,308 --> 00:04:28,560 It just came out as, like, I was soaked in it. 104 00:04:28,601 --> 00:04:29,644 You know what I'm saying? 105 00:04:29,728 --> 00:04:32,063 [laughs] 106 00:04:32,147 --> 00:04:37,902 (SINGING) Leading my way like Sinatra 107 00:04:37,944 --> 00:04:43,950 And on a bad day, yeah, I got a mantra 108 00:04:44,034 --> 00:04:46,828 Be original, be yourself 109 00:04:46,911 --> 00:04:49,330 Don't worry about anyone else 110 00:04:49,414 --> 00:04:51,416 I grew up in Mississippi on a farm, 111 00:04:51,457 --> 00:04:53,084 born the son of a preacher. 112 00:04:53,126 --> 00:04:55,378 My granddad was a truck driver and farmer. 113 00:04:55,420 --> 00:04:57,881 And the backyard was 100 acres. 114 00:04:57,922 --> 00:05:01,426 They had Duroc hogs, blue turkey, 110 head of chickens, 115 00:05:01,509 --> 00:05:03,928 whiskey stills down off in the bottom. 116 00:05:04,012 --> 00:05:05,722 [laughs] 117 00:05:05,764 --> 00:05:08,308 (SINGING) Now, every show is sold out 118 00:05:08,391 --> 00:05:14,105 To me, I didn't see country as a color, but other people did. 119 00:05:14,147 --> 00:05:15,607 (SINGING) You say you want a country 120 00:05:15,648 --> 00:05:17,025 Well, country is what I'm playing 121 00:05:17,108 --> 00:05:22,322 There's no doubt, I can hold out 122 00:05:22,405 --> 00:05:24,115 - Aaron has been doing this for a very long time. 123 00:05:24,199 --> 00:05:26,618 He's one of those people where it's long overdue for him 124 00:05:26,659 --> 00:05:33,875 to see the success that he deserves. 125 00:05:38,630 --> 00:05:40,006 - I have a buddy. 126 00:05:40,090 --> 00:05:41,508 He said, Aaron, I want you to meet this guy. 127 00:05:41,591 --> 00:05:42,967 He was an artist. 128 00:05:43,009 --> 00:05:45,387 He plays at the Grand Ole Opry and everything. 129 00:05:45,470 --> 00:05:46,846 I ain't going to drop no names. 130 00:05:46,930 --> 00:05:49,224 So I asked him where he was from, and he's 131 00:05:49,307 --> 00:05:50,725 like, California. 132 00:05:50,808 --> 00:05:52,352 And I said, all right, I'm from Mississippi. 133 00:05:52,435 --> 00:05:53,770 And he's like, so what do you do? 134 00:05:53,812 --> 00:05:55,146 Rap? 135 00:05:55,188 --> 00:05:57,565 And I was like, whoa, he went for the sweet move. 136 00:05:57,649 --> 00:06:00,652 And I'm like, nah, bro, I do traditional country. 137 00:06:00,735 --> 00:06:02,153 And it was-- and that was it. 138 00:06:02,237 --> 00:06:04,614 He didn't say too much, and he just walked off. 139 00:06:04,656 --> 00:06:08,159 Yeah, so, he's a white country artist, 140 00:06:08,201 --> 00:06:09,953 and he has all this opportunity. 141 00:06:09,994 --> 00:06:12,497 And look at his attitude towards somebody he don't know, 142 00:06:12,539 --> 00:06:14,290 and he just seen a color. 143 00:06:14,332 --> 00:06:16,501 So that gave me more fire to keep doing me, 144 00:06:16,543 --> 00:06:19,129 keep writing what I write, keep living my life, 145 00:06:19,170 --> 00:06:20,964 and don't worry about artists like that. 146 00:06:21,006 --> 00:06:22,924 Because artists like that got it made in the shade. 147 00:06:23,008 --> 00:06:27,512 I ain't got it made in the shade. 148 00:06:27,554 --> 00:06:29,305 - The country music industry has 149 00:06:29,347 --> 00:06:35,687 not done any work to make Black people feel safe in the music. 150 00:06:35,729 --> 00:06:40,525 We have just been so overlooked. 151 00:06:40,567 --> 00:06:43,236 - You cannot be scared of what country looks like. 152 00:06:43,319 --> 00:06:45,488 Country ain't never been a color. 153 00:06:45,530 --> 00:06:52,037 When I first heard the two singles drop, I was like, uh, 154 00:06:52,078 --> 00:06:53,580 shit, that's country. 155 00:06:53,663 --> 00:06:54,706 [laughs] 156 00:06:54,748 --> 00:06:56,166 (SINGING) 16 car-- 157 00:06:56,207 --> 00:06:59,377 Man, what? 158 00:06:59,461 --> 00:07:01,796 - I have always felt that Beyoncé 159 00:07:01,880 --> 00:07:06,551 has a sort of national personality 160 00:07:06,634 --> 00:07:13,058 where everybody can see themselves reflected. 161 00:07:14,225 --> 00:07:15,352 - (SINGING) Say my name, say my name 162 00:07:15,393 --> 00:07:17,812 When no one is around you 163 00:07:17,896 --> 00:07:20,148 - Beyoncé obviously coming out of Destiny's 164 00:07:20,231 --> 00:07:22,067 Child, an R&B girl group. 165 00:07:22,108 --> 00:07:24,903 - (SINGING) Uh-oh, uh-oh, uh-oh, oh, no, no 166 00:07:24,944 --> 00:07:28,198 - The solo career starts, psh, explodes. 167 00:07:28,239 --> 00:07:30,158 - (SINGING) Get me bodied 168 00:07:30,241 --> 00:07:34,329 - She's somebody who has never really been beholden to genre 169 00:07:34,412 --> 00:07:36,331 in a way that was limiting to her, 170 00:07:36,414 --> 00:07:38,917 whether that be pop, whether that be R&B. She seems 171 00:07:39,000 --> 00:07:40,335 to move to the next thing. 172 00:07:40,377 --> 00:07:42,253 - (SINGING) To the left, to the left 173 00:07:42,337 --> 00:07:44,130 I write the songs that I need to hear, 174 00:07:44,214 --> 00:07:46,007 and that I feel other women need to hear. 175 00:07:46,091 --> 00:07:50,220 And I'm all about empowerment and the strength that we have 176 00:07:50,261 --> 00:07:52,305 when we unite as women. 177 00:07:52,389 --> 00:07:54,224 - Beyoncé had come to be seen as an artist 178 00:07:54,265 --> 00:07:57,394 for everyone, someone that a lot of white women 179 00:07:57,435 --> 00:07:58,978 could gravitate towards. 180 00:07:59,062 --> 00:08:02,607 - I've kind of broken barriers, and I don't think 181 00:08:02,649 --> 00:08:05,610 people think about my race. 182 00:08:05,652 --> 00:08:11,574 I think they look at me as an entertainer and a musician. 183 00:08:11,616 --> 00:08:12,701 - She would do all of the things 184 00:08:12,784 --> 00:08:16,996 that a pop star has to do. 185 00:08:17,080 --> 00:08:18,915 But when she moves into Lemonade, 186 00:08:18,957 --> 00:08:21,167 she moves into the space where she is reflecting 187 00:08:21,251 --> 00:08:23,169 a world that she wants to see. 188 00:08:23,253 --> 00:08:26,131 - This is a woman who shouted out the Black Panthers 189 00:08:26,172 --> 00:08:27,507 at the Super Bowl. 190 00:08:27,590 --> 00:08:30,260 - It is a notion of, "we have arrived, 191 00:08:30,301 --> 00:08:32,636 and we're taking up space, and we're not going to ask you 192 00:08:32,721 --> 00:08:34,931 for permission to do that." 193 00:08:34,972 --> 00:08:37,726 I think "Formation" was really one of the first times 194 00:08:37,808 --> 00:08:39,561 that people had to stop and be like, 195 00:08:39,644 --> 00:08:41,479 oh, maybe this isn't for me. 196 00:08:41,520 --> 00:08:43,313 The "Formation" video came out at a time when there was 197 00:08:43,356 --> 00:08:45,483 so much commentary happening around the Black 198 00:08:45,567 --> 00:08:47,318 Lives Matter movement. 199 00:08:47,360 --> 00:08:50,113 We have her singing about how much she loves her Negro nose 200 00:08:50,155 --> 00:08:51,823 and her Jackson 5 nostrils. 