“I like all kinds of music — as long as it’s not country.”
I would say this every time someone asked me what kind of music I liked to listen to. Truthfully, I never even gave country a chance. With the genre having a majority white artist demographic, the lack of representation made it unappealing to me.
However, I think 2024 was a defining year, one that indicates a potential shift in country’s demographics. The current No. 1 slot for Billboard’s Hot Country Songs has been held by Black country singer Shaboozey. His song “A Bar Song (Tipsey)” has held the slot for 22 consecutive weeks.
He is just one of the many Black country artists making a name for themselves within the country genre.
In 2019, Lil’ Nas X made history when his song “Old Town Road” broke the Billboard Singles Record and became the longest-running No. 1 single at 19 weeks. “Old Town Road” made Lil’ Nas X one of the most successful Black country singers in contemporary music.
Historically, country music has deep roots with racism and white supremacy. In the 1920s, early country artists were segregated by the categories of “Hillbilly music” and “race records.” “Hillbilly music” referred to music that was solely sung by white artists while “race records” were sung by Black artists. By the 1940s, “Hillbilly music” became known as “country and western” while “race records” became known as “rhythm and blues.”
Despite being forced out of the country industry, Black people have always contributed to the genre. At the beginning of “Texas Hold ‘Em” by Beyoncé, we can hear folk musician Rhiannon Giddens playing the banjo. Did you know the banjo actually has origins in West Africa?
The akonting, a three-stringed instrument that comes from Gambia and the Jola people, is closely related to the banjo. However, historians have been unable to determine the exact origin of the instrument since there are more than 60 similar plucked string instruments throughout the West African region. The modern-day banjo was invented by enslaved West Africans in colonial North America and the Caribbean. They created a blend of traditional West African string instruments and European instruments to make early gourd banjos.
Playing music with instruments like the banjo created moments of joy and community for enslaved people. It became a form of resistance, allowing themselves to form an identity outside of the plantation system.
Even with these deep roots to the country genre, Black country artists continue to be underrepresented in the industry. Between 2002 and 2020, 98% of artists who received airtime on country radio stations were white.
While Cowboy Carter is the biggest new country album of the year, Beyoncé did not receive a single nomination for the 2024 Country Music Awards (CMAs). Country fans have been reluctant to welcome Beyoncé, arguably one of the biggest artists in the world, into the country industry. Following her performance at the 2016 CMAs with The Chicks, she received immense backlash from country fans on social media.
Beyoncé is not the first and most certainly not the last Black artist who has been unwelcome in the country genre. In March of 2019, Lil’ Nas X’s song “Old Town Road” was removed from Billboard’s country charts, where it had reached No. 19.
Not because his song isn’t country, but, in my opinion, because he is Black.
The catchiness of “A Bar Song (Tipsey),” as well as seeing Tracy Chapman perform “Fast Car” with Luke Combs at the 2024 Grammys, made me want to give country music another chance. It seemed like suddenly there was a space for people of color in country music.
While racism is still very much alive in country music spaces, seeing these contemporary Black artists succeed in the genre gives me hope that one day, country’s deep ties to white supremacy will be dismantled.
Tiffany Marquez Escobar is the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Editor for The Beacon. She can be reached at marqueze25@up.edu.
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