BMAC’s ‘Three Chords And The Actual Truth’ Discussion Revisits Black Artists’ Influence And Exclusion In Country Music

Christine Imarenezor
·6 min read
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Before the release of Beyonce’s conversation-stirring Cowboy Carter, the Black origins of country music had been an important topic that had fallen under the mainstream radar, despite the musical contributions of unsung singers, songwriters, and musicians who have influenced the sound of today’s white-facing genre.

One advocacy organization that has fought to bring this reality to the forefront is the Black Music Action Coalition (BMAC). Since the 2022 release of the organization’s insightful report, Three Chords and the Actual Truth: The Manufactured Myth of Country Music and White America, BMAC has held a series of panel discussions across the United States to inform and inspire the inclusion of Black artists and professionals in country music. The first conversation, Act I, kicked off in New York City and was tied to Cowboy Carter‘s release. Act II’s Q&A was held at Live Nation’s Los Angeles headquarters and featured country star Mickey Guyton, songwriter-artist INK, Billboard’s Gail Mitchell, and more.

Less than a mile from Nashville’s historic Music Row, creatives, musicians, industry figures, and political figures came together for BMAC’s third panel discussion, “Act III: A Conversation Around “Three Chords and the Actual Truth.” Held in the lobby of Live Nation’s Music City location, the event featured a powerful conversation moderated by Naima Cochrane, former music executive, journalist, and author of the organization’s eye-opening report of the same name. In the first segment of the event, Cochrane sat with New York Times best-selling novelist, songwriter, and activist Alice Randall to discuss her music career and journey as the first Black woman credited as a songwriter on a no. 1 country song, and the creative barriers in country music culture.

“I think Black genius has been persistently denied in America,” she said before attendees. “In order to be able to explain to people, you have to first say they’re not people and then say that they’re not the geniuses that they were. But I first want to say that it’s taken me 41 years to get into a room that looked like this. I came here 41 years ago [from Detroit].”

Randall took a moment to acknowledge and discuss the first family of Black country, four artists and “lost names” who contributed to the sound in the early 20th century: Lil Hardin Armstrong, DeFord Bailey, Ray Charles, Charley Pride, and Herb Jeffries. She also revealed a portrait illustration of the musicians created by award-winning artist Elisheba Israel Mrozik. “I am making it my job that all of America know about what they were doing way back in 1930,” she explained.

After pointing out how the first known country song appeared in 1893 by way of Fredrick Douglas’ second autobiography, Randall drove home the notion that country music cannot exist without blackness. “Country music is really these Celtic, English, Irish, Scottish ballads plus Black influences, which can come in various forms plus evangelical Christianity. It takes all three of those things to make something country. Without the Black influences, you’ve got some kind of folk song. Without evangelical Christianity, you may have a blues root song. It takes all three of those things.”

Shortly after discussing her mission of being a country songwriter and music publisher after moving to Nashville, rapper and songwriter Daisha “The Rap Girl” McBride and country artist Reyna Roberts joined the discussion to share their music career journeys.

Although The Rap Girl has been influenced by the likes of Big K.R.I.T. and Ludacris, country music played a part in her love for music. “I was born in East Tennessee actually, the Knoxville area. I wasn’t raised with hip-hop music. I was actually raised on Dolly Parton and folk music, and there’s not really a hip-hop scene in Knoxville… [While growing up] I’m seeing Missy doing these crazy videos and I’m like, “Yo, this is dope.” Fast-forward, I kind of got into poetry and then it turned into rap.”

After studying the music business in college, she ultimately decided to stay in Nashville. “I love Tennessee. And at the end of the day, this is music city, not just country music city,” she explained. “There’s a space for everybody here. When I graduated, I didn’t see that. So, I kind of took on the role in my head as like, ‘You know what? I’m going to show people that there are other genres that are here and that we can thrive just like the country music scene is.’”

For rising country star Reyna Roberts, leaving California and coming to Nashville with a vision has been a dream come true. “It’s great to be accepted by people that are also non-country music listeners or being introduced to this space for the first time and just seeing all the love and all the support and people actually wanting to elevate us,” she said. “And seeing that we’re not all against each other, but we want to rise together. It’s not a competition, but we’re family doing great things together.”

That togetherness and sense of community have played a major role in her career trajectory and today’s moment of Black country artists finally being seen. “When I moved here, thankfully I already had a lot of people championing me,” Roberts said. “I had Mickey Guyton and Carrie Underwood and CMT supported me. So, thankfully, I had a great foundation right from the beginning and people who tried their best to elevate me and support me in all ways… I’m very excited about right now. I’ve been praying for this moment for years.”

After the panel discussion, BMAC’s CEO-president and co-founder Willie “Prophet” Stiggers moderated an inspiring conversation with Mayors for a Guaranteed Income (MGI) and SEED founder Mayor Michael Tubbs and Tennessee’s Representative Justin Pearson. After announcing the partnership with BMAC and MGI advocating for guaranteed income legislation in Tennessee, Rep. Pearson emphasized the imperative urgency of taking action on a state level. “Now is the time to fight back and to push back, including in the Tennessee General Assembly, and that is what we are going to do,” he urged. “We collectively have to organize, mobilize, and be activated to push for legislation that is going to guarantee income for people in the state of Tennessee.”

To wrap up the event, Reyna Roberts and her band energized the crowd with a live musical performance of songs like “Miranda,” “Louisiana,” “Country Club,” and “Pretty Little Devils.” Check out more images from the event below. Keep up with the latest BMAC events and initiatives at Bmacoalition.org/.

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