201 00:08:51,865 --> 00:08:55,994 - (SINGING) I like my Negro nose with Jackson 5 nostrils 202 00:08:56,036 --> 00:08:57,662 - These are choices that Beyoncé 203 00:08:57,746 --> 00:09:02,751 is making that relate to her own maturation as a 204 00:09:02,834 --> 00:09:05,337 human being. 205 00:09:05,378 --> 00:09:07,505 - Trayvon did not have to die. 206 00:09:07,547 --> 00:09:09,591 We all know the reason why. 207 00:09:09,674 --> 00:09:11,468 - Looking at the way Black people are treated 208 00:09:11,509 --> 00:09:15,388 and standing up for women who have been wronged by society. 209 00:09:15,472 --> 00:09:19,309 - There was a time when a woman's opinion did not matter. 210 00:09:19,351 --> 00:09:25,065 If you were Black, white, Mexican, Asian, Muslim, 211 00:09:25,148 --> 00:09:29,527 educated, poor or rich, if you were a woman, 212 00:09:29,569 --> 00:09:32,030 it did not matter. 213 00:09:32,072 --> 00:09:35,700 Look how far we've come from having no voice. 214 00:09:35,742 --> 00:09:37,452 (SINGING) You won't break my soul 215 00:09:37,535 --> 00:09:41,456 - Renaissance is about Black women and queer people, 216 00:09:41,539 --> 00:09:45,835 and it is this powerful upliftment. 217 00:09:45,877 --> 00:09:47,003 - I see you. 218 00:09:47,045 --> 00:09:48,046 I love you. 219 00:09:48,088 --> 00:09:50,465 I center you. 220 00:09:50,548 --> 00:09:53,134 And then she comes with a country album. 221 00:09:53,218 --> 00:09:55,387 (SINGING) This ain't Texas, woo! 222 00:09:55,470 --> 00:09:56,888 Ain't no hold 'em 223 00:09:56,930 --> 00:09:59,891 - My banjo being on a world recognized song 224 00:09:59,974 --> 00:10:01,726 is just kind of blowing my mind. 225 00:10:01,768 --> 00:10:03,061 (SINGING) So park your Lexus 226 00:10:03,144 --> 00:10:04,688 - TikToks of Black people dancing 227 00:10:04,729 --> 00:10:07,148 to the sound of my banjo? 228 00:10:07,232 --> 00:10:08,692 Stop. 229 00:10:08,733 --> 00:10:12,779 That banjo represents hundreds of years of our history, 230 00:10:12,862 --> 00:10:14,531 whether people know it or not. 231 00:10:14,572 --> 00:10:17,909 [banjo playing] 232 00:10:17,951 --> 00:10:19,619 The banjo is an instrument invented 233 00:10:19,703 --> 00:10:22,247 by people of the African diaspora in the Caribbean. 234 00:10:22,288 --> 00:10:25,542 - Enslaved people brought versions of the banjo 235 00:10:25,583 --> 00:10:28,211 to the United States over on the ships. 236 00:10:28,253 --> 00:10:31,256 - And then it makes its way up with them to North America 237 00:10:31,297 --> 00:10:35,385 and becomes a central part of Black life. 238 00:10:35,427 --> 00:10:37,929 And there are loads of white people playing music to it. 239 00:10:38,013 --> 00:10:40,598 - It took the Scottish, the Africans, 240 00:10:40,682 --> 00:10:43,268 Native American people to come together. 241 00:10:43,351 --> 00:10:45,437 I'm going to borrow this, and I'm going to borrow this, 242 00:10:45,520 --> 00:10:46,771 and I'm going to borrow this. 243 00:10:46,813 --> 00:10:48,273 And like, it's like gumbo. 244 00:10:48,356 --> 00:10:51,026 - What happens, then, is a couple of things. 245 00:10:51,109 --> 00:10:53,361 You have the great migration, a lot of Black people 246 00:10:53,445 --> 00:10:56,781 leaving the South, and then you also have the recording 247 00:10:56,865 --> 00:11:00,410 industry coming in. 248 00:11:00,452 --> 00:11:03,872 They're wanting to sell music to certain people. 249 00:11:03,955 --> 00:11:05,540 - What was called "hillbilly music" 250 00:11:05,623 --> 00:11:08,251 in the 1920s and what were called "race records" 251 00:11:08,293 --> 00:11:10,128 around the same time was basically code 252 00:11:10,170 --> 00:11:12,881 for a certain brand of white music and a certain 253 00:11:12,964 --> 00:11:14,299 brand of Black music. 254 00:11:14,341 --> 00:11:16,343 Eventually, race records evolved 255 00:11:16,426 --> 00:11:17,969 into what's known as rhythm and blues 256 00:11:18,011 --> 00:11:22,766 or R&B. What's known as hillbilly became country. 257 00:11:22,807 --> 00:11:26,811 - It was like the ultimate capitalist decision 258 00:11:26,853 --> 00:11:28,563 to split these things in half. 259 00:11:28,646 --> 00:11:31,191 - They create the segregation, and then we 260 00:11:31,274 --> 00:11:35,195 have perpetuated it as the music industry has grown. 261 00:11:35,278 --> 00:11:37,113 This is not like, oh, Black people 262 00:11:37,155 --> 00:11:38,990 are getting into country-- no, no, no, no, no, no, no. 263 00:11:39,032 --> 00:11:40,784 Like, we've been in country music, right? 264 00:11:40,825 --> 00:11:43,411 - You can go back to, like, the first family of country 265 00:11:43,495 --> 00:11:45,163 music, the Carter Family. 266 00:11:45,205 --> 00:11:48,750 - (SINGING) Oh, he taught me to love him and promised to love 267 00:11:48,833 --> 00:11:53,171 - Carter specifically had this very distinct playing style. 268 00:11:53,254 --> 00:11:54,631 Well, it came from a Black man. 269 00:11:54,673 --> 00:11:55,965 It came from Lesley Riddle. 270 00:11:56,007 --> 00:11:57,509 And of course, that historically 271 00:11:57,592 --> 00:12:00,178 has always been attributed to Ma Carter, when 272 00:12:00,261 --> 00:12:02,013 that's actually Lesley Riddle. 273 00:12:02,055 --> 00:12:04,265 - I mean, one of the earliest stars of the Grand Ole Opry 274 00:12:04,349 --> 00:12:07,977 in the 1920s was DeFord Bailey, the so-called 275 00:12:08,019 --> 00:12:09,020 "harmonica wizard." 276 00:12:09,062 --> 00:12:11,731 [playing harmonica] 277 00:12:11,815 --> 00:12:13,525 - There were literally Black artists 278 00:12:13,566 --> 00:12:16,111 there from the first night that the Grand Ole Opry began. 279 00:12:16,194 --> 00:12:17,362 Linda Martell. 280 00:12:17,404 --> 00:12:21,282 - (SINGING) Yoodle-la-di-eee-eee 281 00:12:21,366 --> 00:12:24,536 - She was the highest Black woman to chart until Beyoncé. 282 00:12:24,577 --> 00:12:26,454 And this was in the late '60s. 283 00:12:26,538 --> 00:12:27,997 - Of course, Charley Pride. 284 00:12:28,039 --> 00:12:33,795 - (SINGING) We'll walk the fields together 285 00:12:33,878 --> 00:12:37,590 - Charley Pride had 29 number ones on country radio. 286 00:12:37,674 --> 00:12:40,343 - He succeeded in spite of the fact that he was Black, 287 00:12:40,385 --> 00:12:42,220 not because he was Black, you know what I mean? 288 00:12:42,262 --> 00:12:44,973 - If you take Hank Williams, Sr., for example, 289 00:12:45,056 --> 00:12:47,392 he fused the blues with country music. 290 00:12:47,475 --> 00:12:51,062 - (SINGING) I tried so hard, my dear 291 00:12:51,104 --> 00:12:56,234 - So it has a very inherently Black inspiration 292 00:12:56,317 --> 00:12:59,362 in our genre that happened with the godfather of country music. 293 00:12:59,404 --> 00:13:01,906 So this started a long, long time ago. 294 00:13:01,948 --> 00:13:04,034 It seemed to be that we've gotten away from that 295 00:13:04,075 --> 00:13:07,412 somewhere along the way. 296 00:13:07,495 --> 00:13:09,539 - We have to remember it is an industry. 