The table was prepared for her in the presence of her enemies.

Beyoncé won ALBUM OF THE YEAR ⭐️

Even though this award feels like it was LONG overdue – I can’t help but feel inspired as a fellow Black American Southern Girl that she won for an album that reclaimed a genre that was stolen and repackaged, that she was shut out of. The table was prepared for her in the presence of her enemies.

Cowboy Carter was inspired by her 2016 performance of her song Daddy Lessons at the CMAs with the Dixie Chicks, a performance that received very heavy criticism.

“It was born out of an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed…and it was very clear that I wasn’t. But, because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of Country music and studied our rich musical archive.” – Beyoncé shared on Instagram ahead of the album’s release.

and you can hear this research in American Requiiem – the call for wanting better for our country.

or Blackbird, the covering of the Beatles song that talks about the Civil Rights Movement

or the Linda Martell Show, re-introducing us to the first Black female country singer

or even the Chitlin Circuit promo photos, referencing the network of Black venues that Black artists performed in during the Jim Crow era.

yes, she should’ve won for self-titled – the album that ushered in the little-to-no promo of an album and albums dropping on Fridays

or Lemonade – an album about a Black family breaking generational curses

or Renaissance – an album about Black joy and confidence

but this encompasses all of it.

And for those that say this wasn’t *country* – Beyoncé has always been a cowboy hat wearing, horseback riding, Houstonian, but aside from that, I challenge you to rethink and broaden your perspective of what country actually is. This wasn’t just a foray into a random new genre (and if even if it was, who cares?) it was a reintroduction to the roots of the genre AND an introduction to what it means to be a BLACK southerner.

This one was for the Black girls who ran barefoot on concrete or dirt roads, who line dance, who frequent county fairs and rodeos, who were told that they sounded too country when they spoke. Who turn the bass way up in the car.

This one was for all of the girls who came before her that were shut out of the genre.

This was for Linda Martell.

It was for us.

Signed,

India

a Black girl who walked down the aisle to a country song.