Beyoncé’s pivot, Bob Marley’s legacy, and more from the week in music

Beyoncé’s pivot to country is meaningful and canny

The 2017 Grammys are most remembered for Adele winning Album Of The Year over Beyoncé—an award even Adele didn’t want to win. But there was another smaller but notable snub that year: the exclusion of “Daddy Lessons” from the Country Song categories. Perhaps the Grammys didn’t feel the song merited a nomination, or perhaps the country music industry viewed Beyoncé as an interloper. Earlier in her Lemonade promotional tour, her performance with the (then-Dixie) Chicks at the CMA Awards was met with racist backlash. Read More

Bob Marley’s 25 greatest songs, ranked

Bob Marley’s life finally hits the big screen this week in the form of Bob Marley: One Love. In his 36 years, Marley lived a life so rich and tumultuous, not all of it can be distilled into a biopic. Similarly, he produced more great music than could be contained on Legend, the posthumous 1984 compilation that helped cement his image as a Rastafarian mystic and reggae outlaw. Read More

Beyoncé fans launch campaign to get new singles on country radio

The most awarded artist in Grammy history and a cultural icon that transcends the typical formula for a pop star, Beyoncé continues to innovate and experiment with her music. At this point, the only person she’s competing with is herself. She has no need for the traditional paths to success, the trophies, the chart positions, the streams. (“If I gave two fucks, two fucks about streaming numbers/Would have put Lemonade up on Spotify,” she declared on Everything Is Love.) Nevertheless, while Beyoncé is busy creating her own lane, her fans continue to push for her to get the recognition they believe she deserves, which is why the Beyhive is pushing to get her new tracks “Texas Hold ’Em” and “16 Carriages” played on country radio. Read More

The Black country singers Beyoncé should include on Renaissance Act II

Though some artists and fans would like you to believe that country music isn’t for Black people, that’s just not true. In fact, Black performers have their fingerprints all over every genre of American music, including country. With Beyoncé expected to put a spotlight on the genre with her next album, Renaissance Act II, we thought it would be a good time to showcase some of country music’s best Black artists. Read More

Mariah Carey makes Ariana Grande’s “yes, and?” her own

You never quite know what will happen when two divas come together, but Ariana Grande and Mariah Carey are setting out to break charts not hearts with their remix of Grande’s recent ode to brushing off the haters, “yes, and?” Simply put, the two queens are maximizing their joint slay. Read More