297 00:13:09,581 --> 00:13:11,708 People who are in power decided this is 298 00:13:11,750 --> 00:13:13,293 what the Nashville sound is. 299 00:13:13,376 --> 00:13:16,629 - Nashville is the gateway to country music. 300 00:13:16,713 --> 00:13:20,008 It is not only the center of country the way, 301 00:13:20,091 --> 00:13:22,344 say, the movie and television business 302 00:13:22,427 --> 00:13:23,803 is centered in Hollywood. 303 00:13:23,887 --> 00:13:28,099 It really is kind of the arbiter of what country 304 00:13:28,141 --> 00:13:29,726 music is. 305 00:13:29,768 --> 00:13:33,563 There's no one faction that controls Nashville wholly, 306 00:13:33,605 --> 00:13:37,776 but it's kind of an industry that takes care of its own. 307 00:13:37,817 --> 00:13:40,945 - The idea that it only happens in country music 308 00:13:40,987 --> 00:13:42,530 is a little misleading. 309 00:13:42,614 --> 00:13:45,367 There is definitely gatekeeping happening in hip-hop. 310 00:13:45,450 --> 00:13:48,620 There's a ton of gatekeeping that happens in jazz. 311 00:13:48,661 --> 00:13:50,246 - I think a lot of people still think 312 00:13:50,288 --> 00:13:52,374 that this is like a meritocracy, 313 00:13:52,457 --> 00:13:54,793 and that's absolutely not true. 314 00:13:54,876 --> 00:13:56,628 - Greed is driving the train. 315 00:13:56,670 --> 00:13:58,880 - Everyone has a boss. 316 00:13:58,963 --> 00:14:00,131 The bosses have bosses. 317 00:14:00,215 --> 00:14:01,925 The top bosses have shareholders. 318 00:14:01,966 --> 00:14:04,969 There's this constant chain of fear, 319 00:14:05,011 --> 00:14:11,101 which slows down progress. 320 00:14:11,142 --> 00:14:13,853 - The thing that they know for sure how to do 321 00:14:13,937 --> 00:14:15,814 is to market white men. 322 00:14:15,855 --> 00:14:17,774 - The Mount Rushmore of country today 323 00:14:17,816 --> 00:14:20,735 would be Morgan Wallen, Luke Combs, 324 00:14:20,819 --> 00:14:24,698 Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean, still be Kenny 325 00:14:24,781 --> 00:14:27,575 Chesney up there, Keith Urban. 326 00:14:27,659 --> 00:14:32,997 It's generally held by label heads in Nashville 327 00:14:33,039 --> 00:14:37,085 that it's a bad bet to give a contract to a female singer. 328 00:14:37,168 --> 00:14:38,837 - (SINGING) When they bury our dreams 329 00:14:38,878 --> 00:14:41,881 We push them up through concrete 330 00:14:41,965 --> 00:14:43,425 We're growing where-- 331 00:14:43,508 --> 00:14:45,176 - I will never forget this. 332 00:14:45,218 --> 00:14:47,971 I'm sitting in the hallway at a major label in Nashville. 333 00:14:48,013 --> 00:14:49,347 I can hear them playing the music. 334 00:14:49,389 --> 00:14:51,307 And everything sounds really positive, 335 00:14:51,349 --> 00:14:53,018 and everyone's laughing, and they're talking. 336 00:14:53,059 --> 00:14:54,019 Oh, this sounds so pretty. 337 00:14:54,102 --> 00:14:55,103 Oh, it's good. 338 00:14:55,186 --> 00:14:56,855 Blah, blah, blah. 339 00:14:56,896 --> 00:14:59,482 And then, everybody peeks out the window, and I'm like, hi. 340 00:14:59,524 --> 00:15:03,028 And then suddenly, you know, suddenly it's like, oh, well, 341 00:15:03,069 --> 00:15:05,530 we got to figure out how to find songs for someone 342 00:15:05,613 --> 00:15:06,823 like her. 343 00:15:06,865 --> 00:15:09,200 Let's tweak some things with her accent. 344 00:15:09,284 --> 00:15:12,704 Maybe we need to figure out how to build an audience 345 00:15:12,746 --> 00:15:14,289 for someone like her. 346 00:15:14,372 --> 00:15:15,915 - Black people have a hard time in country music. 347 00:15:15,999 --> 00:15:17,834 Queer people have a hard time in country music. 348 00:15:17,876 --> 00:15:21,379 But even white women have a hard time in country music. 349 00:15:21,421 --> 00:15:23,631 - If you ask one country radio executive, 350 00:15:23,715 --> 00:15:27,093 he says the key to success is leaving the women out. 351 00:15:27,177 --> 00:15:29,179 - Tomato gate is a flare-up that 352 00:15:29,220 --> 00:15:32,474 happened when a radio programmer 353 00:15:32,515 --> 00:15:33,933 was quoted saying that-- 354 00:15:34,017 --> 00:15:36,311 - To maximize radio listenership, 355 00:15:36,394 --> 00:15:39,356 women should be like tomatoes in a larger 356 00:15:39,397 --> 00:15:41,191 salad of male artists-- 357 00:15:41,232 --> 00:15:45,487 never played back to back and never more than about 20% 358 00:15:45,570 --> 00:15:46,905 of the mix. 359 00:15:46,988 --> 00:15:48,865 - All of a sudden I was this idiot saying, 360 00:15:48,907 --> 00:15:50,700 take women off radio. 361 00:15:50,742 --> 00:15:53,328 - The lettuce is Luke Bryan and Blake Shelton and Keith Urban 362 00:15:53,411 --> 00:15:54,746 and artists like that. 363 00:15:54,788 --> 00:15:57,749 - We're not thinking about gender fairness. 364 00:15:57,832 --> 00:16:01,878 We're just trying to make money. 365 00:16:01,920 --> 00:16:04,255 There are certain things that make ratings go down. 366 00:16:04,339 --> 00:16:07,092 Every country radio station in a rated market, 367 00:16:07,175 --> 00:16:11,930 you won't find anybody playing over 20% females. 368 00:16:11,971 --> 00:16:13,264 Not a single one. 369 00:16:13,348 --> 00:16:15,850 - The sad thing about that comment 370 00:16:15,934 --> 00:16:18,269 was that it does largely reflect 371 00:16:18,311 --> 00:16:21,564 reality as country radio programmers understand it. 372 00:16:21,606 --> 00:16:24,401 - However dismal that number is for white women, 373 00:16:24,442 --> 00:16:27,320 it's a fraction of a fraction for Black women. 374 00:16:27,404 --> 00:16:30,615 I believe we make up 0.03%. 375 00:16:30,657 --> 00:16:32,867 Since its inception, there have only 376 00:16:32,951 --> 00:16:40,290 been eight Black women to be on the Billboard Country charts. 377 00:16:43,670 --> 00:16:46,881 I am one of them. 378 00:16:46,965 --> 00:16:51,636 - There are 1,000 ways I can respond to the question of, how 379 00:16:51,678 --> 00:16:54,597 do we make radio more diverse? 380 00:16:54,639 --> 00:16:57,892 But fundamentally, we don't want to. 381 00:16:57,976 --> 00:17:00,937 - I don't think that there's any financial incentive 382 00:17:00,979 --> 00:17:02,814 for them right now to try to figure out 383 00:17:02,897 --> 00:17:07,318 how to market a Black woman, because up until Beyoncé, 384 00:17:07,402 --> 00:17:09,487 there was no reason. 385 00:17:09,570 --> 00:17:12,949 - In a country where we think there's racism-- 386 00:17:12,991 --> 00:17:19,914 and there is-- there is no racism by country radio. 387 00:17:19,998 --> 00:17:23,001 If you give me a great record, I don't 388 00:17:23,042 --> 00:17:24,544 care what your skin color is. 389 00:17:24,627 --> 00:17:26,755 If the Beyoncé record is the best record, 390 00:17:26,838 --> 00:17:34,012 I'll play it more than anyone else. 391 00:17:35,555 --> 00:17:37,682 - Country music is supposedly three chords and the truth. 392 00:17:37,724 --> 00:17:40,685 But one of the open questions about country music 393 00:17:40,727 --> 00:17:43,355 is, who's delivering that truth? 394 00:17:43,396 --> 00:17:50,111 - Who gets to say what country is, what the South is about? 