Beyoncé's mother Tina Knowles defends her country roots following Texas Hold 'Em backlash

31 January 2025, 17:37 | Updated: 4 February 2025, 13:13

Beyoncé's mother Tina Knowles defends her country roots following Texas Hold 'Em controversy. Picture: Kevin Winter/Getty Images for The Recording Academy, Kevin Winter/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

By Capital Buzz

"I actually laugh because it's been there since she was a kid."

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Following backlash form the country music community, Beyoncé's mother Tina Knowles has got her daughters back. Ms. Tina has officially shut down any debate over whether or not Beyoncé is part of country music culture.

In February 2024, Beyoncé sent fans into meltdown with the release of 'Texas Hold 'Em' and '16 Carriages', the former of which made her the first Black woman with the number one single on the Hot Country Songs chart.

A month later, she released her critically acclaimed album Cowboy Carter which has now gone on to win Album of the Year and Best Country Album at the Grammys. Beyoncé is the first Black artist to have ever won the Grammy for Best Country Album. Just months earlier, she was completely shut out of any Country Music Award nominations.

In a previous Instagram post, Beyoncé explained that Cowboy Carter was "born out of an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed," referring to her 2016 performance at the Country Music Awards.

"...And it was very clear that I wasn’t," she added.

Beyoncé&squot;s Cowboy Carter was created in response to her feeling "unwelcomed" at the Country Music Awards in 2026 — Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter was created in response to her feeling "unwelcomed" at the Country Music Awards in 2026. Picture: Getty

As a result, the project became "a deeper dive into the history of Country music" in which Beyoncé "studied our rich musical archive".

The album amplified the groundbreaking Black voices of country music (like Linda Martell), and showcased some of the talented Black artists in country music today, including Shaboozey who has now gone on to achieve incredible success.

Despite the success of the album, Texas-born Beyoncé has faced criticism, backlash and even racist remarks about her exploration of the country genre with people claiming she is not 'country enough' to release country music.

Ahead of the release of the album, Tina Knowles entered the chat and explained why Beyoncé is more than entitled to release her own country music.

Read more: Beyoncé explains the meaning of her 'Cowboy Carter' album title
Read more: How many Grammys has Beyoncé won? Every award including Album of the Year

Beyonce lands best country album Grammy award for Cowboy Carter

Taking to Instagram back in February 2024, Tina shared a Time article titled "Beyoncé Has Always Been Country", alongside a video compilation of Beyoncé wearing country aesthetics throughout her career.

She wrote: "We have always celebrated Cowboy Culture growing up in Texas. We also always understood that it was not just about it belonging to White culture only. In Texas there is a huge black cowboy culture."

Defending her daughter further, Tina said: "Why do you think that my kids have integrated it into their fashion and art since the beginning. When people ask why is Beyonce wearing cowboy hats? It's really funny, I actually laugh because it's been there since she was a kid ,we went to rodeos every year and my whole family dressed in western fashion."

Tina ended by referencing Solange's 2019 album When I Get Home and writing: "Solange did a whole brilliant Album and Project based on Black Cowboy Culture. It definitely was a part of our culture growing up."

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A post shared by Tina Knowles (@mstinaknowles)

This isn't Beyoncé's first time exploring country music either. In 2016, she released the country song 'Daddy Lessons' on her critically acclaimed album Lemonade. She even performed the song at the Country Music Awards with The Chicks.

In 2021, Beyoncé also released an Ivy Park clothing collection inspired by Black cowboy culture. Talking to Harper's Bazaar, she said: "This collection is a mixture of my childhood growing up in Texas and a bit of American history."

Explaining her connection to country culture further, she said: "I grew up going to the Houston rodeo every year. It was this amazing diverse and multicultural experience where there was something for every member of the family, including great performances, Houston-style fried Snickers, and fried turkey legs."

As Linda Martell says on the album, "genres are a funny little concept, aren't they?" With 'Cowboy Carter', Beyoncé is celebrating a part of her culture that's always been hers.