WEBVTT FILE 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