Accessibility links
cowboy carter cowboy carter
Stories About

cowboy carter

Defining 2024 so far; plus, why brands 'de-woked'
Dia Dipasupil; Neilson Barnard; Antony Jones; Arnold Jerocki; Emma McIntyre; Saul Loeb / AFP; Brandon Bell; Kevin Winter/Getty Images

It's Been a Minute

Defining 2024 so far; plus, why brands 'de-woked'

It is the first week of July, which means we are officially halfway through the year. And what a year it's been! Brittany sat down with NPR Politics reporter Elena Moore and co-host of NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour Stephen Thompson, to take stock of what's happened so far in 2024.

Defining 2024 so far; plus, why brands 'de-woked'

Listen · 34:37
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1197956748/1255192968" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Boots with the spurs: 'Cowboy Carter' and the need for validation
Blair Caldwell/Parkwood Entertainment/Courtesy of the artist

Review

It's Been a Minute

Boots with the spurs: 'Cowboy Carter' and the need for validation

Grab your cowboy hat, and saddle up that horse, because Beyoncé's highly anticipated album, Cowboy Carter is here. So far, the album has spurred praise, criticism, and questions about what the actual goal of this project is and how it fits into the Renaissance trilogy. To get into all of that, Brittany joined NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour to discuss whether this foray into country is an exercise in experimentation or industry validation.

Boots with the spurs: 'Cowboy Carter' and the need for validation

Listen · 33:08
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1197956193/1243516891" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
The banjo is a star of Beyoncé's new album. Turns out it has African roots

Beyoncé accepts the Innovator Award at the 2024 iHeartRadio Music Awards on April 1. Her new album is "Carter Country" and it features a banjo on the hit song "Texas Hold 'Em." At right: a gourd banjo was an early American incarnation of an instrument that originated in Africa and was played by African Americans. Michael Buckner/Billboard via Getty Images; Heritage Art/Heritage Images via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Michael Buckner/Billboard via Getty Images; Heritage Art/Heritage Images via Getty Images

Goats and Soda

The banjo is a star of Beyoncé's new album. Turns out it has African roots

In "Texas Hold 'Em," the singer is accompanied by a banjo. It's often thought of as a quintessential Americana instrument. But the history of the banjo tells a different story.

Browse archive or search npr.org