395 00:17:50,195 --> 00:17:52,030 - Beyoncé told you years and years ago 396 00:17:52,113 --> 00:17:53,656 that she will never take the country out 397 00:17:53,698 --> 00:17:56,701 of her because that's who she is culturally. 398 00:17:56,785 --> 00:17:59,287 She grew up going to the Houston Rodeo. 399 00:17:59,329 --> 00:18:01,164 When she came back to the rodeo a couple of years later 400 00:18:01,206 --> 00:18:03,500 as a solo artist, she wrote into the stadium 401 00:18:03,541 --> 00:18:05,210 on the back of a horse. 402 00:18:05,251 --> 00:18:08,380 - When you look at the cover art of Cowboy Carter, 403 00:18:08,463 --> 00:18:12,050 she's representing that rodeo queen. 404 00:18:12,092 --> 00:18:13,551 - She's from the South. 405 00:18:13,635 --> 00:18:16,137 My parents are from Louisiana, Alabama. 406 00:18:16,221 --> 00:18:18,682 Do I not to get to have a say in what 407 00:18:18,723 --> 00:18:21,559 the South should sound like? 408 00:18:21,643 --> 00:18:26,523 - I'm stoked that Beyoncé is tapping into her Texas roots. 409 00:18:26,564 --> 00:18:32,070 (SINGING) Time is ticking like it always does 410 00:18:32,112 --> 00:18:34,030 It flies right by 411 00:18:34,072 --> 00:18:35,907 There's so much music culture in Texas, 412 00:18:35,949 --> 00:18:39,077 and I think country is an important dimension 413 00:18:39,119 --> 00:18:41,037 of that music. 414 00:18:41,079 --> 00:18:44,374 (SINGING) You can do to quell 415 00:18:44,416 --> 00:18:46,459 I grew up on the outskirts of Houston, 416 00:18:46,543 --> 00:18:49,921 and I grew up obsessed with country music. 417 00:18:49,963 --> 00:18:53,633 As a young Black girl, listening to country music, 418 00:18:53,717 --> 00:18:55,593 it didn't feel strange to me. 419 00:18:55,635 --> 00:18:57,095 That was all I listened to. 420 00:18:57,137 --> 00:19:00,265 And that really formed the foundation for what 421 00:19:00,306 --> 00:19:01,891 I think of as a great song. 422 00:19:01,933 --> 00:19:06,104 And I always carried that with me. 423 00:19:06,146 --> 00:19:09,774 The first time I lived in Nashville was in the early 424 00:19:09,858 --> 00:19:11,943 2000s, which was a starkly different 425 00:19:11,985 --> 00:19:17,240 experience as a Black queer artist than I'm having now. 426 00:19:17,282 --> 00:19:19,743 I'm not sure that the music culture 427 00:19:19,784 --> 00:19:22,287 had been pressed enough to diversify 428 00:19:22,328 --> 00:19:25,457 that I could find my place. 429 00:19:25,498 --> 00:19:27,459 (SINGING) Say my name 430 00:19:27,500 --> 00:19:34,132 I started to experiment with electronic music and R&B. 431 00:19:34,174 --> 00:19:36,760 In the quarantine of 2020, I found 432 00:19:36,801 --> 00:19:41,014 myself just reaching for something that felt like home. 433 00:19:41,097 --> 00:19:44,225 (SINGING) I've wandered off from here to Houston, 434 00:19:44,267 --> 00:19:50,065 Looking for a place that I can call my own 435 00:19:50,148 --> 00:19:53,109 In Nashville, we are seeing some evolution, 436 00:19:53,151 --> 00:19:57,405 but there are ceilings that I can't even feel that I don't-- 437 00:19:57,447 --> 00:20:04,329 I'm not even aware of because I can only get so far. 438 00:20:04,371 --> 00:20:06,748 - People are placed into the box of, you're a Black woman. 439 00:20:06,831 --> 00:20:07,832 You can only do this. 440 00:20:07,916 --> 00:20:09,584 You should only be doing this. 441 00:20:09,668 --> 00:20:11,169 These are the boundaries that we've established for you. 442 00:20:11,252 --> 00:20:14,339 Roam free, but roam free within those boundaries. 443 00:20:14,422 --> 00:20:16,508 People have tried to put whatever 444 00:20:16,549 --> 00:20:19,678 labels or whatever boundaries or limitations on Beyoncé. 445 00:20:19,761 --> 00:20:24,516 She's been able to stop and say, no, this is who I am. 446 00:20:24,599 --> 00:20:30,438 - The first song on the album, "American Requiem." 447 00:20:30,522 --> 00:20:33,274 See, this is the critical line. 448 00:20:33,358 --> 00:20:35,860 - (SINGING) Used to say, I spoke too country 449 00:20:35,902 --> 00:20:38,154 And then rejection came, said I wasn't country enough 450 00:20:38,196 --> 00:20:40,448 - They used to say I was too country. 451 00:20:40,532 --> 00:20:43,243 Then I wasn't country enough. 452 00:20:43,326 --> 00:20:46,413 Whatever you think of Cowboy Carter, 453 00:20:46,496 --> 00:20:48,873 this is a revenge album. 454 00:20:48,915 --> 00:20:51,501 I'm going to come back with the baddest country 455 00:20:51,543 --> 00:20:53,837 album you've ever seen, and I will 456 00:20:53,878 --> 00:20:56,923 show you up at your own game. 457 00:20:57,007 --> 00:21:00,051 - Before Act Two, Beyoncé came out 458 00:21:00,135 --> 00:21:02,220 with a statement on social media 459 00:21:02,303 --> 00:21:06,725 and shared that this album was born out of an experience 460 00:21:06,766 --> 00:21:10,311 that I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed. 461 00:21:10,395 --> 00:21:12,897 - You can only assume she's referring to the 2016 462 00:21:12,981 --> 00:21:14,983 CMA Awards when she performed "Daddy Lessons" 463 00:21:15,066 --> 00:21:16,693 with the Chicks. 464 00:21:16,735 --> 00:21:19,404 - (SINGING) With his head held high, he told me not to cry 465 00:21:19,487 --> 00:21:21,740 Oh, my daddy said shoot 466 00:21:21,823 --> 00:21:23,199 Oh, my daddy said shoot 467 00:21:23,241 --> 00:21:25,076 - It definitely made me think of that moment, 468 00:21:25,118 --> 00:21:29,247 while I was at the CMAs myself, to see Beyoncé in my hometown 469 00:21:29,289 --> 00:21:32,334 of Nashville with the Chicks, this is probably 470 00:21:32,417 --> 00:21:34,711 the best moment of my life. 471 00:21:34,753 --> 00:21:39,424 Then, an audience member in front of me proceeds to say, 472 00:21:39,466 --> 00:21:42,719 get that Black bitch off the stage right now. 473 00:21:42,761 --> 00:21:45,889 I remember instantly kind of being taken back to reality 474 00:21:45,930 --> 00:21:48,641 in that moment to realize that there's 475 00:21:48,725 --> 00:21:50,560 like a threat of Black people being 476 00:21:50,602 --> 00:21:53,772 in this genre for some reason. 477 00:21:53,813 --> 00:21:57,734 For Beyoncé to not be welcomed feels like a gut punch. 478 00:21:57,776 --> 00:21:59,861 - The crowd in the arena seemed to enjoy the performance, 479 00:21:59,944 --> 00:22:02,947 but the social media universe was another story. 480 00:22:03,031 --> 00:22:05,617 - Some country music fans were not happy about 481 00:22:05,658 --> 00:22:07,285 Beyoncé's presence. 482 00:22:07,327 --> 00:22:10,955 - After the awards, the CMAs published her performance 483 00:22:10,997 --> 00:22:14,376 on social media that some people 484 00:22:14,459 --> 00:22:17,796 were using to denounce Beyoncé being 485 00:22:17,879 --> 00:22:20,215 there or for outright racism. 486 00:22:20,298 --> 00:22:21,633 - That's right, folks. 487 00:22:21,675 --> 00:22:23,385 Beyoncé performed at the CMAs last night 488 00:22:23,468 --> 00:22:25,095 and is on a mission to take country music away from us 489 00:22:25,136 --> 00:22:26,763 hardworking white people. 