Reyna Roberts kicks up heels, blazes trails in country music
Reyna Roberts writes pop and rock and hip-hop songs. But Roberts also writes country tunes. And this last genre has generated a lot of attention over the past month.
Roberts knows other Black women have made country music. And the 22year-old knows Black artists’ influence on the genre has been repeatedly understated or outright ignored (see Lesley Riddle). With few role models outside of Mickey Guyton, who she adores, Roberts is happily, forcefully introducing herself to modern country fans.
“If I love all these country artists, if I am writing all these country songs, what is stopping me, what is prohibiting me from chasing after this dream,” Roberts said. “Even though I’m not seeing (successful Black female country artists) that doesn’t mean I can’t do it myself.”
Based on what she’s shown the world, Roberts absolutely can do it.
Last month, Roberts released her debut single, “Stompin’ Grounds.” The song has the shine and pop of Florida Georgia Line but features a fierceness found in Jason Aldean’s thump and Pistol Annies’ twang. In it, the artist raised partly in Alabama celebrates her ownership over “the deep, dark, dirty South.”
“When I heard the riff my producer Noah (Henson) had, I just loved the aggressiveness, how it makes you want to kick doors down,” Roberts said. “I usually write ballads but I wanted to have a different kind of energy with this song. I wanted the song to make people feel better. I know that sounds really simple, but I wanted to give people more energy with it.”
Roberts’ parents are veterans so she moved around a lot as a kid. The song speaks to a sense of home, of belonging in the face of little time to put down roots. It’s also a strong, specific first choice for a song. Roberts grew up playing classical piano, loves rock (Audioslave is her favorite band), and has always felt comfortable bouncing around genres. “Stompin’ Grounds” shows little of that musical history.
“I played Bach, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, while my mom listened to Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Linkin Park,” she said. “All that music was the beginning of my journey. …
But I love storytelling and so I love country.”
Roberts knows she’s a trailblazer. This means the fact that she is a Black woman in country will be up at the top of every story written about her for a while. That doesn’t bother her.
“That comes with the territory,” she said. “When you look at country music, you don’t see artists like me.”
Then she stops and asks, “Who can you recall, off the top of your head, that is a Black woman in country?”
Outside of Guyton and a few Americana champs such as Amythyst Kiah and Rhiannon Giddens, nobody comes to mind.
“Because there aren’t many Black women in country, people want my perspective,” she said. “And that’s fine. I’d rather people have open conversations and ask me about my experience rather than wonder or do guess work.”
So far, her experience in the genre has been great. On social media, Carrie Underwood, Cassadee Pope, Guyton and others have supported her.
Once she drops a few more singles, and she plans to soon, the conversion will shift toward her sound and skills and hopefully encourage more modern country fans to seek out new voices.