Beyonce’s Mom Says Family’s Cowboy Roots Run Deep

Beyoncé's mother Tina Knowles is getting a chuckle out of questions about her daughter's country music credibility.

On social media, Tina Knowles shared a video that compiles clips and pics of Beyoncé in cowboy gear today and throughout her career. The vid opens with a Time magazine screengrab with a headline reading "Beyoncé Has Always Been Country."

"I actually laugh because it's been there since she was a kid," she writes.

• Beyoncé released her first official country radio single last week. It's called "Texas Hold 'Em."
• On Tuesday, "Texas Hold 'Em" debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart.
• A second song "16 Carriages" also debuted inside the Top 10.

Related: 16 Hip-Hop and R&B Stars Who've Gone Country

"We have always celebrated cowboy culture growing up in Texas," Mama Knowles says. "We also always understood that it was not just about it belonging to white culture only. In Texas there is a huge Black cowboy culture. Why do you think that my kids have integrated it into their fashion and art since the beginning."

"We went to rodeos every year and my whole family dressed in Western fashion," the singer's mother says. "Solange (Beyoncé's younger sister Solange Knowles) did a whole brilliant album and project based on Black Cowboy Culture ... It definitely was a part of our culture growing up."

Beyoncé announced her new songs during a Super Bowl commercial and almost immediately, a certain type of country music fan began to question the authenticity of her music.

Contemporary artists have shown support, and so too has country radio. On Tuesday, 75 country stations "added" Bey's song, meaning they committed to regular airplay. That made "Texas Hold 'Em" the most-added song of the week, and while "adds" are a tricky figure to evaluate, few would push back on 75 being a solid showing for a new song.

A better indicator of country radio's commitment is how quickly the song moves up airplay charts. If it's only Top 40 by summer, one could fairly argue the support was symbolic. Although, the song's success will also be determined by Beyoncé and her team's willingness to promote it in meaningful ways.