A producer who worked on Beyoncé‘s hit ’16 Carriages’ has revealed that her forthcoming country album ‘Cowboy Carter’ was made before ‘Renaissance’, despite the latter being released first.
Atia ‘Ink’ Boggs said in a new interview that ’16 Carriages’ was the first song she had worked on with Beyoncé, but it saw the light of day much later than the three songs she worked on from ‘Renaissance’.
“So a lot of people don’t know, we actually had this first,” she explained on the Acknowledge YouTube series. “So imagine having this timeless, classic music first and having to wait, and then she came up with ‘Act I’.”
Boggs said that she first started working with Beyoncé in 2020 and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic influenced the direction of the music they worked on and how it was eventually released.
“So we came out of being isolated, back into the world from no parties to finally expressing ourselves,” she continued. On the subject of her pivot to country, Boggs said: “And it’s like, baby, we don’t do just one thing we do everything and we do it well. That’s what she’s letting you know. This is her southern roots, this is her Texas roots.”
The producer reiterated that the change in direction demonstrates that Beyoncé can’t be put in a box. “Representation matters, that sound matters. This sound is Black music, this is what we started,” she said. “’16 Carriages,’ that was one of my favorite songs I’ve ever made and produced in all of my life. Because it’s so personal. I love to see her in that personal light.”
When it was announced in 2022, ‘Renaissance’ was billed as the first of a trilogy, to which ‘Cowboy Carter’ is the second part. Fans have theorised that the third act will be a rock album after the artist was photographed with a mullet for CR Fashion Book.
However, Boggs wouldn’t be drawn on confirming or denying rumours. “See, y’all skipping… Shit, we got to get to Act II first.”
This week, the Guggenheim museum have shared that they “did not authorize” Beyoncé‘s ‘Cowboy Carter’ advert projection on the museum.
On Wednesday night (March 20), a promotional advert for the pop icon’s upcoming country album was projected onto the museum in New York City. “This ain’t a country album. This is a ‘Beyoncé’ album,” as well as the LP’s title and release date of March 29 (pre-save/pre-order here) were projected onto the building. The phrase was a reference to her Instagram post which she posted earlier where she addressed the backlash she received over exploring the country genre.
In a statement shared with The Hollywood Reporter, Guggenheim explained that the institution “was not informed about and did not authorize this activation. However, we invite the public — including Beyoncé and her devoted fans — to visit the museum May 16–20 when we present projections by artist Jenny Holzer on the facade of our iconic building to celebrate the opening of her major exhibition.”
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