“There’s a certain magic in sitting at the piano and letting my fingers play random chords as I just let any and everything come out”: Beyoncé discusses the healing power of music and dismisses genres as “traps that box us in and separate us”

To call Beyoncé a pop star feels a bit reductive - she’s also a songwriter, producer, actress and entrepreneur. Her latest business venture is a whisky brand, SirDavis, but as she explains in a new interview with GQ, she doesn’t let her side hustles distract her.

“I am a musician first,” she says. “It has always been my priority. I didn’t get into anything that could take away from my artistry until I felt I was solidified as a master at my first love, music.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Beyoncé reveals that music can be a form of escape for her. “There’s a certain magic in sitting at the piano and letting my fingers play random chords as I just let any and everything come out,” she says.

Beyoncé also addresses the reaction to her latest album, Cowboy Carter, which many viewed as a stylistic pivot to country music.

“From the start of my career and on every album, I have always mixed genres,” she argues. “Whether it is R&B, Dance, Country, Rap, Zydeco, Blues, Opera, Gospel, they have all influenced me in some way. I have favourite artists from every genre you could think about. I believe genres are traps that box us in and separate us. I’ve experienced this for 25 years in the music industry. Black artists, and other artists of colour, have been creating and mastering multiple genres, since forever.”

Although she didn’t dwell on the subject, Beyoncé briefly touched on how technology is impacting the music industry. “Just recently, I heard an AI song that sounded so much like me it scared me,” she said. “It’s impossible to truly know what’s real and what’s not.”