490 00:22:26,805 --> 00:22:29,391 - Beyoncé did not belong there, even looked out of place. 491 00:22:29,474 --> 00:22:31,309 Keep country, country. 492 00:22:31,351 --> 00:22:33,853 - I don't know why they feel country is 493 00:22:33,937 --> 00:22:36,481 so precious that it cannot be entered 494 00:22:36,523 --> 00:22:38,274 by Beyoncé from Houston. 495 00:22:38,316 --> 00:22:40,652 But here we are. 496 00:22:40,694 --> 00:22:44,489 - It wasn't out of the norm to have someone like 497 00:22:44,531 --> 00:22:45,949 Beyoncé there. 498 00:22:45,990 --> 00:22:47,992 The CMA awards, every single year, 499 00:22:48,034 --> 00:22:49,786 they book a pop star because they 500 00:22:49,828 --> 00:22:53,623 want to get as many eyeballs on the presentation as possible. 501 00:22:53,665 --> 00:22:55,166 - I was skep-- 502 00:22:55,208 --> 00:22:57,627 I am on record of being skeptical when she 503 00:22:57,669 --> 00:22:59,170 came out with "Daddy Lessons." 504 00:22:59,212 --> 00:23:01,798 What angered me about it was that it overshadowed, 505 00:23:01,840 --> 00:23:03,842 you know, two other performers of color 506 00:23:03,925 --> 00:23:10,890 who were kind of naturally there, Charley Pride, and then 507 00:23:12,017 --> 00:23:16,104 myself as a guest of Eric Church, 508 00:23:16,187 --> 00:23:17,522 having me sing on his song that's 509 00:23:17,564 --> 00:23:19,649 all about like turning hate into love 510 00:23:19,691 --> 00:23:21,860 and getting rid of these words of anger. 511 00:23:21,943 --> 00:23:27,365 And that upset me that that was overshadowed. 512 00:23:27,407 --> 00:23:28,783 - I'm not gonna lie. 513 00:23:28,867 --> 00:23:30,618 My feelings were hurt a little bit because there 514 00:23:30,702 --> 00:23:35,665 is a Black woman standing on a stage that I wanted to be on 515 00:23:35,707 --> 00:23:38,835 and had never been invited to be a part of, even though I was 516 00:23:38,877 --> 00:23:40,962 very much a part of the community 517 00:23:41,046 --> 00:23:46,843 and had worked very hard to be a part of the community. 518 00:23:46,885 --> 00:23:49,220 - Just because of the race of an artist 519 00:23:49,262 --> 00:23:52,724 doesn't necessarily mean that's the reason they're not being 520 00:23:52,766 --> 00:23:54,309 embraced by country fans. 521 00:23:54,392 --> 00:23:58,021 There are dozens of pop stars or stars 522 00:23:58,063 --> 00:24:00,774 from other genres coming to country music 523 00:24:00,857 --> 00:24:02,484 and getting a cold shoulder. 524 00:24:02,567 --> 00:24:07,197 - There have been attempts at crossover in country music 525 00:24:07,238 --> 00:24:11,076 by everyone from Jewel to Jon Bon Jovi 526 00:24:11,159 --> 00:24:12,911 that have not really taken. 527 00:24:12,952 --> 00:24:18,375 - Beyoncé far and away is not the only one. 528 00:24:18,416 --> 00:24:21,878 - Lil Nas X is a Black Southern man 529 00:24:21,920 --> 00:24:25,757 who stumbled across a beat that sounded 530 00:24:25,799 --> 00:24:27,842 to him like country music. 531 00:24:27,926 --> 00:24:32,097 And instantly, Lil Nas X said, I can do something with this. 532 00:24:32,180 --> 00:24:35,767 - (SINGING) Cowboy hat from Gucci, Wrangler on my booty 533 00:24:35,850 --> 00:24:39,062 - He recorded a song that he called "Old Town Road." 534 00:24:39,104 --> 00:24:42,190 He talked about having Wrangler on his booty. 535 00:24:42,232 --> 00:24:43,942 Can't nobody tell me nothing. 536 00:24:43,983 --> 00:24:48,363 And he just thought a cowboy song with this banjo sample 537 00:24:48,446 --> 00:24:51,199 would be an instant success. 538 00:24:51,282 --> 00:24:55,620 And he was right. 539 00:24:55,662 --> 00:24:59,499 - I want to say thank you to every single person who 540 00:24:59,582 --> 00:25:02,961 has made this moment possible for me. 541 00:25:03,003 --> 00:25:06,423 - It was only when Billboard was told by factions within 542 00:25:06,464 --> 00:25:09,634 Nashville, we don't consider this a country record, 543 00:25:09,676 --> 00:25:13,638 that Billboard decided to pull "Old Town Road" 544 00:25:13,680 --> 00:25:15,974 off of the Hot Country Songs chart, 545 00:25:16,016 --> 00:25:19,102 and then all hell broke loose. 546 00:25:19,144 --> 00:25:22,063 - A hit song is sparking controversy over what country 547 00:25:22,105 --> 00:25:23,773 music should sound like. 548 00:25:23,815 --> 00:25:26,609 - Billboard pulled it, decided it wasn't country enough. 549 00:25:26,651 --> 00:25:28,987 - "Old Town Road," a song that Billboard actually 550 00:25:29,070 --> 00:25:31,656 removed from the country charts because it 551 00:25:31,698 --> 00:25:33,783 wasn't country enough. 552 00:25:33,825 --> 00:25:35,410 - Is it because this is somebody 553 00:25:35,493 --> 00:25:38,496 who's new to Nashville, didn't record in Nashville? 554 00:25:38,538 --> 00:25:40,248 Is it because he's Black? 555 00:25:40,331 --> 00:25:42,125 Does his race matter? 556 00:25:42,167 --> 00:25:45,128 These were the kinds of questions folks were asking. 557 00:25:45,170 --> 00:25:46,921 - Billboard responded to the backlash 558 00:25:47,005 --> 00:25:49,758 by saying their decision to take the song off the country 559 00:25:49,841 --> 00:25:54,012 chart had absolutely nothing to do with the race of the artist. 560 00:25:54,054 --> 00:25:57,140 - That was Billboard, as an institution, 561 00:25:57,182 --> 00:26:01,603 unilaterally deciding that is where that song resides. 562 00:26:01,686 --> 00:26:04,272 That was not country music's decision, 563 00:26:04,356 --> 00:26:06,566 but unfortunately, country music 564 00:26:06,649 --> 00:26:11,696 got lumped with all of that. 565 00:26:11,780 --> 00:26:16,368 I think it's also important to note that Lil Nas X 566 00:26:16,409 --> 00:26:18,495 was invited to the CMA Awards. 567 00:26:18,536 --> 00:26:20,038 It's also important to note that he 568 00:26:20,121 --> 00:26:23,041 won a CMA Award for his collaboration 569 00:26:23,083 --> 00:26:25,543 with Billy Ray Cyrus. 570 00:26:25,627 --> 00:26:27,712 - Billy Ray Cyrus was approached and asked, 571 00:26:27,754 --> 00:26:31,508 would you participate in a remix of "Old Town Road"? 572 00:26:31,549 --> 00:26:34,344 And he said, yeah, because he wanted 573 00:26:34,386 --> 00:26:36,721 to help Lil Nas X point a finger 574 00:26:36,763 --> 00:26:38,640 and pose a question to Nashville. 575 00:26:38,723 --> 00:26:43,269 If I add a white country singer and a cowboy hat to the song, 576 00:26:43,353 --> 00:26:46,773 does it instantly become an actual country song? 577 00:26:46,856 --> 00:26:50,110 - "Old Town Road" was all of me. 578 00:26:50,193 --> 00:26:54,072 It was everything that I'd been raised on my whole life 579 00:26:54,114 --> 00:26:58,702 by banjo and bluegrass and solid country hook. 580 00:26:58,743 --> 00:27:01,246 If country music fans dig it, then it's country. 581 00:27:01,287 --> 00:27:03,665 - Even though Billboard Magazine never let it back 582 00:27:03,707 --> 00:27:07,627 on its Hot Country Songs chart, it established 583 00:27:07,711 --> 00:27:09,671 that "Old Town Road" had kind of been 584 00:27:09,754 --> 00:27:11,798 a country song all along. 