Beyoncé’s music always features a long list of collaborators, songwriters, and credits for samples and interpolations. In Renaissance, only two songs had officially credited features, but the credits tell a much deeper story. Her latest album, Cowboy Carter, is no different. The list of collaborators is just as expansive. Multiple songs feature country music acts, including newer ones like Tanner Ardell and Shaboozey and legends of the genre, Willie Nelson, Linda Martell, and Dolly Parton. On the technical side, she worked with major hit-making producers like DA Got That Dope, Ryan Tedder, and Pharrell Williams.
The BeyHive started reading the tea leaves on Wednesday afternoon, when Beyoncé uploaded a cryptic tracklist to her social media pages. The track listing “Jolene,” confirmed that Beyoncé used Dolly Parton’s famous song in some way after the country singer told Knox News that Beyoncé recorded a version of her song. Listeners got a taste of what was to come when Beyoncé released the lead singles off the album, “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages” in February. She had Rhiannon Giddens playing the banjo and viola on the former and Robert Randolph playing the steel guitar on the latter.
Renaissance featured a similarly long list of credits as Beyoncé paid homage to the queer Black pioneers of house music. Songs like “COZY” and “Break My Soul” feature the voices of TS Madison and Big Freedia, while “PURE/HONEY” samples tracks from Moi Renee, Kevin Aviance, and Kevin Jz Prodigy. The album uplifted the underrepresented icons who made the genre what it is today. Cowboy Carter, which came out on March 29, spans across country music, and Beyoncé made sure to not only highlight those who came before her, but uplift newer artists as she pushes the genre’s boundaries into new directions.
Here are all the features, samples, interpolations, prominent songwriters, and producers Beyoncé worked with on Cowboy Carter.
