Editing Country music (section)

==Culture==
=== Race in modern country music ===
[[File:Musician_Mickey_Guyton_performs_during_the_Global_Music_Diplomacy_Initiative_Launch_(cropped).jpg|thumb|upright=.8|[[Mickey Guyton]] has been praised for breaking barriers as a Black woman.]]
The history of country music is complex, and the genre draws from influences from both [[Music of Africa|African]] and European musical traditions.<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 14, 2018 |title=On the Complicated Legacy of American Country Music |url=https://lithub.com/on-the-complicated-legacy-of-american-country-music/ |access-date=January 17, 2024 |website=Literary Hub |language=en-US}}</ref> Despite this multicultural origin, country music is today largely associated with [[white Americans]]. This has been attributed to the efforts to [[Racial segregation|segregate]] the music industry by [[record label]]s, beginning in the 1920s.<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 17, 2019 |title=Why Is Country Music Considered So White? |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/country-music-black-artists_n_5d2de760e4b085eda5a25516 |access-date=January 17, 2024 |website=HuffPost |language=en}}</ref> However, because country music is a wide genre, sub-genres including [[Native Americans in the United States|Indian]] and [[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic]] country, have existed since the early 1970s.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Romero |first1=Simon |last2=Zehbrauskas |first2=Adriana |date=November 30, 2019 |title=Navajo Country Music Shatters 'Cowboys and Indians' Stereotypes |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/30/us/navajo-country-music.html |access-date=January 17, 2024 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Hispanic American country music artists spotlight the genre's next evolution |url=https://www.tennessean.com/story/entertainment/2022/10/13/hispanic-american-country-music-artists-singers-nashville-tn/69540280007/ |access-date=January 17, 2024 |website=The Tennessean |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Sapiens |date=July 23, 2019 |title=Why Navajos Love Their Country Music |url=https://www.sapiens.org/culture/navajo-music/ |access-date=January 17, 2024 |website=SAPIENS |language=en-US}}</ref> Furthermore, one of the first artists to perform at the [[Grand Ole Opry]], a famous country music show, was [[DeFord Bailey]], who was African-American.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Country Music Doesn't Deserve Its Conservative Reputation |url=https://jacobin.com/2023/09/country-music-white-rural-working-class-south-civil-rights-challenge-injustice |access-date=January 17, 2024 |website=jacobin.com |language=en-US}}</ref> African-American rapper Lil Nas X, whose breakout song Old Town Road, a mixture of country and rap, has achieved widespread success. His aforementioned song topped the [[Hot Country Songs|''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs]] list, before controversially being removed, sparking a debate around whether the removal was racially motivated''. [[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' denied these allegations, stating that the decision was purely based on musical composition.<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 29, 2019 |title=Billboard removes rapper Lil Nas X from country chart |url=https://apnews.com/article/6045fec139204644b616afb63622c2d9 |access-date=January 17, 2024 |website=AP News |language=en}}</ref>

The close association of [[Conservatism in the United States|conservative values]] and contemporary country music began as a counter-reaction to the [[Opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War|anti-war movement]] of the 1960s. Prior to this, virtually all country music, up until that point referred to as ''hillbilly music'', lacked specific political alignment, and was instead focused on everyday problems and angst of the working class.<ref name=":3" /> [[Merle Haggard|Merle Haggard's]] 1969 album [[Okie from Muskogee]] brought a staunchly political, conservative take on country music, which proved popular. Republican president [[Richard Nixon]] further cemented this conservative musical association during his years in office, by frequently hosting country musicians, declaring October 1970 to be country music month, and by politically pandering to audiences where country music was popular.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Debbie |first=Elliott |date=February 18, 2007 |title=The Conservative Evolution of Country Music |url=https://www.npr.org/2007/02/18/7484160/the-conservative-evolution-of-country-music |access-date=January 17, 2024 |work=NPR}}</ref>

[[File:2013 Buffy St. Marie.jpg|thumb|left|[[Buffy Sainte-Marie]] performing at The Iron Horse in [[Northampton, Massachusetts]], June 2013]]

Black country-music artist [[Mickey Guyton]] had been included among the nominees for the 2021 award. Guyton has expressed bewilderment that, despite substantial coverage by online platforms like Spotify and Apple Music, her music, like that of Valerie June,{{citation needed|date=July 2022}} another black musician who embraces aspects of country in her Appalachian- and Gospel-tinged work and who has been embraced by international music audiences, is still effectively ignored by American broadcast country-music radio.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/now-playing/2021/08/03/1024237994/mickey-guyton-remember-her-name|title = Mickey Guyton, 'Remember Her Name'|newspaper = NPR|date = August 3, 2021|last1 = McKenna|first1 = Lyndsey}}</ref> Guyton's 2021 album ''Remember Her Name'' in part references the case of black health-care professional Breonna Taylor,<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 24, 2021 |title=On Debut Album, Mickey Guyton Remembers Her Name |url=https://www.npr.org/transcripts/1040353485 |access-date=December 28, 2023 |website=NPR}}</ref> who was killed in her home by police.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/2021/03/13/973983947/a-year-after-breonna-taylors-killing-family-says-theres-no-accountability|title=A Year After Breonna Taylor's Killing, Family Says There's 'No Accountability'|newspaper=NPR|date=March 13, 2021|last1=Booker|first1=Brakkton|last2=Treisman|first2=Rachel}}</ref>{{Relevance inline|date=January 2024}}

