Beyoncé drops ‘Cowboy Carter’ art, talks country music’s racial divide

Beyoncé launched a countdown to the release of her eagerly anticipated country music album on Tuesday. In the Instagram post, she opened up about the racially charged controversy surrounding her foray into the genre.

She also teased some surprise collaborations in a lengthy statement — a rare departure from the tight-lipped artist’s normal approach to releases.

The 32-time Grammy winner revealed the official artwork for “act II: Cowboy Carter,” which drops March 29.  In the arresting photograph — reminiscent of paintings by artists Kehinde Wiley and Jacques-Louis David — Beyoncé is seen sitting atop a white horse holding an American flag with long flowing white tresses.

“This ain’t a country album,” she declared in the statement. “This is a ‘Beyoncé’ album.”

The “Break My Soul” singer, 42 also reflected on the success of the new project’s first two singles, “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages,” and the backlash she’s received for making country music, even alluding to reactions to her 2016 “Lemonade” song “Daddy Lessons.”

“This album has been over five years in the making,” she explained. “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.”

Here, Beyoncé appears to be referencing her performance with The Chicks at the 2016 CMA Awards, which was followed by negative and often racist reactions on social media.

“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.”

Beyoncé shared that she was honored to be “the first Black woman with the number one single on the Hot Country Songs chart,” with “Texas Hold ‘Em,’  which also became her ninth solo Billboard Hot 100 chart topper.

“That would not have happened without the outpouring of support from each and every one of you,” she continued, adding: “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.”