Anyone else notice a lot of black people aping country music these days? Beyonce just released that album where she's LARPing as a cowboy and I'm not sure how to feel about it.
Country and hip-hop/rap are often dismissed outright by normies, like "I listen to everything except country and rap," and my personal theory is that's because both genres are associated with the low class whites and blacks (respectively.) I know both can be done by the other race (Eminem and Cowboy Troy come to mind,) so it's not a strict color divide, and country seems to be the least popular since it has to have its own charts and own awards shows separate from the regular Billboard and grammies.
I heard Beyonce's version of Jolene today and it just bothers me. It's so bad, it's not even a proper cover. It's not funny so I hesitate to call it a parody. I don't know WHAT to call it, and supposedly you're "not allowed to criticize" Beyonce's "country" album. It doesn't even sound like country music, it's just Beyonce Genre with guitar in it. It reminds me of Old Town Road by Lil Nas X, there was a big stink when it came out about how it charted on the country charts, was removed, then put back? Lil Nas X isn't a country artist, and I don't think he continued the cowboy schtick after Old Town Road finished its 15 minutes of fame, but at least that felt a little more genuine than Beyonce's...whatever the hell she's doing.
Is Beyonce ripping off Lil Nas X years too late to be relevant? Is this the very beginning of black people trying to eclipse country music with country-seasoned Black Music™? It's one single and one album so far, years apart, so I feel like maybe I'm overthinking it, but as a genuine country fan I'm not sure what to think about it. Anyone else have any thoughts? I know the music industry is basically the modern-day expression of the mafia so I have to imagine there's some weird shady shit going on.