Upon releasing Renaissance in 2022, Beyoncé let it be known that it was the first of a three-part musical reclamation series. The first album celebrated the Black, queer origins of dance music, fusing disco and house into a celebratory LP dedicated to her Uncle Johnny, who helped make some of her earliest stage costumes. Act II was Cowboy Carter, a country and Americana opus that was born out of the backlash she received in 2016 for performing her Lemonade-era country song “Daddy Lessons” with fellow Texan singers the Chicks at the CMAs.
For the last three years, fans have surmised that one of the albums would be rock. Beyoncé has a long history with the genre and its often erased and less financially successful Black roots have been reclaimed by her before, on Lemonade track “Don’t Hurt Yourself.” As her Cowboy Carter tour comes to a close, the Bey Hive is buzzing with all the hints indicating that a rock reclamation is coming soon from the star. Here are some of the signs that Act III will have a rock ‘n’ roll edge.
Her latest Levi’s ad
Beyoncé kicked off Cowboy Carter with a Levi’s partnership — smart since she pays tribute to the brand in a song on the album. Her latest ad is called “The Denim Cowboy” and has Beyoncé riding her white horse to a laundromat (with a sign advertising Uncle Johnny’s Fine Tailoring inside). After winning a game of pool at the local dive, she ends up riding off into the night on a motorcycle. Leaving behind the steed that’s been so integral to her country era makes it clear Beyoncé is heading into a new direction, and no other possible genre exploration matches the biker lifestyle.
She dressed as Betty Davis last Halloween
Over the last year, Beyoncé has rarely stepped outside of her cowboy hats and denim. But when she has, her fashion choices have been pretty uniformly teasing the same shift. The most explicit was her decision to dress as Betty Davis last Halloween. Davis is known as the Queen of Funk, and was trailblazing artist in the Seventies known for her taboo-smashing music and performances as well as influence on former husband Miles Davis, especially after introducing him to her friends Jimi Hendrix and Sly Stone.
There are parallels between Davis and country star Linda Martell, who was featured on Cowboy Carter. Both had careers cut short in the Seventies, after being shafted by their labels and the industry-at-large. Their music was almost universally forgotten until the last decade, after minor resurgences, stories or documentaries helped enlighten younger generations to their small but brilliant discographies.
Her controversial rock nomination at the Grammys
“Daddy Lessons” wasn’t the only Lemonade cut to shake up people’s perceptions of who belongs in what genre. While her country song was rejected from the country categories at the Grammys in 2017, “Don’t Hurt Yourself” did nab a nom for Best Rock Performance. Disurbed’s frontman David Draiman made controversial comments about how “strange” Beyoncé’s nomination was.
“It definitely stands out — like, one of these things is not like the other, you know? But what are you going to do?” Draiman said at the time. Disturbed were up against her in the category, for their Simon & Garfunkel cover. Given the impact her CMAs reception had on Cowboy Carter, it’s not unlikely that that comment stuck with her.
Similarly, her husband Jay-Z has faced backlash from rock bands for being on “rock” territory. In response to the rapper’s headlining slot at Glastonbury in 2008, Oasis’ Noel Gallagher made a quip that hip-hop does not belong at the festival. In response, Jay-Z picked up a guitar and covered “Wonderwall.”
A long-documented history of covering rock songs live
Beyoncé is clearly a student of rock history and a huge fan of the genre. Tina Turner is one of her biggest influences and someone she has paid tribute to countless times on- and off-stage. Same goes for Prince, who she performed with and also covered live, specifically her rousing rendition of Purple Rain track “The Beautiful Ones.”
During festivals and tours, Beyoncé has tackled a large number of rock hits: the Doors’ “Five to One,” Kings of Leon’s “Sex on Fire,” Alanis Morissette’s “You Oughta Know.” Even on Cowboy Carter, she tackles The Beatles with her version of “Blackbird.”
www.rollingstone.com
#Signs #Beyoncés #Era #Rock
