by Janee Bolden
June 23, 2025
The singer’s s affect has stretched far past the music charts
When Mickey Guyton launched “Black Like Me” in June 2020, it was meant to be a mirror. Written throughout a time of political unrest and launched in opposition to the backdrop of George Floyd’s homicide and international protests for racial justice, the tune was each a cry for understanding and a brave act of truth-telling. “In the event you suppose we reside within the land of the free,” she sang, “it is best to attempt to be Black like me.” That line alone cracked open nation music’s typically inflexible id and compelled an business identified for its custom to face the lived actuality of considered one of its personal.
5 years later, Guyton displays on the tune’s legacy from midway the world over in China, the place she’s nonetheless sharing her voice and expertise with new audiences. However her message hasn’t softened.
“I simply bear in mind the ache I felt,” Guyton tells BLACK ENTERPRISE. “Sure, it was a gorgeous tune, nevertheless it sucked that it took such horrific occasions for individuals to concentrate. Discovering success in that wasn’t essentially a cheerful factor.”
Regardless of the tune’s Grammy nomination (the primary ever for a Black lady within the Finest Nation Solo Efficiency class), Guyton says the second got here with the burden of accountability, not celebration. “There was a lot, and nonetheless is a lot, turmoil on this planet,” she says. “And I feared individuals would simply transfer on, return to the way in which issues have been. That’s very a lot taking place in actual time.”
Since “Black Like Me,” Guyton’s affect has stretched far past the music charts. She’s sung the nationwide anthem on the Tremendous Bowl, graced the GRAMMY stage, hosted award exhibits, and most significantly, opened doorways for a brand new technology of artists.
She additionally performed a pivotal function in a serious shift inside the Recording Academy. This month, the Grammys introduced a brand new class for the 2026 awards: Finest Conventional Nation Album, successfully splitting the previous nation album class into two — conventional and modern.
“It’s one thing we’d been combating for since at the least 2017,” Guyton says. “Earlier than, you had modern artists like me up in opposition to legends like Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton in the identical class. It wasn’t truthful to both aspect. The voters didn’t all the time hearken to all of the albums. They voted primarily based on title recognition. This modification provides extra artists an actual shot.”
For Guyton, the change isn’t about segregation — a misinterpretation she’s seen on-line, as an alternative, she believes the shift favors illustration and recognition. “What’s the artist’s intention? If they are saying it’s a rustic album, we should always honor that. That’s what I’ve been combating for.”
And he or she’s fast to offer credit score the place it’s due: “Thanks, Beyoncé. Actually, she has helped make these adjustments by her existence alone.”
This Juneteenth, the intersection of freedom, music, and Black id feels stronger than ever. For Guyton, it’s private and needed.
“Beyoncé releasing Cowboy Carter… seeing followers in cowboy boots and line dancing… I see a way of freedom inside the Black group,” she says. “It’s the epitome of what Juneteenth is. However I’m nonetheless in plenty of ache. I believe that that is so needed for our peace and our group proper now, at this explicit time in America.”
Guyton displays on the emotional toll of the final 5 years — from political exhaustion to the necessity for group. “I hosted the White Home tree lighting one yr and informed one of many Black girls working the occasion, ‘I don’t suppose I can experience at daybreak anymore.’ She stated, ‘We’re resting at daybreak.’ That’s the place I’m at. I should be with individuals who heal me.”
Nonetheless, the shifts she’s witnessed since 2020 give her a cautious sense of hope. “It’s not that folks didn’t like nation music. Black Like Me gave them permission to dream inside the style,” she says. “There’s this outlaw, underground world of nation now — and it consists of artists who don’t match the outdated mildew. However I nonetheless hear labels telling new Black artists, ‘There’s no marketplace for Black nation.’ That’s not simply unsuitable — it’s harmful.”
For younger Black girls who love nation music however don’t see themselves within the mainstream, Guyton provides this: Do it your individual manner.
“Each single considered one of us who made it needed to go across the system. Discover a workforce that received’t attempt to change who you’re. Construct your viewers. Personal your story. Some 60-year-old white man doesn’t know what the tradition wants greater than you do.”
It’s a message that she says comes not from triumph however from hard-won expertise. “I’ve been put by way of the wringer. I’m a damaged individual. However I say this so the brand new technology doesn’t must be.”
So what does she need individuals to say about “Black Like Me” in 2030?
“I hope it turns into an evergreen tune — like Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On. One thing that lives within the historical past books and captures precisely how individuals felt and nonetheless really feel,” she says. “As a result of sadly, it’s the identical script, totally different forged.”
And for many who ask what they will do to help the motion past social media posts or hashtags, she’s crystal clear: Put your cash and streams the place your mouth is.
“Beyoncé’s followers cherished Cowboy Carter, however these featured artists? A few of them misplaced file offers even after being on that album. If each fan simply streamed considered one of their songs, purchased a $1.99 sticker, went to a present — that might change lives. We’re nonetheless right here. We’re nonetheless making nation music. We simply want the help.”
Guyton shall be performing in China, talking about her Black expertise as an American lady, utilizing “Black Like Me” as a software to coach and join. As a result of 5 years later, Mickey Guyton’s voice nonetheless rings out with fact. And he or she’s not achieved but.
RELATED CONTENT: Okay. Michelle’s Expertly Clears Delusional Journo Throughout Interview, Affirming Her Rightful Place In Nation Music
