Brittney Spencer talks Willie Nelson, nation music in NPR interview : NPR

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One thing is going on within the music world. Genres which have traditionally been perceived as belonging strictly to white historical past and tradition are getting a re-evaluation, an unveiling of a extra various heritage. Classical music is one. Nation is one other.

As somebody who has been on the forefront of this dialog within the sphere of classical music, I can say that it is a unusual place to be. On one hand, it is a great privilege to uncover hidden tales and illuminate buried truths. On the opposite, it is form of exhausting to continuously clarify and advocate for one thing that has been hiding in plain sight all alongside.

Brittney Spencer‘s title could also be new to you, though she’s been working within the nation music enterprise for years. It has been an extended, onerous climb with loads of setbacks and rejections, a lot of odd jobs, onerous knocks and paid dues. That is all modified since her debut album, My Silly Life, got here out final fall and was referred to as “one of the vital convincing nation statements shortly” by Rolling Stone. Perhaps you’ve got seen her in recent times sharing levels with artists from Megan Thee Stallion to Bruce Springsteen. Or perhaps, like hundreds of thousands of different followers, you simply found her two months in the past, when Beyoncé launched her nation album Cowboy Carter, that includes Brittney on “BLACKBIIRD.”

Cowboy Carter debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, with record-breaking streaming numbers, and the album launched a global dialog concerning the presence and historical past of Black artists in nation music. For Brittney and many different Black artists who’ve been immersed on this music for many years, for lifetimes, this sudden vivid highlight is a spot to shine, however extra importantly, to light up their very own lineage and the reality of this quintessentially American musical custom.

For Brittney, this second can also be about redefining the style itself. Her music has blended roots: nation, rock, pop, R&B. It is daring and contemporary and authentically her personal. Reclaiming historical past is one factor, creating one thing new from it’s one other. And that is what she’s doing, with gratitude for her group, pleasure in her music-making, and no explanations needed.

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