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Call Me Country: Beyoncé & Nashville’s Renaissance arrives via Max on Friday (April 26).
Produced by CNN Flash Docs, the documentary examines the “impact of how high-profile artists like Lil Nas X and Beyoncé are challenging the country music status quo” and highlights how Black artists in Nashville “laid the foundation for this transformation,” according to a press release.
Call Me Country will feature commentary from country artists like Rhiannon Giddens, who played banjo on Beyoncé’s “Texas Hold ‘Em,” Brothers Osborne’s John and T.J. Osborne, Rissi Palmer, Aaron Vance and Denitia along with culture and country music experts: Touré, Larisha Paul, Chris Molanphy, Kyle Coroneos, Keith Hill, and Holly G. and Tanner D, Co-Directors of the Black Opry.
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Read on for ways to stream the documentary for free.
How to Stream ‘Call Me Country’ for Free
Call Me Country will begin streaming on Friday, exclusively on Max.
As one of the larger streaming platforms for documentaries, reality TV, movies, live news, sports and other entertainment, Max has a range of exclusive content, in addition to programs from HBO, CNN, HGTV, TLC, TMC, Food Network and other cable networks.
How much does Max cost? Join for $9.99 per month, or subscribe to the annual plan ($99) to save 20% off. Max is also available through on streaming platforms such as DirecTV, Hulu and Prime Video.
Viewers streaming internationally can use ExpressVPN for access to streaming platforms from outside of the U.S..
Can you get a free trial to Max? Unfortunately, Max does not offer a free trial, but you can stream free episodes of Quiet on the Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon.
The best way to land a free trial would be to go through a third party to stream Call Me Country for free. Click here for ways to secure a free subscription to Max.
Watch the trailer for Call Me Country below.
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Beyoncé is once again paying homage to her roots in a big way, this time she’s honoring the craft that helped her mother pave her way–cosmetology.
Through her Cécred x BeyGOOD Student Scholarships initiative, Beyoncé will contribute $500,000 to five Black hair and beauty schools, including the Franklin Institute. The owner of the Franklin Institute, Ron Jemison Jr., shared how honored he feels to be chosen as the exclusive cosmetology school scholarship partner for Beyoncé’s hometown.
Jemison also highlighted the special connection with Ms. Tina, Beyoncé’s renowned mother and stylist, who got her cosmetology license from the Franklin Institute back in the 80s. This recognition holds particular significance as the institute celebrates a century of service and excellence in training the Houston community. Other schools include Beaver Beauty Academy in Atlanta, Trenz Beauty Academy in Chicago, Universal College of Beauty in Los Angeles, and Janas Cosmetology Academy in New Jersey.
The scholarships were previously announced in February, the same day the superstar debuted her highly-anticipated haircare line, Cécred. Beyoncé told Essence magazine at the time of the launch, that she grew up watching her mother work as a hairstylist. It was in her mother’s salon, Beyoncé said, that she realized she wanted to be a performer.
“So much of the fabric of who I am came from her salon,” Beyoncé said.
The scholarship is intended to assist with tuition fees and other educational expenses, recipients are required to maintain satisfactory academic performances and provide periodic updates on their educational progress and experiences as part of the program. The selection process involves a review of applications by a committee comprised of representatives from BeyGood and participating trade schools, focusing on the eligibility criteria, academic merit, and demonstrated financial need.
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Source: San Francisco Chronicle/Hearst Newspapers via Getty Images / Getty / Azealia Banks
If you’re white and are thinking about criticizing Beyoncé about her Cowboy Carter album, don’t you dare. Only one person can do that, and that person is Azealia Banks.
The hot-tempered rapper from Harlem had time for British pop star Lily Allen, who took to her favorite medium, Instagram Stories, to speak on what’s on her mind and call out Allen for what she is saying is “random racism,” being thrown out King Bey.
Azealia Banks reshared a story of Allen having the caucasity to say something about Beyoncé’s latest album, something Banks has already done.
Per HipHopDX:
“Shall we discuss that phone call to me – a few years ago – obviously off your face – crying and sobbing asking me to forgive you for randomly being racist?” she began, referring to the feud that the pair had eleven years ago that concluded with Banks telling Allen that her then-husband, Sam Cooper, “looks like a thumb.
She continued: “And I quote, well, I just figured since I’m a white girl and you’re just some Black girl that I could shit on you…”
Azealia Banks’ Criticism About Cowboy Carter
Banks’ IG attack on Allen comes after she called out Beyoncé in her signature style, claiming she “dozed off” while listening to it.
