Editor’s note: The following article is an op-ed, and the views expressed are the author’s own. Read more opinions on theGrio.
Is Beyoncé’s “Texas Hold ‘Em” a country song? I ask because many country fans have said it’s not while several music critics have said it is. The question is not is the song good — we don’t have to like it to establish what genre it’s in. There are good and bad songs in every genre. Of course, the question of genre seems simple but sometimes it’s not.
“Texas Hold ‘Em” begins with banjo plucking by country artist Rhiannon Giddens. Opening with an instrument that’s commonly associated with country and thus a sound and a vibe that transports many of us to country definitely signals to the audience that this is country. When the drums come in, it’s a stomping beat that definitely suggests a line dance would be appropriate.
In the lyrics, Beyoncé mentions a hoedown, a dive bar, Texas, rugged whiskey, surviving and a tornado. The song’s penultimate line is “furs, spurs, boots.” There’s all these little ways she’s evoking country music tropes. It sure feels like country.
In many ways, the conversation about what genre a specific song is in is tricky because, in my experience of interviewing artists, they don’t tend to think a lot about genre except if they want to try to push it beyond its normal boundaries. It’s common for multiple artists within one genre to see that genre very differently. For example, both Chance the Rapper and Future are hip-hop but their sounds are light years apart.
This is because, in reality, genre is a marketing tool. It’s a way for the music industry to help fans find music they might like. It’s often communicated through clothes and images as much as through sound. Hence we’ve been seeing Beyoncé wearing cowboy hats a lot recently, giving us country vibes sartorially. In the case of “Texas Hold ‘Em,” Beyoncé is using genre…
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