Late 2018 saw the release of a song called “Old Town Road” by rapper Lil Nas X, a song that fused rap with a traditional country western melody adapted from the Nine Inch Nails track, “34 Ghosts IV”. It was a slow burn until it was uploaded to TikTok, where the hybrid of country and rap sizzled up the Billboard Hot 100.
Because of its popularity on the social media platform and it’s increasing popularity, Columbia Records re-released the single together with a remix featuring Billy Ray Cyrus in April, where shortly after it became a worldwide sensation.
Click on the image to the left to watch the video of “Old Town Road”.
Six years later, Beyoncé released her seventh album “Renaissance” (officially titled “Act I: Renaissance”), featuring the hits “Break My Soul” and “Cuff It”. Naturally, the “Act I” in the album’s name implied there would be additional acts (in this case a 3-act trilogy of albums), and the second act of this three-album cycle (“Act II: Cowboy Carter”) was preceded in February by a song called “Texas Hold ‘Em”, which signaled that the next act would surprisingly be in the country genre. On a side note, Beyoncé had made prior forays into country music, including the song “Daddy Lessons” in 2016 from her album “Lemonade”.
Beginning with her first hit single, “Crazy in Love” in 2002 through “Texas Hold ‘Em” in 2024, Beyoncé has released sixty-one singles, seven studio albums, five live albums, and three compilations to date. All told, she’s sold more than 200 million albums and is among the best-selling artists of all time (and that’s not factoring in her time with Destiny’s Child!)
Beyoncé has been awarded 32 Grammys from her 88 total career nominations and is the single most successful black touring act in history.
Today’s featured track is “Texas Hold ‘Em” and is included on her forthcoming eighth studio album, “Cowboy Carter” (2024). Released as the album’s lead single just last month, the song quickly peaked at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 as well as the country chart in the U.S.
“Texas Hold ’Em” brings together the parallel worlds of country and soul, which have often overlapped despite their commercial segregation.
Pitchfork
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