“Absolutely not,” she declared after joking that she might have to “eat her words” when it comes to previous criticism of Bey’s turn into the Country curve. “Themes r redundant. The lyrics really are forced. Album is too long… Plus who is this imaginary adversary sis thinks still wants to hump on [JAY-Z] in 2024?
“She’s gotta find new content. Nobody, and I mean NOBODY thinks he’s even remotely attractive …. LOL,” she added before finding positive things to say about the non-vocal aspects the album. “Great work from the band/producers/engineers. Cool and interesting work on the sonics. Might be her first sonically cool attempt at being arty…”
While both Allen and Banks have their issues with the project, Beyoncé is enjoying another hit album.
Just saying.
The buzz surrounding the March 29 release of Beyoncé’s country-inspired Act II: Cowboy Carter project, the second in a trilogy of albums following 2022’s Renaissance, has led to streaming lifts and a wave of recognition for several of the rising Black country artists featured on the project, including Shaboozey, Willie Jones, Tanner Adell, Brittney Spencer, Reyna Roberts and Tiera Kennedy. According to Luminate, Roberts’s catalog streams jumped 59%, followed by Adell (58%), Kennedy (56%), Spencer (41%), Jones (31%) and Shaboozey (16%).
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The wide-ranging Cowboy Carter folds in music including country, Americana, an Italian aria, songs made popular by Chuck Berry, The Beatles and The Beach Boys, as well as moments of Brazilian funk, and welcomes a spectrum of artists including pop hitmakers Miley Cyrus and Post Malone, spoken cameos from Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson and an interpolation of Patsy Cline’s “I Fall to Pieces.” Meanwhile, the album also pays tribute to pioneers such as Black female country trailblazer Linda Martell, while shining a light on country music’s Black roots and the legacy of Black country artists who have paved (and are paving) their own paths.
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While Adell, Kennedy, Roberts and Spencer offer up vocals mostly collectively on “Blackbiird,” and provide harmonies on other tracks, Shaboozey and Jones are each featured on separate tracks. Shaboozey, the Virginia-born artist known for his own genre-melding songs (including “Vegas,” “Beverly Hills” and his viral hit from 2023, “Let It Burn”), appears on two songs on Cowboy Carter: “Sweet Honey Buckiin’” and “Spaghettii.”
Shaboozey noted that like some other creators on the album, he spent time at a studio in Los Angeles. “It’s all collaborative,” he says of contributing his portion of songs to the project earlier this year. “Everyone’s working at the same time and different rooms and I came in a couple of days and recorded some parts. [Beyoncé] heard them later and liked them. It’s cool how you don’t know until the last moment if your part made it or not. We were waiting up until 9 p.m. PT [on album release day] to know if we made the cut.”
Martell, who was the first Black female country artist to perform on the Grand Ole Opry, does a spoken-word intro to “Spaghettii.” According to Luminate, she has since seen her catalog streams rise from a little under 5,000 streams during the weekend of March 22-24 to 61,000 streams from March 29-31, making a 1,100% surge. Shaboozey says when he began contributing to “Spaghettii,” he did not know about Martell’s segment.
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“That’s how Beyoncé, she likes to put things together, taking different parts of different things and different bridges, always experimenting with the sound, so very free-form over there,” he says, adding “I’m also a huge Linda Martell supporter and I admire her story. It’s cool how everything came together and I’m really honored to be on a song with these two incredible individuals.”
Shaboozey is also gearing up for the release of his own country album next month, with Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going, out May 31 via Empire. The project follows his previous projects, 2022’s Cowboys Live Forever, Outlaws Never Die and his 2018 debut Lady Wrangler.
He describes his upcoming album as “a little bit of this genre that even Cowboy Carter created, just a bit of everything. A lot of country, but some hip-hop moments on there, too. But a lot of my personal story and journey into those records as well.”
Louisiana native Jones offers up vocals on “Just for Fun,” which was written by Beyonce, Dave Hamelin, Jeff “Gitty” Gitelman and Ryan Beatty. Jones competed on The X Factor’s second season, where he auditioned with a version of Josh Turner’s “Your Man.” He issued his first album Down for It in 2021 and was part of the 2022 documentary For Love and Country, which focused on the careers, journeys and struggles of Black artists in country music. This week, he released his rendition of Usher’s “OMG” as part of a new Apple Music Sessions EP.
