Jon Batiste has applauded Beyoncé for “dismantling genres” with her new country album Cowboy Carter.
The singer/songwriter wrote and produced the track “Ameriican Requiem” for the pop star’s new record, which also features star turns from Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson and Miley Cyrus. He says Beyoncé is doing her part to break down barriers in the music industry.
“This is the moment, y’all, where we dismantle the genre machine. I was happy to produce and write for ‘Ameriican Requiem’ along with Beyonce and Dion ‘No ID’ Wilson. When I catch inspiration, the words and chords pour out of me. What an honor to then see how brilliantly Beyoncé made them her own and THEN further enhanced the lyrical statement, synthesizing it into the larger body of work,” he wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“Quincy Jones told me, as he also wrote in his forward to my WE ARE album, ‘it’s up to you to decategorize American music!!’, which is what Duke Ellington told him. I really believe that is our generation’s role, led by a few artists willing to take this leap,” Batiste added.
The Grammy-winning artist went on to thank Beyoncé for producing the album, declaring a “new era” is coming.
“Very grateful for my contribution to your brilliant album, a work of such unimaginable impact and artistic firepower by a once-in-a-generation artist. So glad that we finally got to collaborate with each other at this time,” Batiste continued.
“Producing and writing for ‘Ameriican Requiem’ was an example of extraordinary alignment, when many leading artists see a similar vision at the same time. [T]hat’s when you know a major shift is happening. A new era, long time coming. Let’s liberate ourselves from genre and break the barriers that marginalize who we are and the art that we create,” he added.
