Black female country singers: 'We're tolerated, not celebrated' - BBC News

As Beyonce goes country, black female country singers tell the BBC of their experience in the industry.

12 hours agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Beyoncé has become the first black woman to score a number one single on the US country chartsBy Iqra FarooqBBC World ServiceLast week, Beyoncé made history on the US country charts - becoming the first black woman to score a number one single, with her latest single Texas Hold 'Em.

The release is the first taste of an entire country album - a follow-up to the house music-focused Renaissance - which Beyoncé has referred to as Act II.

But while she's blazing trails in a genre where black artists have traditionally struggled to gain recognition, there are a handful of black women who've walked that path before her.

Rissi Palmer, 42, from Missouri is one of them. She broke a 20-year wait for a black woman to appear on the country charts with her 2007 single Country Girl. Before her, it was Dona Mason in 1987.

Image source, Chris CharlesImage caption, Rissi became the first black woman to appear on the country chart in two decades with her 2007 single Country GirlSpeaking about Beyoncé's achievement, Rissi told the BBC World Service's OS Conversations documentary: "I'm glad that a black woman has finally had a number one.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-68424004

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