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He notes that his favorite line in “Just For Fun” is “Time heals everything/ I don’t need anything, Hallelujah.” “I got in the studio and I heard the song and I related to it more than d–n near any song I’ve ever heard in my life. To be on the same track as Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter is definitely a check off my bucket list.”
“She’s bringing people back to themselves and doing a lot of introspective work,” Jones says. “She’s talking about growth, family and legacy and when life gives you lemons make Lemonade. Then after that, she gave us Homecoming and it’s like she’s saying, ‘Go back to your roots and get educated.’ Then she gives us Renaissance, like, ‘Let’s dance, let’s be free.’ So it comes to this album, too, with songs like ‘American Requiem,’ ‘Blackbiird,’ ‘Spaghettii.’ It’s cool to see everybody’s streams go up, just because Beyoncé believed in her legacy and her roots and her ancestors. She trusted the universe enough to walk by faith and not by sight and be humble and open. She’s transforming country music for the lost and found so we can find our way back.”
Jones also notes the impact he says Beyoncé has had so many genres of music. “I say Beyoncé is my favorite rapper. She jumped on [Megan Thee Stallion’s] ‘Savage,’ and you saw the rap girls get a moment. Then with ‘Black Is King,’ and dropped the album with Disney and you saw Afrobeats go. So she did the same thing with country. I hope she does that with R&B, I hope she brings that back, because I need a ‘Dream Girls Part 2.’”
Shaboozey sums, “It feels awesome. It feels great for someone like her to enter the space that me and a few others have just been building on and creating from for a long time. It’s just amazing. We’re so happy to have such a powerhouse of an artist that chose to take this journey to country, so it’s amazing to be a part of that.”
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Beyoncé has long since been considered one of the most innovative artists of her generation, as evidenced by the warm reception to her recent country music-influenced album, Act II: Cowboy Carter. This past Monday, Beyoncé accepted The Innovator Award from the legendary Stevie Wonder at the 2024 iHeartRadio Music Awards and delivered a moving speech.
The 2024 iHeartRadio Music Awards took place on Monday (April 1) at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, Calif. The star-studded event saw Beyoncé up for R&B song of the year for “Cuff It along with a R&B artist of the year nod.
Stevie Wonder took to the stage to announce the Houston superstar as the recipient of The Innovator Award and was met with measurable applause. Yielding the stage to Queen Bey, Wonder was showered with praise from the singer and entertainer who casually dropped that Wonder played the harmonica on her “Jolene” remake from Cowboy Carter.
Beyoncé came to the stage decked out in a Black and gold leather outfit no doubt inspired by the recent themes from her latest album, complete with a hat that was also emblazoned with gold. After thanking Wonder for his contributions to music and her album, Beyoncé spoke with confidence and eloquence.
“Tonight, you called me an innovator and for that, I’m very grateful,” Beyoncé said. “Innovation starts with a dream. But then you have to execute that dream and that role can be very bumpy. Being an innovator is saying what everyone believes is impossible. Being an innovator often means being criticized, which often will test your mental strength. Being an innovator is leaning on faith, trusting that God will catch you and guide you.”
Also winning that night was SZA, who took home the R&B Artist and R&B Song award for “Snooze” from the singer’s SOS album, which also took home an award.
The full acceptance speech can be viewed in the clip below.
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Photo: Kevin Mazur / Getty
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Welp, Beyoncé‘s Cowboy Carter album has been released into the wilds, and, like all things Beyoncé-related, it has the internet streets buzzing, and opinions are all over the place.
Some think Bey’s latest studio album is a musical masterpiece, others aren’t into it as much, and many are still figuring out how they feel about it by giving the 27-track country-themed album a second or third listen.
Then there’s Azealia Banks, who didn’t like it…or doesn’t like Beyoncé…or both…or whatever.
It seemed like the Act II album had just dropped on streaming platforms Friday (March 29), when Banks decided to slip into her usual salty, attention-starved, aggressively negative character and level of criticism at Cowboy Carter that, unsurprisingly, appeared to be more indicative of her contempt for the “Formation” singer herself more so than Bey’s new project.
From HipHopDX:
“Absolutely not,” she declared after joking that she might have to “eat her words” when it comes to previous criticism of Bey’s turn into the Country curve. “Themes r redundant. The lyrics really are forced. Album is too long… Plus who is this imaginary adversary sis thinks still wants to hump on [JAY-Z] in 2024?
