🎙️ Episode 107: Appropriation, Beyoncé, and Fox-Colored Glasses

Did Beyoncé really make a country album? And why are so many people mad about it?

In this episode, Tracey and Lauren unpack the cultural firestorm around Beyoncé’s Grammy win, Cowboy Carter, and the thin line between appreciation and appropriation. From Diddy distractions to Texas Hold ‘Em jukebox protests, we’re taking off the Fox-colored glasses and digging into the real issues.

We talk about:

• Whether Beyoncé deserved Album of the Year

• Why white folks are big mad

• The difference between cultural appreciation and appropriation

• Elvis, Madonna, and Adele—who paid homage and who just took

• Identity, representation, and who gets to define “country”

Plus: cornrows in Cleveland, cross colors, and a trip to a Belizean block party

🧠 Plus, we answer the age-old question: is it appreciation if it’s just good fashion? (And yes, we define appropriation—because some of y’all are using that word wrong.)

📲 Google Along With Us

Wanna follow the breadcrumbs from this episode? We got you. Here’s your click-worthy cheat sheet. Trust us — it’s a ride.

🎤 Beyoncé – Cowboy Carter

Wikipedia: Cowboy Carter

🤠 Texas Hold ’Em (song)

Wikipedia: Texas Hold ’Em

🧊 Jay-Z

Wikipedia: Jay-Z

🧻 The Tik Tokker We Played

kay_dub_h

🕵️‍♂️ Diddy legal drama

Wikipedia: Sean Combs – Legal Issues

🎭 Cher’s Oscar snubs – Mask vs. Moonstruck

• Wikipedia: Mask (1985 film)

• Wikipedia: Moonstruck

🎶 Post Malone

Wikipedia: Post Malone

🐴 Lil Nas X

Wikipedia: Lil Nas X

🕶️ Shaboozey

Instagram: @shaboozey

🎸 Darius Rucker

Wikipedia: Darius Rucker

🎉 The Hora (Jewish wedding dance)

Wikipedia: Hora (dance)

🐶 Doja Cat + Hound Dog

Wikipedia: Doja Cat

Wikipedia: Hound Dog (song)

👑 Elvis Presley

Wikipedia: Elvis Presley

💃 Madonna + Ballroom Culture

Wikipedia: Vogue (Madonna song)

Wikipedia: Ball culture

💄 RuPaul – “We’re all born naked and the rest is drag”

Wikipedia: RuPaul

🎭 Rachel Dolezal

Wikipedia: Rachel Dolezal

💢 Chet Hanks

Wikipedia: Chet Hanks

🛍️ 🧡 Basic Halloween Stores (Satirical Ad)

It’s almost Halloween again!

You know what that means:

🎃 Get your single turkey feather headband!

👑 Your Arabian princess costume!

🎯 Everything you need to be ignorant and basic this Halloween.

🧋 Free pumpkin spice latte with every purchase!

Basic Halloween Stores. Be basic.

🏳️‍🌈 Women’s Place Magazine (Satirical Ad)

This month’s cover story: It’s Not Appropriation If You’re Hot

Tips on how to wear chopsticks in your hair without a conscience.

Women’s Place Magazine. Be a woman who knows her place.

📺 Martin – Sheneneh

Wikipedia: Martin (TV series)

👖 Cross Colours (fashion brand)

Wikipedia: Cross Colours

💅 Real Housewives – Dorit Kemsley

Wikipedia: Dorit Kemsley

🥥 Adele’s Bantu Knots Controversy

The Guardian article

👘 90s Kimono Trend

Wikipedia: Kimono

🥢 Chopsticks in Hair (and why that’s a no)

Wikipedia: Cultural Appropriation – Examples

👀 Check out our YouTube for a bonus video segment featuring Chet Hanks, Rachel Dolezal, and one truly unfortunate snake charmer outfit.

🔗 Follow, subscribe, and leave us a review if you’ve ever side-eyed someone in a feather headdress.

🎧 The Air We Breathe — funny, fiery, and unfiltered conversations about the fog of bias we’ve all been breathing.

#TheAirWeBreathe

#PodcastLife

#BeyonceCowboyCarter

#CulturalAppropriation

#CountryMusicDrama

#RepresentationMatters

#BlackCountryArtists

#FoxColoredGlasses

#JayZConspiracies

#AppropriationVsAppreciation

#TexasHoldEm

#BeyHiveBuzz

#GrammysControversy

#RealTalkPodcast

#PopCulturePolitics