Black and country

Camike Jones Who gets to decide what is and is not country music? Beyonce’s new singles, “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages,” have stirred up some controversy recently. Some country fans and radio DJs have deemed her music to not be true country music. How they can determine what is true country music is the big question. Despite the backlash, Beyonce has garnered the first ever #1 country song by a Black woman. Though the origins of country music can be found in the banjos created and played by enslaved Africans, in the years since, the country genre has been largely performed and supported by non-Black people. There have been a few exceptions like Kane Brown, Jimmie Allen, Chapel Heart and Mickey Guyton. But for the most part, the genre that boasts legends like Charley Pride, has not been welcoming to Black artists even though so many Black Americans have deep roots in the south. In November 2023, Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car,” which she wrote and recorded 35 years ago, became a #2 hit for country singer Luke Combs and earned Chapman Song of the Year at the 2023 Country Music Awards. Chapman was the first Black woman ever to...