Rissi Palmer: Breaking Barriers and Amplifying Voices in Country Music

When Beyoncé released her new single “Texas Hold ‘Em” during the Super Bowl, it ignited a viral conversation about the genre and the often-ignored history of Black artists playing a defining role in country music. Perhaps it is a national conversation that is well-overdue, forcing the music industry as a whole to examine its gatekeeping, and even the blatant racism in some cases. One artist who has been making space for these important conversations is another country artist who knows first-hand what it is like to be a Black woman in a genre that, today, is predominantly white.