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Beyoncé officially announced her Renaissance follow-up last week after much teasing, and it’s due at the end of the month. The country-inspired album is the Act II to 2022’s Renaissance, and today she’s unveiled the album artwork, which mirrors the Renaissance in that she’s riding a horse but this time she’s riding a white horse and holding an American flag.
She also shared a statement over on her website reflecting on the success of its first two singles “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages,” and the criticism she’s received for engaging with country music, including back in 2016 when she put out “Daddy Lessons.” Here’s that:
TODAY MARKS THE 10-DAY COUNTDOWN TO THE RELEASE OF act ii.
THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART TO ALL OF THE SUPPORTERS OF TEXAS HOLD ‘EM AND 16 CARRIAGES. I FEEL HONORED TO BE THE FIRST BLACK WOMAN WITH THE NUMBER ONE SINGLE ON THE HOT COUNTRY SONGS CHART. THAT WOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED WITHOUT THE OUTPOURING OF SUPPORT FROM EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU. MY HOPE IS THAT YEARS FROM NOW, THE MENTION OF AN ARTIST’S RACE, AS IT RELATES TO RELEASING GENRES OF MUSIC, WILL BE IRRELEVANT.THIS ALBUM HAS BEEN OVER FIVE YEARS IN THE MAKING. IT WAS BORN OUT OF AN EXPERIENCE THAT I HAD YEARS AGO WHEN 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. IT FEELS GOOD TO SEE HOW MUSIC CAN UNITE SO MANY PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD, WHILE ALSO AMPLIFYING THE VOICES OF SOME OF THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE DEDICATED SO MUCH OF THEIR LIVES EDUCATING ON OUR MUSICAL HISTORY.
THE CRITICISMS I FACED WHEN I FIRST ENTERED THIS GENRE FORCED ME TO PROPEL PAST THE LIMITATIONS THAT WERE PUT ON ME. act ii IS A RESULT OF CHALLENGING MYSELF, AND TAKING MY TIME TO BEND AND BLEND GENRES TOGETHER TO CREATE THIS BODY OF WORK.
I HAVE A FEW SURPRISES ON THE ALBUM, AND HAVE COLLABORATED WITH SOME BRILLIANT ARTISTS WHO I DEEPLY RESPECT. I HOPE THAT YOU CAN HEAR MY HEART AND SOUL, AND ALL THE LOVE AND PASSION THAT I POURED INTO EVERY DETAIL AND EVERY SOUND.
I FOCUSED ON THIS ALBUM AS A CONTINUATION OF RENAISSANCE… I HOPE THIS MUSIC IS AN EXPERIENCE, CREATING ANOTHER JOURNEY WHERE YOU CANB CLOSE YOUR EYES, START FROM THE BEGINNING AND NEVER STOP.
THIS AIN’T A COUNTRY ALBUM, THIS IS A “BEYONCÉ” ALBUM.
THIS IS act ii COWBOY CARTER, AND I AM PROUD TO SHARE IT WITH Y’ALL!
Act II: Cowboy Carter is out 3/29.