“Texas Hold ‘Em” was the world’s first introduction to Beyoncé’s highly anticipated and equally divisive country crossover album, Cowboy Carter, and that introduction was ushered in by a plucky banjo played by folk star Rhiannon Giddens. Although well-known in more traditional music communities, Giddens’ feature on Beyoncé’s album was one of her most notable forays with the mainstream music industry.
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As a long-time industry vet, the opportunity was incredible. As a traditionalist, that opportunity was a challenge. In a March 2025 interview with Rolling Stone, Giddens carefully navigated the parameters of her NDAs to unpack her complex feelings about her feature.
Rhiannon Giddens Had Complicated Feelings About Her Iconic Banjo Feature
Beyoncé is one of the biggest pop stars of all time. That means the vast majority of artists can only dream of getting the chance to collaborate with Queen Bey. In 2024, that dream came true for music historian and folk banjoist Rhiannon Giddens, who has enjoyed a successful career in her own right, albeit far removed from the glaring spotlight of the Billboard Hot 100. The difference between these two paths was at the front of Giddens’ mind while working on the album.
“That experience really highlighted things I’ve already known,” GIddens told Rolling Stone. “It really highlighted the difference between what I do and what the heights of the industry is doing. When I think about my banjo playing, I think of the lineage I have received through Joe Thompson and everyone who taught him. This connection to a very deep piece of my culture. If ever I do something that seems counter to that, there’s a very good reason. There are two examples I could pull out, in my entire 20-year career, where I feel like I had to make a compromise in order for a greater good. This was one of those times.”
“What was hard for me was to feel that gift treated as any other transaction in the music industry,” she continued. “I certainly didn’t do it for the money. I did it for the mission. So, my idea of what the mission is and somebody else’s idea of what the mission is are not going to be the same thing. There’s a reason why I’m not a multi-millionaire. If you are a multi-millionaire, there are reasons why. No shade, whatever. It means you do things in a certain way.”
There Were Plenty of Positives About “Texas Hold ‘Em,” Too
Rhiannon Giddens’ comments about her banjo feature on Beyoncé’s “Texas Hold ‘Em” from Cowboy Carter might not be the most glowing review of the experience, but it certainly wasn’t all bad. “I’ve been in my little world, meaning mission and history. That’s not what is valued in that large world. And that’s okay. Like I said, I really try not to yuck somebody else’s yum. I am a weirdo. I’m so focused on this stuff. It is my calling. I don’t do this because I want to look pretty and make a lot of money. So, when I rub up against that world, it’s always hard.”
Giddens said that after Beyoncé released “Texas Hold ‘Em,” the long-time banjoist began noticing more people taking banjo classes and learning about the instrument that has roots stretching back hundreds of years to West Africa. “It also gave me an entrée into the Black community that I’ve never had, to be honest,” she added. “Because of all the things I’ve been fighting for my whole life, it’s been difficult to be seen as a Black musician. But for the first time, I felt acceptance from the mainstream Black community, which made me weep.”
The Carolina Chocolate Drops founder’s feature on Beyoncé’s country crossover album was one of many references to the history of Black people in country music that Beyoncé included on the record. Other notable callbacks included a rotating cast of Black country music pioneers dating back to the 1930s.
Photo by Douglas Mason/Getty Images
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