585 00:27:11,881 --> 00:27:13,550 - It did not stop there. 586 00:27:13,591 --> 00:27:16,344 It just blew him up to the biggest possible proportion. 587 00:27:16,428 --> 00:27:18,888 So when we think about an album like Cowboy Carter that gets 588 00:27:18,930 --> 00:27:21,266 people asking questions to the institutions, 589 00:27:21,349 --> 00:27:26,438 so I think that is the major thing that is going to assist 590 00:27:26,521 --> 00:27:28,189 artists of color and queer artists 591 00:27:28,273 --> 00:27:35,447 and being able to move forward. 592 00:27:36,698 --> 00:27:38,575 - If I were to point to a period 593 00:27:38,616 --> 00:27:40,952 where country music started wrestling with its identity, 594 00:27:41,036 --> 00:27:44,956 I would say the killing of George Floyd in 2020. 595 00:27:44,998 --> 00:27:46,958 - There are demonstrations going on right 596 00:27:47,000 --> 00:27:48,460 now all across the country. 597 00:27:48,501 --> 00:27:50,211 People on the streets in the middle of a pandemic 598 00:27:50,295 --> 00:27:53,048 protesting the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. 599 00:27:53,131 --> 00:27:57,302 - That prompted a reckoning across the country that 600 00:27:57,344 --> 00:28:00,472 led to country music asking, are we 601 00:28:00,513 --> 00:28:03,850 contributing to this environment, 602 00:28:03,933 --> 00:28:10,231 and can we be more welcoming? 603 00:28:10,315 --> 00:28:13,109 - George Floyd and Sandra Bland and Ahmaud 604 00:28:13,151 --> 00:28:19,407 Arbery got us as a country to start 605 00:28:19,491 --> 00:28:20,992 thinking about these things. 606 00:28:21,034 --> 00:28:26,831 And country music finally had to sit with itself. 607 00:28:26,915 --> 00:28:29,751 - And a lot of people put out statements and posted 608 00:28:29,834 --> 00:28:31,795 black squares and talked about the action 609 00:28:31,836 --> 00:28:33,963 that they were going to take. 610 00:28:34,005 --> 00:28:37,509 - It was very much, How can we put a Band-Aid on this? 611 00:28:37,550 --> 00:28:40,428 instead of wanting to do the inner work and inner healing 612 00:28:40,512 --> 00:28:43,765 that is required to create meaningful change when 613 00:28:43,848 --> 00:28:46,518 something like that happens. 614 00:28:46,559 --> 00:28:49,729 - It took Mickey Guyton 10 years to get her debut 615 00:28:49,813 --> 00:28:51,272 album to be released. 616 00:28:51,356 --> 00:28:53,942 George Floyd had to die for this woman 617 00:28:54,025 --> 00:28:58,988 to put out a song that got recognized by the industry. 618 00:28:59,030 --> 00:29:02,117 - (SINGING) And if you think we live 619 00:29:02,200 --> 00:29:04,452 - She's recorded records like "Black Like Me--" 620 00:29:04,536 --> 00:29:09,207 - (SINGING) You should try to be, oh, Black like me 621 00:29:09,249 --> 00:29:12,502 - --where the subtext of her being a Black female country 622 00:29:12,544 --> 00:29:14,629 artist is now the text. 623 00:29:14,713 --> 00:29:18,508 And, you know, if country music is three chords and the truth, 624 00:29:18,550 --> 00:29:23,179 that's Mickey Guyton's truth and she's singing about it. 625 00:29:23,221 --> 00:29:25,557 - Country music is always evolving, 626 00:29:25,640 --> 00:29:27,809 but when it does that, there's this, 627 00:29:27,892 --> 00:29:32,230 like, push and pull between what it used to be, 628 00:29:32,313 --> 00:29:39,487 where it wants to go, and where other people are pushing it. 629 00:29:40,989 --> 00:29:44,659 - In 2021, TJ Osborne, one of the two Brothers Osborne, 630 00:29:44,743 --> 00:29:46,870 came out as gay. 631 00:29:46,911 --> 00:29:50,165 This is remarkable in the country music industry 632 00:29:50,248 --> 00:29:55,545 for a mainstream country act. 633 00:29:55,587 --> 00:29:57,756 - Before I came out, it was like these-- 634 00:29:57,797 --> 00:30:01,676 I felt very, like, stiff anywhere I went. 635 00:30:01,760 --> 00:30:05,555 Well, you know, I was micromanaging every move. 636 00:30:05,597 --> 00:30:07,307 (SINGING) Don't give me that look, 637 00:30:07,390 --> 00:30:09,809 that "let me down easy" smile 638 00:30:09,893 --> 00:30:12,103 I would sit still and hold a guitar 639 00:30:12,145 --> 00:30:13,730 and sing into a microphone. 640 00:30:13,772 --> 00:30:15,273 I didn't want to do anything or say 641 00:30:15,315 --> 00:30:17,192 anything that might bring questions that 642 00:30:17,275 --> 00:30:21,946 would make me uncomfortable. 643 00:30:21,988 --> 00:30:27,952 (SINGING) I'm right back where I'm really home 644 00:30:27,994 --> 00:30:31,706 - When TJ came out to me, I felt relieved for him 645 00:30:31,790 --> 00:30:35,418 that he was able to tell me something like that. 646 00:30:35,460 --> 00:30:41,466 I knew that he wasn't having to carry that weight. 647 00:30:41,549 --> 00:30:48,139 Secrets are heavy, and that one must have been a metric ton. 648 00:30:48,223 --> 00:30:50,934 And I cried genuine, happy tears. 649 00:30:50,975 --> 00:30:52,394 I was proud of him. 650 00:30:52,477 --> 00:30:54,354 I was happy to know that he, like the rest of us, 651 00:30:54,437 --> 00:30:58,316 has been able to experience the complexities of life and love, 652 00:30:58,358 --> 00:31:02,612 unfortunately, in secret. 653 00:31:02,654 --> 00:31:05,699 But I felt like that was the first day of the rest 654 00:31:05,782 --> 00:31:10,286 of our lives as brothers. 655 00:31:10,328 --> 00:31:13,540 - I know that I wanted to come out publicly, 656 00:31:13,623 --> 00:31:18,628 but how we were going to get there was years in the making. 657 00:31:18,670 --> 00:31:24,426 In the video, "Stay a Little Longer," we put a gay couple 658 00:31:24,509 --> 00:31:26,302 and an interracial couple. 659 00:31:26,344 --> 00:31:30,015 And there was a lot of people that had a huge problem 660 00:31:30,098 --> 00:31:31,474 with all of those things. 661 00:31:31,516 --> 00:31:33,268 And it was like kind of odd because it 662 00:31:33,351 --> 00:31:36,813 was like we were seen as allies, which was amazing. 663 00:31:36,855 --> 00:31:38,857 But the whole time, it was like kind of seemed phony 664 00:31:38,940 --> 00:31:40,817 to me because I'm gay. 665 00:31:40,859 --> 00:31:47,741 And so as it went on, it was like, OK, we're gonna do this. 666 00:31:48,700 --> 00:31:50,118 It came out in Time Magazine. 667 00:31:50,201 --> 00:31:51,703 I didn't even get to read the article, 668 00:31:51,745 --> 00:31:55,123 or I had no idea what was about to happen. 669 00:31:55,206 --> 00:31:56,875 It was also challenging because I 670 00:31:56,916 --> 00:32:00,503 didn't want it to be perceived as attention seeking. 671 00:32:00,545 --> 00:32:01,921 I just wanted it to kind of happen 672 00:32:02,005 --> 00:32:04,507 and move on with my life. 673 00:32:04,549 --> 00:32:07,886 But things really changed in an instant for me. 674 00:32:07,927 --> 00:32:11,097 - I hope you feel the tsunami of love that is headed-- 675 00:32:11,181 --> 00:32:13,767 that has been heading your way ever since you spoke out. 676 00:32:13,850 --> 00:32:17,187 - And I did feel a sense of purpose I'd never felt before. 