amna: This week beyoncé continued her reign at the top of the country charts. Last week she became the first black woman to head number one with her banjo infused bop, Texas hold 'em. The song has brought a new audience to the genre. Reminding enthusiasts of country music's deep African roots. ♪♪ >> Like many looking for connection during the pandemic, 47-year-old Marie told her love of dance to tiktok despite the protest of her daughter. >> I got tiktok after my daughter told me not to because
it was for the younger generation. Reporter: Mother and daughter soon teamed up online. Tell me about the typical dances you do. >> For me it is the upbeat and funky, move your body in this rhythmic fashion, old-school kind of 90's hip-hop. Reporter: But last week the duo stepped into a new genre, a country song courtesy of beyoncé. >> I said, we are doing country now, beyoncé? Reporter: The song is one of two new country singles that she released off her new album. >> Why not country? I started
thinking about my mother and my grandmother who were all in Texas who gave me an upbringing of Summers in the country. >> A cowgirl attitude. Reporter: Can I tell you my favorite part of your dance? The finger pedestals. -- The finger pistols. >> I don't know how you dance to country music so I made it my own like a lot of people are and had fun with it. >> ♪♪ This ain't Texas ♪♪ reporter: Jasmine Jennings is a professional dancer and she created her own line dance which now has over 10 million
views. >> It blew up pretty fast. I was surprised that a lot of people enjoyed what I did. Someone asked me to make a less complicated version of that so I did. And that one blew up a little bit. And then someone said, ok, do a musical theater version. I had never done musical theater. I had to do a little research on that one. It is just kind of growing. I've seen people bellydancing, river dancing. It is sparking a lot of creativity and challenging people to move to music that they typically
would not. Reporter: While some beyoncé fans turned to country through her new tracks, longtime country music fan Vinny was drawn to Texas hold 'em's opening cords played by his favorite instruments. >> The first thing that stood out to me was the banjo intro. I recognized that right away. I was fascinated to hear it especially from beyoncé. Reporter: He shared the songs on a country music subreddit, a message board devoted to the genre that he moderates. He said most of the response was positiv
e but some questioned why beyoncé would step into country. Would you expect to see some backlash? Country music is overwhelmingly white and largely male. >> There has been a little bit of backlash which is more gatekeeping than anything. There are always people that think, she is intruding on the white space music as a black woman and I have seen a few posts like that. >> Without black influence, country is folk music. Reporter: Alice is largely recognized as the first black woman to cowrite a c
ountry song. >> Since the beginning of the genre, the banjo has a long and complex history and the history begins in Africa. The kind of open footed singing that we here in country where even the sound of the steel guitar, these sounds how their aesthetic origins in Africa. Reporter: Randall spent over 40 years as a songwriter in Nashville. Her new book unpacks the erasure of countries black roots and the industry's exclusion of black artists for decades. Even today a country music radio station
in Oklahoma initially refused to play beyoncé songs. >> Beyoncé has blasted through the intended and unintended boundaries. The cultural redlining. And she has ascended to a height that no other black woman has ascended to in country. This is a tribute to her own genius and it spots -- and it spotlights the genius that came before. Reporter: A path forged by trail blazers like Charlie pride and more recently, Darius Rucker, palmer and Brittany Spencer. Work that Randall argues allows the music
to reach a larger audience. An audience that, thanks to beyoncé, now includes Marie and patience. >> We have been digging into country music. People are sharing more country artists. Reporter: Will we see more country dancing on your tiktok? >> I was just about to say that we got our country hats and boots. We are ready. ♪♪ ♪♪
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