Beyoncé Debuts Album Cover for "Cowboy Carter"

A little more than a month after making a grand pivot into country music with the release of “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages, Beyoncé has finally unveiled the official album cover for her forthcoming LP, "Cowboy Carter".

The album cover finds Queen Bey perched atop a white horse. She dons red, white, and blue chaps, a simple white cowboy hat and flowing platinum blonde locks as she raises the American flag.

In a lengthy Instagram post, she detailed the inspiration behind her new record, which has been in the making for “five years.”.

“This album has been over five years in the making. 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 wrote. 

“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 criticisms I faced when I first entered this genre forced me to propel past the limitations that were put on me,” she continued. “[Act II] is a result of challenging myself, and taking my time to bend and blend genres together to create this body of work. I have a few surprises on the album, and have collaborated with some brilliant artists who I deeply respect. I hope that you can hear my heart and soul, and all the love and passion that I poured into every detail and every sound.”

“I feel honored to be the first Black woman with the number one single on the Hot Country Songs chart,” she gushed. “That would not have happened without the outpouring of support from each and every one of you. 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.”

“This ain’t a Country album. This is a ‘Beyoncé’ album,” she declared at the end of her message. “This is act ii COWBOY CARTER, and I am proud to share it with y’all!”.

The country music project is the long-awaited “Act II” of her 2022 “Renaissance” album and is due March 29.

Fans have been eagerly anticipating the new project since Beyoncé released “Renaissance” in 2022. At the time, she revealed that the album would be the first of a “three-act project.”

Rumors circulated that she had recorded both dance and country songs for the set, and it was unclear if the latter would be included on “Renaissance” or as a separate album.

The first installment ended up mining heavily from dance and house music, paying homage to the Black  community and club culture.

Act II will arrive on the heels of her record-breaking world tour, which grossed $579 million, along with the theatrical release of “Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé.” 

The latter served as a part-documentary, part-concert film taking viewers behind the scenes of the global trek. Shortly after the movie’s London premiere, Beyoncé released the single “My House,” a callback to her Houston roots.