“She’s gotta find new content. Nobody, and I mean NOBODY thinks he’s even remotely attractive …. LOL,” she added before finding positive things to say about the non-vocal aspects the album. “Great work from the band/producers/engineers. Cool and interesting work on the sonics. Might be her first sonically cool attempt at being arty…”
So, Banks, who claimed Cowboy Carter was so boring she “dozed off again” while listening to it, didn’t hate everything about the album. There were things she quite enjoyed, apparently—just nothing that she’s willing to attribute to Beyoncé’s talent.
And even though Beyoncé featured and brought increased attention to six Black country artists with her new album, Banks felt the feature list lacked too many of country music’s biggest names, such as Taylor Swift and Kacey Musgraves.
“I personally would have jumped out of my seat for a KT Tunstall appearance,” she continued. “A strong dr. Luke power ballad was missing … like ‘Low’.”
Listen: neither Beyoncé nor her art is above criticism, but sometimes the critiques come off more personal than objective, and considering Banks’ past comments about the “Daddy’s Lessons” artist, and the fact that she’s made her entire existence in the public eye about mean-spirited attacks on, well, pretty much everybody she speaks on (you’d almost completely forget AB is a talented recording artist herself), there’s just no reason to see her criticism any differently.
More from HipHopDX:
Azealia Banks’ review echoes sentiments she shared earlier this week, when she suggested that the former Destiny’s Child leader is trying to behave like a white woman.
“Sis, I live for Whiteyonce Donatella Bianca Bardot DOWN, but I’m kind of ashamed at how [you] switch from Baobab trees and Black Parade to this literal pick me stuff,” she began.
Azealia then suggested that Beyoncé went above and beyond for the Dixie Chicks (with whom she performed at the CMAs in 2016) because they were white women.
“Like u do lame stuff like bring out some blacklisted white women (Dixie Chicks) at the Country Music Awards. and they would never, ever do the same for you. Ur always sharing ur platform with white women, who are so jealous of you but have such a long history of sabotaging other black careers,” she wrote. “You’re reinforcing the false rhetoric that country music is a post-civil war art form.”
I mean, referring to Beyoncé as “Whiteyonce” is kind of rich coming from someone who vehemently defended bleaching her skin, but OK.
Anyway, the fine folks on X had some thoughts on Banks, and, as usual, most of them weren’t very flattering. Here are some of the replies.
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5. Some remembered that time Banks collaborated with and defended Dr. Luke, who was accused of rape.
6. But some were on AB’s side.
7. Most weren’t, though.
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So, what did y’all think about Cowboy Carter? Did Banks make any good points, or should she have just sat there and ate her bitter food? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
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Photo: Lexie Moreland / Getty
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A Black Donald Trump backed-candidate running to be governor of North Carolina had more extremist comments about Beyoncé online revealed recently.
The incendiary North Carolina Republican politician Mark Robinson is running to be governor of the state, and another set of comments unearthed from his social media accounts find that he went on a rampage bashing Beyoncé. According to reports, the extremist candidate backed by Donald Trump had kept up an ongoing commentary on the superstar on his Facebook account. In one post back in 2017, Robinson wrote: “Person; Beyoncé is a role model!” Me; “The only person that butt shakin’, devil worshipping, skank is a role model to is people who want a fast track to Hell.”
Robinson – the current Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina who is Black – went even further, claiming that Beyonce was teaching “young women how to be hyper-sexual w—-s.’” In another uncovered post made two years later in 2019, he claimed that the “Cuff Em” singer’s music sounded like “Satanic chants.” “Seriously, her songs sound like they say stuff like “satan laughs as you rot in hell” if [you] play them backwards. SUPER WEIRD,” he wrote in the caption.
He even threw a jab at Jay-Z, claiming that the rap mogul “teaches our young men how to be foul-mouthed thugs and his wife teaches our young women to be hyper-sexual whores… I guess y’all are okay with that and so is Hilary Clinton,” Robinson wrote in another Facebook post from 2016. The posts fall in line with other outrageous posts that he has made in the past such as quoting Adolf Hitler and calling the Parkland school shooting survivors pushing for gun control “spoiled, angry, know-it-all all children.” The former furniture worker is actively courting the state’s evangelical population, which comprises a good part of the right-wing-leaning state.
