Empire record label blazed trail with Black country artists even before Beyoncé boost

Beyoncé collaborated with prominent and emerging Black artists for her eighth studio album "Cowboy Carter." And she not only shed a light on their careers but on other trailblazers behind the scenes who have been moving the needle on developing Black country musicians over the last few years.

Two budding artists — Reyna Roberts and Shaboozey — featured on the acclaimed album are signed to the same full-service independent record label, Empire. And they have been working under the Nashville division. The label also put out Willie Jones' first project. He is featured on Beyoncé's tune "Just For Fun."

Prior to Roberts' feature on "Blackbiird" and "Tyrant" as well as Shaboozey's on "Sweet Honey Buckin'" and "Spaghettii," the two had been building their unique sounds and careers in Music City.

"We've been working with them for quite some time now," says Empire founder Ghazi Shami, who goes by Ghazi. "There was already a buzz building around both of them, and) we were very fortunate and blessed that (Beyoncé) decided to work with them. And it's been amazing to watch, just kind of like the explosion of what's transpired afterward."

Heather Vassar, the senior vice president of operations in the Nashville division, agreed.

"It's such a monumental moment. And of course, with the Beyoncé nod and love, she's not only elevating country music, but Black Country artists," Vassar says. "I've been working with both of them, Shaboozey specifically, for several years now."

She says their success is not just warranted but is a testament to the landscape in relation to unique artists.

"I think that this is just showing and kind of proving that there's space for all of that, there's space for Black country artists, there's space to operate independently and there's space for you to move a little bit differently," she says.

Started in 2010, Empire was founded in San Francisco, where the headquarters remain. Additionally, the company has offices in New York, London, Lagos and Johannesburg with recording studios in San Francisco and New York. Empire Nashville has fostered both country artists who fit the traditional landscape and those whose music has the flexibility to crossover into different genres.

"It's really central to the DNA of who we are as a company to create cross-cultural exchange, and bring different people from different walks of life and different backgrounds together and watch them flourish together," Ghazi says. "So it's a beautiful thing to watch that collaboration (with Beyoncé) and to see the explosion of Black country (artists). I'm very grateful to be a part of it."

Of course, Empire has seen a recent spotlight on some of their artists, but Ghazi says they have a long history of believing in and building on the careers of Black country artists and crossover musicians.

"We can rewind a little bit back to like 2015 (or) '16. We did a couple of singles for Kane Brown really early with (producer) Polow Da Don before (Brown) went on to a major and definitely saw the value and what was possible in the country space way back then," Ghazi says.

A couple years later, he says, the label signed country hip-hop artist Jones.

"We felt like culturally, Willie fit under the umbrella of what we were doing at Empire, and we felt like he could be a bridge into what we wanted to become in the national market," Ghazi says. "We started to enjoy a pretty good amount of success with him, and that led us to further expand our Nashville footprint."

The company has launched the careers of multiplatinum and Grammy Award winning artists such as Kendrick Lamar, Fireboy DML, Yung Bleu, Migos, Asake, XXXTentacion and Anderson .Paak. The label has been steadfast about building on Black country artists, crossover musicians and other artists who transcend industry norms.

Empire's track record and recent success certainly point to a bright future. As far as their recent wins with the Black country artists featured on Beyoncé's album, Vassar is hopeful about the larger implications.

"I hope that it changes the landscape," she says. "That's always been the goal, that's always been Empire's goal is that if we can help elevate, we will. We will be at the forefront and the front-runners to change the landscape, to change not only the narrative in the conversation, but to widen the image of what is typical (of) country music."

She thinks there's room for everyone, and she's enjoyed seeing new country music listeners and new faces making strides within the genre.

"That's the win ... we build the genre, and we strengthen the genre, and that it feels and looks differently than it ever has in the past," Vassar says. "And we still belong. And I think that we not only belong, but we hope that we continue to be at the forefront of pushing the needle and pushing the the boundaries."

Follow Caché McClay, the USA TODAY Network's Beyoncé Knowles-Carter reporter, on Instagram, TikTok and X as @cachemcclay.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Empire label blazed trail with Black country artists before Beyoncé boost