The artist is both teacher and student across the album, which is informed as much by her own lived experiences as it is by the legacies of the pioneers and overlooked stars that came before her. It emerged in the aftermath of Beyoncé’s appearance at the 2016 CMA Awards, where she performed “Daddy Lessons” with the Chicks. There, she was met with a response that positioned her as an outsider — someone who didn’t belong on that stage because, for some, she was too pop, and for others, she was simply too Black. “Because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of Country music and studied our rich musical archive,” Beyoncé shared in a statement when unveiling the Cowboy Carter album artwork. 

Beyoncé’s findings were multidimensional, generation-spanning histories of the genre, as well as the culture that informed its image and heritage. The visual and sonic presentations of the record are meticulous and intentional, and her message is clear to those who are willing to engage earnestly enough to receive it. The nods are in the music, but also in the language surrounding the album. It’s in the featured guests, the song titles, and the promotional marketing. It’s in the intentionality of her declaring: “This ain’t a country album. This is a Beyoncé album.” 

Before Cowboy Carter received its official title as the second installment of a trilogy that began with 2022’s Renaissance, it was introduced as Act II with “Texas Hold ‘Em” and the ballad “16 Carriages” as its lead singles. The more upbeat, line-dance-ready “Texas Hold ‘Em” was featured in a teaser video, setting the tone for the visual direction of the era. In the 57-second clip, Beyoncé drives through the desert in a yellow taxi cab, riding past a sign for Radio Texas that reads: “100,000 Watts of Healing Power,” the highest effective radiated power for FM stations in the U.S.