677 00:32:17,228 --> 00:32:20,357 Being able to truly, completely be myself and be happy, 678 00:32:20,398 --> 00:32:23,276 I had fallen back in love with what we did again, 679 00:32:23,360 --> 00:32:24,652 more than I'd ever had before. 680 00:32:24,736 --> 00:32:26,237 I felt, like, a closeness with our fans 681 00:32:26,321 --> 00:32:28,239 that I never felt before. 682 00:32:28,323 --> 00:32:29,532 I didn't know what to expect. 683 00:32:29,574 --> 00:32:31,159 I mean, I did not expect this. 684 00:32:31,242 --> 00:32:32,077 This is incredible. 685 00:32:32,160 --> 00:32:33,203 Thank you. 686 00:32:33,244 --> 00:32:34,746 - Yeah! 687 00:32:34,829 --> 00:32:36,748 - If I could go back now from here 688 00:32:36,831 --> 00:32:39,709 and tell myself where I would be, like, oh, my God, 689 00:32:39,751 --> 00:32:44,506 I would never believe that I would have ended up here. 690 00:32:44,589 --> 00:32:48,927 Younger me came out of that. 691 00:32:48,968 --> 00:32:56,309 The very last line of the song, "You got me where I am today, 692 00:32:58,228 --> 00:33:01,898 got a few things right along the way, you'll see. 693 00:33:01,940 --> 00:33:05,735 Just wait, younger me." 694 00:33:05,777 --> 00:33:08,530 - I'm almost getting teary eyed saying it now. 695 00:33:08,571 --> 00:33:10,699 It's all part of living. 696 00:33:10,782 --> 00:33:15,453 Life is scary, and it's kind of messy and ugly sometimes. 697 00:33:15,495 --> 00:33:18,665 But if you push through, then beautiful things will happen. 698 00:33:18,748 --> 00:33:21,835 And I think our lives are proof of that. 699 00:33:21,918 --> 00:33:23,503 At the end of the day, the people 700 00:33:23,586 --> 00:33:27,382 that will make the biggest impact are the artists. 701 00:33:27,465 --> 00:33:29,300 - You know I love it when you sing along. 702 00:33:29,342 --> 00:33:30,885 This is one of my favorite songs of all time. 703 00:33:30,969 --> 00:33:32,637 It's called "Fast Car." 704 00:33:32,721 --> 00:33:36,057 - Luke Combs recorded that song just to be an album cut, just 705 00:33:36,141 --> 00:33:38,560 almost as like a fun thing, maybe 706 00:33:38,643 --> 00:33:40,311 a tribute to Tracy Chapman. 707 00:33:40,353 --> 00:33:42,313 It was a song that he sung all the time 708 00:33:42,397 --> 00:33:43,898 when he was growing up. 709 00:33:43,982 --> 00:33:45,984 - (SINGING) You got a fast car 710 00:33:46,067 --> 00:33:48,278 I want a ticket to anywhere 711 00:33:48,319 --> 00:33:53,491 - So the reason that "Fast Car" became this big hit was 712 00:33:53,533 --> 00:33:57,495 completely organically, which is the new market that 713 00:33:57,579 --> 00:33:59,456 we're seeing opening up in country 714 00:33:59,497 --> 00:34:03,209 music and changing the paradigm that puts radio first. 715 00:34:03,293 --> 00:34:06,004 - So much of country music is built on singing other people's 716 00:34:06,046 --> 00:34:09,674 songs, being able to appreciate the people who create it 717 00:34:09,716 --> 00:34:11,217 and where it comes from. 718 00:34:11,301 --> 00:34:13,303 "Fast Car" is a song created by a Black woman. 719 00:34:13,344 --> 00:34:15,764 - (SINGING) Maybe we'll make something 720 00:34:15,847 --> 00:34:19,641 Me, myself, I got nothing to prove 721 00:34:19,684 --> 00:34:22,645 - To see Tracy Chapman on the Grammy Award stage 722 00:34:22,687 --> 00:34:25,065 with him in 2024 was an incredible moment 723 00:34:25,148 --> 00:34:27,025 because it was him stepping back and allowing 724 00:34:27,067 --> 00:34:28,777 her to have that moment. 725 00:34:28,860 --> 00:34:31,279 - The success of Combs's rendition 726 00:34:31,362 --> 00:34:34,657 makes Chapman the first Black female songwriter to top 727 00:34:34,699 --> 00:34:36,451 the Country Airplay chart. 728 00:34:36,534 --> 00:34:40,038 - We can't overlook that this was the first solo Black woman 729 00:34:40,121 --> 00:34:41,664 to get these accolades. 730 00:34:41,706 --> 00:34:44,833 And so when I hear just sort of the knee-jerk reaction 731 00:34:44,876 --> 00:34:48,170 of like, well, anyone who doesn't like Beyoncé making 732 00:34:48,213 --> 00:34:51,716 country songs must be racist, I think about all these 733 00:34:51,800 --> 00:34:53,467 moments here. 734 00:34:53,551 --> 00:34:57,555 - To see her being recognized for the powerhouse songwriter 735 00:34:57,639 --> 00:35:00,934 that she is was incredible. 736 00:35:01,017 --> 00:35:04,437 I wish that it had been for her version. 737 00:35:04,521 --> 00:35:08,274 Luke Combs took a lot of flack, some deserved, 738 00:35:08,358 --> 00:35:09,859 some not deserved. 739 00:35:09,901 --> 00:35:12,362 But I really loved the performance 740 00:35:12,404 --> 00:35:14,364 that he did on the Grammys. 741 00:35:14,406 --> 00:35:17,117 It had been the first time that she'd performed in years, 742 00:35:17,200 --> 00:35:22,580 and it was the most poignant moment of that whole evening, 743 00:35:22,622 --> 00:35:24,749 and rightfully so. 744 00:35:24,791 --> 00:35:28,920 And so I liked him centering her in that moment. 745 00:35:28,962 --> 00:35:36,011 And I wish more people would do that. 746 00:35:37,303 --> 00:35:39,264 This current moment that we're having right now, 747 00:35:39,347 --> 00:35:44,602 you have this influx of Black artists coming in. 748 00:35:44,644 --> 00:35:48,398 And it seems like there's this Renaissance. 749 00:35:48,440 --> 00:35:52,360 You've got Madeleine Edwards, Shaboozey, 750 00:35:52,444 --> 00:35:55,238 Camille Parker, Kane Brown. 751 00:35:55,280 --> 00:35:58,783 You've got Darius being a modern-day Charley Pride. 752 00:35:58,825 --> 00:36:01,786 - We've built upon so much of a legacy. 753 00:36:01,828 --> 00:36:04,080 You had Rissi Palmer in the 2000s. 754 00:36:04,122 --> 00:36:07,876 And then we have Holly G kind of coming in and taking 755 00:36:07,959 --> 00:36:11,004 the torch again and creating Black Opry for all of us 756 00:36:11,087 --> 00:36:14,382 artists to come together and to thrive collectively 757 00:36:14,466 --> 00:36:15,925 and individually. 758 00:36:15,967 --> 00:36:17,552 - When I'm at the Black Opry, I'm 759 00:36:17,635 --> 00:36:19,220 thinking I'm the only person around that's Black 760 00:36:19,304 --> 00:36:20,680 doing traditional country. 761 00:36:20,764 --> 00:36:24,934 - (SINGING) Spring take me right on into summer 762 00:36:24,976 --> 00:36:28,938 - I met so many Black artists, and it was like a homecoming. 763 00:36:28,980 --> 00:36:30,523 And then when we started passing 764 00:36:30,607 --> 00:36:33,401 the guitar around playing, I was like, wow! 765 00:36:33,485 --> 00:36:38,490 - (SINGING) It was six days and seven nights in Myrtle Beach 766 00:36:38,573 --> 00:36:43,495 - (SINGING) And Tennessee blues 767 00:36:43,536 --> 00:36:46,122 - We wanna share our stories, just like Luke Bryan 768 00:36:46,164 --> 00:36:50,335 and just like Morgan Wallen. 