Beyoncé Ain’t Come To Play, Drops ‘Cowboy Carter’ Artwork

The “continuation of Renaissance” is among us as Beyoncé unveiled the artwork and inspiration behind her upcoming album, Cowboy Carter.

One week after announcing the title of her new album, the decorated Grammy-winning singer took to Instagram to reveal the album’s cover and a lengthy personal statement on her reasoning for doing a country-inspired project. The cover shows Beyoncé seated on a white horse and holding a giant American flag while wearing a red, white, and blue cowboy suit with a white hat and matching white cowgirl boots.

The “Cuff It” singer kicked off her statement by starting the 10-day countdown to the album’s release and thanking fans for the success of the EP’s first two singles, “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,” she wrote.

“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.”

Revealing the five years it took to make the album, Beyoncé explained how it came about.

“It was born out of an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed…and it was very clear that I wasn’t,” she shared. “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 singer continued.

She went on to address the “criticisms” she’s faced when releasing country music, and teased the collaborations with “some brilliant artists who I deeply respect” that will appear on the new album. After saying that Cowboy Carter will serve as a “continuation” of her 2022 album, Renaissance, Queen Bey informed the Beyhive how different the project will be from any other country album they’ve heard before.

“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!” she wrote.

Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter is set to release on Friday, March 29.

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