Rising Country Artist Reyna Roberts Breaks Tradition, Follows Her Path & Defends Beyoncé: ‘I’m More Than What They Want to Fit In A Box’

Crediting music with saving her life since the day of her birth, rising artist Reyna Roberts said that Country music chose her, which is evident in her genre-blending style that defies, yet elevates traditional standards for the genre throughout her “Bad Girl Bible Vol. 1” debut album.

Roberts said while on her music-making journey, she realized at one point that most of the songs she was making were Country. She said that although she wasn’t sure how she would be received, she went where the art took her.

While some songs are along the traditional route, Roberts said her goal is to make her lane and sound, including songs that Trap, Pop and Rock influence.

“I love so many different genres of music, and I was like, well, I don’t have to pick,” Roberts said. “I want to live in a space where I can put those genres together and create my own sound. So you hear country, but you hear trap and you hear rock, and you hear all these different influences merge together to make one sound that’s mine. And I call it kind of either “Country Plus.” It’s Country, plus Hip Hop, plus Pop, plus Rock; or ‘Outlaw Country.’ A new form or it’s my kind of Country.”

Roberts’ form of Country can be heard throughout her debut album, “Bad Girl Bible Vol. 1.” The 12-track album was released in August of 2023 and thus far, spawned the singles “Country Club,” “Louisiana” and “Miranda.” 

While promoting Vol. 1 and working on Vol. 2, Roberts said she is thankful overall and excited about upcoming shows.

“I spent so many nights working on this project, working on all the visuals, everything you see,” Roberts said, while also crediting her mother with the help with her concepts. “She helped me come up with a lot of the content for ‘Pretty Little Devils,’ but all the art you see, all the outfits, everything was things that I specifically picked. All the cast members and definitely all the songs. The songwriting and co-producing; it was a lot. But I’m so grateful because it was exactly what I wanted it to be.”

Given her difference in musical style, Roberts said she has received some pushback, but she’s okay with it due to the innovation and authenticity of her music.

“Having songs like ‘Stomping Grounds,’ ‘Raised Right,’ ‘Another Round;’ those songs very much fit within the Country categories and the Country lane,” Roberts said. “But once I got outside of that, ‘Pretty Little Devils,’ — those visuals, what I’m talking about, mentioning Megan Thee Stallion, if you’re somebody that’s in Country music that only wants to hear Country music and only wants to do things a traditional way, it’s just like, ‘What is this?’ ‘This isn’t real country music.’ ‘This is, I don’t know, inauthentic or you’re trying to use Country as a stepping stone,’ which I’m not. I genuinely love Country music, but I know that I’m more than just what people want me to be. I’m more than what they want to fit in a box.”

Roberts had the attention of heavy hitters from the beginning of her career. Her single “Stompin’ Grounds” was her beginning and the song caught the attention of ESPN and made its way onto Monday Night Football. She credits Mickey Guyton and Carrie Underwood for sharing her talent before etching her name in the game.

“It kind of elevated things right away and I’m so grateful and I’m thankful for that,” Roberts said. “Without them, I don’t know what my release would’ve been like without that momentum and that push from them.

Shortly after the release of “Stompin’ Grounds” and “Another Round,” Roberts was named one of the Country Music Television’s 2021 “Women in Country to Watch.”

Her quick notice by CMT is impressive for many reasons. Roberts being a Black woman in Country music getting such recognition from the network and fellow artists Guyton and Underwood can be seen as a different direction from the lack of diversity in the field for years past.

“I’m so grateful for Mickey, I’m so grateful for Brittney Spencer,” Roberts said on her friendship with fellow Black Country artists. “First of all, Mickey posted me without even knowing me and after she did, we became great friends. And Brittney Spencer, we did an interview together, I think it was either in 2020 or 2021. From that day we became friends. So thankfully we had a support system. There wasn’t anything that made us feel jealous of each other or there wasn’t anything where we felt like there can only be one Black woman in Country. That’s not who we are. That’s not our narrative.

Roberts walks through the doors that other Black women like Alice Randall, Rissi Palmer, Miko Marks, Rhiannon Giddens, Guyton, Spencer and countless others kicked down with each moment of success and recognition.

Randall is the first Black woman to write a number 1 song on the Country charts (1994) and Palmer is one of the few Black women to chart as a performer on the Country music chart.

With the release of Beyoncé’s Country songs, the question of ‘What is Country music?’ has been raised and seen among fans. Exploring beyond tradition has been Roberts’ style, she relates to Beyoncé and makes it clear Beyoncé has and can make Country music.

“She’s already released country music, that’s what ‘Daddy Lessons’ is in 2016. So this isn’t really surprising,” Roberts said. “I think it’s great and I love her. She’s one of my biggest inspirations, and I think it’s awesome, especially because a lot of people don’t know that we’re here and I feel like she opened some gates. So people are seeing us now and the visibility that we might not have had before, we are now getting, because she’s doing country music.”

While Roberts is unsure of what 2024 will hold beyond success and miracles, she’s certainly following her path and expectations. “I’ve been praying about it, I believe it, and I have faith that it is going to happen,” Roberts said.