In 2023, "[[Try That in a Small Town]]" by [[Jason Aldean]] became the subject of widespread controversy and media attention following the release of its music video. Tennessee state representative [[Justin Jones (Tennessee politician)|Justin Jones]] referred to the song as a "heinous vile racist song" which attempts to normalize "racist, violence, vigilantism and white nationalism".<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Kaufman |first=Gil |date=July 20, 2023 |title=Jason Aldean's 'Try That in a Small Town' Condemned as 'Vile Racist Song' By Tennessee State Rep. Justin Jones |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/country/jason-aldean-try-that-in-a-small-town-condemned-vile-racist-song-tennessee-rep-justin-jones-1235375301/ |access-date=August 2, 2023 |magazine=Billboard }}</ref> Others understood the lyrics to be supportive of [[Lynching in the United States|lynchings]] and [[sundown town]]s.<ref>{{cite web |last=Skipworth |first=William |date=July 18, 2023 |title=Jason Aldean Sees Backlash For Music Video About Guns And Police Protesters |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/willskipworth/2023/07/17/jason-aldean-sees-backlash-for-music-video-about-guns-and-police-protesters/?sh=1ebc39aa704c |access-date=August 2, 2023 |work=Forbes}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Power |first=Shannon |date=July 17, 2023 |title=Jason Aldean's New Song Sparks Outrage Over Guns—'Very Scary Lyrics' |url=https://www.newsweek.com/jason-aldean-guns-lyrics-try-that-small-town-1813325 |access-date=August 2, 2023 |work=[[Newsweek]]}}</ref> Aldean himself responded to the criticism by stating that the song at no point made any references to race, nor did he believe that such interpretations were accurate.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jason Aldean defends 'Try That in a Small Town' song: 'What I was seeing was wrong' |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2023/10/19/jason-aldean-responds-try-that-in-a-small-town-criticism/71242357007/ |access-date=January 17, 2024 |website=USA TODAY |language=en-US}}</ref>

In 2024, [[Beyoncé]] published her country music-inspired eighth studio album ''[[Cowboy Carter]]'', a project conceptualized as a journey through a reinvention of [[Americana (culture)|Americana]], spotlighting the overlooked contributions of Black pioneers to [[Music history of the United States|American musical]] and [[Culture of the United States|cultural history]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Porter |first=Britney |date=April 1, 2024 |title=The Impact Of Beyoncé's 'Cowboy Carter' Album Cover—Its Symbolic Disruption Of Social And Historical Inaccuracies |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/britneyporter/2024/03/31/the-impact-of-beyoncs-cowboy-carter-album-cover-its-symbolic-disruption-of-social-and-historical-inaccuracies/#:~:text=%22Cowboy%20Carter%22%20challenges%20the%20racist,,%20gospel,%20and%20folk%20music. |access-date=September 10, 2024 |website=[[Forbes]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Aniftos |first=Rania |date=June 21, 2024 |title=Beyonce Talks 'Breaking Down Barriers' With 'Cowboy Carter,' Thanks Fans Who 'Trusted Me' Throughout the Process |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/beyonce-breaking-barriers-cowboy-carter-1235715542/ |access-date=September 10, 2024 |magazine=Billboard |language=en-US}}</ref> The album had a [[Cowboy Carter#Impact|cultural and commercial impact]] on black country artists, being praised by critics and artists belonging to the music genre.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Crumpton |first=Taylor |date=September 10, 2024 |title=The Beyoncé CMA Snub and Country Music's Dangerous Hierarchy |url=https://time.com/7019535/beyonce-cma-snub-essay/ |access-date=September 10, 2024 |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=June 30, 2024 |title=The "Cowboy Carter Effect" — Increasing young Black listeners' engagement with country music |url=https://www.nielsen.com/insights/2024/black-country-music-cowboy-carter-effect/#:~:text=Insights%20%3E%20Marketing%20performance-,The%20%E2%80%9CCowboy%20Carter%20Effect%E2%80%9D%20%E2%80%94%20Increasing%20young%20Black,listeners'%20engagement%20with%20country%20music&text=While%20some%20are%20still%20debating,audio%20landscape,%20so%20did%20listeners. |access-date=September 10, 2024 |website=[[Nielsen Corporation|Nielsen]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Fekadu |first=Mesfin |date=June 20, 2024 |title=How 'Cowboy Carter' Changed My Life: Shaboozey, Brittney Spencer and Tiera Kennedy on Seminal Beyoncé Album |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/music-news/beyonce-cowboy-carter-black-country-influence-1235927071/ |access-date=September 10, 2024 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Dyck |first=John |date=2021 |title=The aesthetics of country music |url=https://compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/phc3.12729 |journal=Philosophy Compass |language=en |volume=16 |issue=5 |doi=10.1111/phc3.12729 |issn=1747-9991}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Pecknold |first=Diane |url=https://doi.org/10.1215/9780822390305 |title=The Selling Sound |date=2007 |publisher=Duke University Press |isbn=978-0-8223-4059-1}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mackay |first=Jock |date=1994 |title=Bill C. MALONE, Singing Cowboys and Musical Mountaineers : Southern Culture and the Roots of Country Music (Athens and London, University of Georgia Press, 1993, pp. x+158, foreword, preface, introduction, notes, index, ISBN 0-8203-1483- 8, U.S. $24.95 cloth) |url=https://doi.org/10.7202/1083383ar |journal=Ethnologies |volume=16 |issue=2 |pages=154 |doi=10.7202/1083383ar |issn=1481-5974}}</ref>