Beyonce is on the tips of everyone’s tongues, per usual.
The superstar made headlines this week after being snubbed by the CMAs when their official nominees list arrived on Monday (Sep. 9).
While the list featured some notable names including Shaboozey and Post Malone (who both feature on Bey’s ‘Cowboy Carter’ album, neither the album nor its lead shingle “Texas Hold ’Em”—a Billboard Hot Country No. 1—received any nods.
Despite the snubs, which are not surprising due to the CMAs sketchy history with Queen Bey, she is pressing forward.
On Tuesday (Sep.10), GQ unveiled their new cover and spread featuring Bey, and she gets candid between the pages for a rare interview with the publication.
In the sit-down, she revealed why she has not dropped the highly-anticipated ‘Renaissance’ visuals yet, talked motherhood, the history behind ‘Cowboy Carter,’ blending genres, and more.
Get into the snaps and some excerpts below.
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On the visuals and why they haven’t been released:
“I thought it was important that during a time where all we see is visuals, that the world can focus on the voice. The music is so rich in history and instrumentation. It takes months to digest, research, and understand. The music needed space to breathe on its own. Sometimes a visual can be a distraction from the quality of the voice and the music. The years of hard work and detail put into an album that takes over four years! The music is enough. The fans from all over the world became the visual. We all got the visual on tour. We then got more visuals from my film.”
“I love and respect all of the female singers-songwriters who are out right now.… Raye, Victoria Monét, Sasha Keable, Chloe x Halle, and Reneé Rapp. I love Doechii and GloRilla, and I just heard That Mexican OT, he’s from Houston…. He goes hard! I really like “Please Please Please” by Sabrina Carpenter, and I think that Thee Sacred Souls and Chappell Roan are talented and interesting. I’m obsessed with my backseat baby…. I’m a Smiler.
But the truth is, I spend most of my time listening to the classics, like Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, and music from artists on the Stax label. I just watched that documentary. It’s so good! I highly recommend it. The best movie I’ve seen this year is Inside Out 2. I think it’s brilliant, and I’m currently watching House of the Dragon and The Chi.”
“I started Cowboy Carter almost five years ago. Pay close attention to my age in the lyrics of “16 Carriages.”
From the start of my career and on every album, I have always mixed genres. Whether it is R&B, Dance, Country, Rap, Zydeco, Blues, Opera, Gospel, they have all influenced me in some way. I have favorite artists from every genre you could think about. I believe genres are traps that box us in and separate us. I’ve experienced this for 25 years in the music industry. Black artists, and other artists of color, have been creating and mastering multiple genres, since forever.
This is why it was so important for me to sample the composer Joseph Bologne, known as Chevalier de Saint-Georges, in the song “Daughter” on Cowboy Carter. Violin Concerto in D Major, Opus 3, No. 1: II. Adagio was created in the 1700s. This is a testament to Chevalier’s vision. I hope it inspires artists, as well as fans, to dig deeper and learn more about the Black musical innovators who came before us. Some of the most talented artists never achieve the mainstream praise they deserve, especially when they defy the norm.
I was so hyped to see a song like “Texas Hold ’Em” gain worldwide acceptance. Even more exciting was how it helped reinvigorate the Country genre across music, fashion, art, and culture, and introduced the world to so much great talent like Shaboozey, Tanner Adell, Willie Jones, Brittney Spencer, Tiera Kennedy, and Reyna Roberts.”