Robinson has saved a lot of ire for African Americans, claiming that the community “celebrates the very lawlessness and violence that is killing its future right in front of them.”He is currently set to face the state’s attorney general, Josh Stein in November. Stein, who is running as a Democrat, referred to him as “bleak and divisive, consumed by spite and hate,” in a recent interview. The 55-year-old has also gone on record as supporting Trump’s false claims of the 2020 presidential election being stolen from him.
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It’s here. Beyoncé’s latest album, Cowboy Carter, dropped at midnight (ET) on Thursday night, Friday morning (March 29) and had social media users basically christening it a greatest of all time project before actually finishing the project.
Seriously. At 12:15 people were acting like Bey save music itself dispute their. being a whole hour of music left if you hit play on the album exactly at midnight. But such hyperbole should have been expected since the moment Mrs. Carter announced the new project in viral form during the Super Bowl.
What we get was a 27-track album that runs for an hour and 17 minutes and the guests, featured on the tracklisting, include Willie Nelson, Miley Cyrus, Post Malone, Linda Martell and, wait for it, Rumi Carter. The Carters always make sure their seeds get those publishing credits, early.
Oh yeah, she’s reportedly in Japan.
Check out some of the more audacious reactions to Cowboy Carter in the gallery.
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Lyft, a major player in the rideshare market, proved that someone on its marketing team is most certainly a part of the Beyhive in classic fashion. After another rideshare social media account offered a discount on rides for fans going to Act II: Cowboy Carter listening parties, Lyft upped the ante in a major way.
With us being a neutral party, we won’t say the other rideshare company’s name although it won’t be hard to figure out as this story goes on. As it stands, the company in question offered a 16 percent discount on rides for fans on X (formerly Twitter) who wanted to attend listening parties for the latest album from Beyoncé, Act II: Cowboy Carter.
Lyft, taking note of the offer replies under the tweet from the other company writing “crumbs were left,” a nice little jab that we’ve seen in times past between major companies via their social media accounts.
After a fan suggested that Lyft sweeten the pot, the company responded by offering 50 percent off rides for those going to those aforementioned listening parties.
Now how is that for customer satisfaction?
While we don’t know if the other company is going to fire back just yet, for now, Lyft is the grand champion of the people AND the petty but the true winners are fans of Beyoncé who get to hear Queen Bey shift the culture once again with her latest album.
The singer recently suggested that while country music influences Act II: Cowboy Carter, this is still very much a Beyoncé album. We heard that. Also, we have to score a win for Lyft’s marketing team.
To take advantage of the 50 percent off rides with Lyft, use this code: SPAGHETTI24.
Check out the reactions to the playful back and forth on X and don’t forget, Act II: Cowboy Carter drops Friday, March 29.
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Photo: Getty
10. Okay, let’s not get carried away LOL
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Beyoncé made a lot of noise when she released her latest country singles “Texas Hold ‘Em,” and “16 Carriages.” Things went into overdrive yesterday (March, 27), when she dropped the entire tracklist for her upcoming album Cowboy Carter as it featured some very recognizable names and titles.
The Queen B had her Beyhive buzzing ridiculously on social media after revealing the titles on her eighth solo studio album. Not only will it feature Dolly Parton, but apparently Beyoncé will have a cover of Dolly P’s classic hit “Jolene.” That title alone had her followers swooning as they await the midnight release of the album March 29. Though we don’t know if Dolly P will be featured on “Jolene” or one of the many other songs, the fact that this collaboration will be happening for Beyoncé’s country album is amazing enough in itself.
Serving as a follow-up to 2022’s Renaissance, Act 2: Cowboy Carter will introduce Beyoncé to a country crowd that may not be too familiar with her talents, but according to Variety, it’s something that the Houston native was inspired to do quite some time ago after an incident that didn’t make her feel “welcome” in the genre.
Per Variety:
She was likely referring to her 2016 performance at the Country Music Association Awards, where she duetted with the Dixie Chicks (as they were known at the time). The appearance caused controversy in the country community, particularly on social media, and some expressed displeasure at the fact that she was given such a prominent spot at the show.
In a long note posted on Instagram, Beyoncé explained that this incident inspired her to study the origins of country music. “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 said. “But, because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of Country music and studied our rich musical archive.”
Even if the album is a classic and goes diamond we really don’t expect Beyoncé to get any Country Music Awards for it. Just sayin’.
What do y’all think of Beyoncé’s upcoming album? Will you be listening to it when it drops March 29? Let us know in the comments section below.