769 00:36:50,377 --> 00:36:51,503 - Woo! Woo, woo! 770 00:36:51,586 --> 00:36:53,004 [applause] 771 00:36:53,088 --> 00:36:55,965 - And the thing that we have working in our favor 772 00:36:56,007 --> 00:37:00,804 that our predecessors did not is the internet and streaming. 773 00:37:00,845 --> 00:37:05,350 You still need country radio, but the music is getting 774 00:37:05,392 --> 00:37:07,018 out directly to the fans. 775 00:37:07,060 --> 00:37:10,647 And for that, I think we all can be extremely grateful, 776 00:37:10,689 --> 00:37:14,359 because I know for me, I wouldn't have a career anymore 777 00:37:14,401 --> 00:37:17,153 if it weren't for that. 778 00:37:17,195 --> 00:37:20,281 - I know Beyoncé has an incredible, glittering resume, 779 00:37:20,365 --> 00:37:27,372 but the deep relationship with the fans is the true accolade. 780 00:37:28,540 --> 00:37:33,003 We revere her like a queen, and we 781 00:37:33,044 --> 00:37:36,715 will follow her to wherever she wants to go 782 00:37:36,756 --> 00:37:39,509 and whatever she wants to make. 783 00:37:39,551 --> 00:37:46,224 OK, "Jolene" is next, one of the monsters of this album. 784 00:37:46,266 --> 00:37:52,480 I love that she takes "Jolene" and makes it her own. 785 00:37:52,564 --> 00:37:54,232 - Dolly Parton, she's been saying 786 00:37:54,315 --> 00:37:57,819 forever that she would love to hear Beyoncé sing "Jolene." 787 00:37:57,902 --> 00:38:04,075 - (SINGING) Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene 788 00:38:04,117 --> 00:38:08,246 - And, like, I think it honors the original song-- 789 00:38:08,288 --> 00:38:13,793 - (SINGING) Please don't take him just because you can 790 00:38:13,877 --> 00:38:17,422 - --while putting Beyoncéness into it. 791 00:38:17,464 --> 00:38:22,344 - (SINGING) I'm still a Creole banjee bitch from Louisianne 792 00:38:22,427 --> 00:38:24,220 Don't try me 793 00:38:24,262 --> 00:38:25,347 - Oh, my god. 794 00:38:25,430 --> 00:38:26,514 Like-- 795 00:38:26,598 --> 00:38:28,016 - We love you. - We love you. 796 00:38:28,099 --> 00:38:29,267 - We love you, Beyoncé. 797 00:38:29,309 --> 00:38:30,518 Thank you so much for everything 798 00:38:30,602 --> 00:38:32,687 you did for music industry. 799 00:38:32,771 --> 00:38:36,149 - I think whenever Beyoncé enters into a conversation, 800 00:38:36,232 --> 00:38:40,111 through no fault of her own, I think it automatically takes 801 00:38:40,153 --> 00:38:41,863 all the air out of the room. 802 00:38:41,946 --> 00:38:45,450 Like you automatically are going to look at the unicorn. 803 00:38:45,492 --> 00:38:47,535 Like, you know what I mean? 804 00:38:47,619 --> 00:38:52,624 And so, I've seen people say some really hurtful things, 805 00:38:52,665 --> 00:38:55,919 like that she is the reason Black 806 00:38:55,960 --> 00:38:57,420 people are in country music. 807 00:38:57,462 --> 00:39:00,298 And it's like we've been working 808 00:39:00,382 --> 00:39:02,884 at this for a very long time. 809 00:39:02,967 --> 00:39:05,970 And I don't think it's her intention. 810 00:39:06,012 --> 00:39:08,473 But yeah, I do think that some of it 811 00:39:08,515 --> 00:39:11,309 does take the attention away. 812 00:39:11,351 --> 00:39:14,270 - I do have a fear that this moment 813 00:39:14,312 --> 00:39:17,982 could take attention away from women 814 00:39:18,024 --> 00:39:19,776 of color in country music. 815 00:39:19,818 --> 00:39:24,197 Now, that said, there has been some data that that's 816 00:39:24,280 --> 00:39:25,573 actually not the case. 817 00:39:25,657 --> 00:39:27,367 - Beyoncé's new album, Cowboy Carter, 818 00:39:27,450 --> 00:39:31,121 has boosted streams for Black Country artists on Spotify. 819 00:39:31,162 --> 00:39:32,997 - I've often said in a lot of interviews 820 00:39:33,039 --> 00:39:36,376 that it would take Beyoncé putting the banjo on her song 821 00:39:36,459 --> 00:39:37,794 to, like, blow this up, right? 822 00:39:37,836 --> 00:39:40,338 Turns out that that was kind of right 823 00:39:40,380 --> 00:39:44,509 because that has really blown everything kind of wide open 824 00:39:44,592 --> 00:39:48,805 and given a spotlight from more mainstream sources. 825 00:39:48,847 --> 00:39:53,852 But my question is, what happens going forward, right? 826 00:39:53,893 --> 00:39:56,479 We can't just go, oh, it's done. 827 00:39:56,521 --> 00:39:57,814 Yay! 828 00:39:57,856 --> 00:39:59,691 Because like, you know, when the dust is settled 829 00:39:59,774 --> 00:40:03,153 and the next record comes out, then what happens? 830 00:40:03,194 --> 00:40:05,363 - To all the record labels, every radio station, 831 00:40:05,447 --> 00:40:10,285 every award show, my hope is that we're more open to the joy 832 00:40:10,368 --> 00:40:12,537 and liberation that comes from enjoying art 833 00:40:12,579 --> 00:40:14,622 with no preconceived notions. 834 00:40:14,706 --> 00:40:15,957 [cheering] 835 00:40:16,041 --> 00:40:19,753 - This is a gigantic moment for Black people 836 00:40:19,836 --> 00:40:21,796 who live in the country space. 837 00:40:21,880 --> 00:40:24,382 Beyoncé is just here, and she's out. 838 00:40:24,424 --> 00:40:25,925 But Tanner Adell lives here. 839 00:40:26,009 --> 00:40:29,262 Willie Jones, Rhiannon Giddens live here. 840 00:40:29,346 --> 00:40:35,393 So she's absolutely changing the lives of some of the people 841 00:40:35,435 --> 00:40:38,730 who already lived in this world. 842 00:40:38,772 --> 00:40:43,401 [guitar playing] 843 00:40:43,485 --> 00:40:46,988 - When I look at my career now, I'm more than blessed 844 00:40:47,072 --> 00:40:49,991 because I'm in my skin. 845 00:40:50,075 --> 00:40:51,743 It's going to get better. 846 00:40:51,785 --> 00:40:56,706 A whole lot better. 847 00:40:56,748 --> 00:41:01,044 It's gonna take love and appreciation of all kinds 848 00:41:01,086 --> 00:41:02,504 and all colors of country. 849 00:41:02,545 --> 00:41:06,925 (SINGING) Yeah, and I've been used to changing 850 00:41:06,966 --> 00:41:09,761 You can feel it in the song I'm singing 851 00:41:09,803 --> 00:41:13,765 Between the laughter and tears 852 00:41:13,807 --> 00:41:19,646 All my life, I've been shifting gears 853 00:41:19,729 --> 00:41:21,356 All my life-- 854 00:41:21,439 --> 00:41:24,526 - I've just got invited to make my debut at the Grand Ole Opry 855 00:41:24,609 --> 00:41:25,819 this summer. 856 00:41:25,902 --> 00:41:32,283 (SINGING) When I close my eyes at night 857 00:41:32,325 --> 00:41:38,081 Then I awaken to light 858 00:41:38,123 --> 00:41:41,376 The money I made 859 00:41:41,459 --> 00:41:47,966 The Grand Ole Opry is a rite of passage for a country artist. 860 00:41:48,008 --> 00:41:53,930 (SINGING) I want to live 861 00:41:53,972 --> 00:41:59,310 I want to live 862 00:41:59,394 --> 00:42:01,479 It is also an opportunity to get 863 00:42:01,521 --> 00:42:05,275 in front of one of the largest country audiences in the world. 864 00:42:05,316 --> 00:42:08,319 (SINGING) I'm gonna drive in my car 865 00:42:08,403 --> 00:42:11,448 I'm gonna go to the store 866 00:42:11,489 --> 00:42:13,950 I'm gonna go for a run 867 00:42:13,992 --> 00:42:17,871 Then I'm gonna come right back home