When you’re employed at ESSENCE, you never know who you would possibly meet in the office, but this week it’s a country singer Mickey Guyton stopped in her busy schedule preparing for her new album, just at some point away starting your trip. Within seconds of seeing the artist, her radiant energy filled the room as she excitedly shared photos of her son at college: “Look at him, he’s just too cute.”

Before she became “Mickey Guyton,” the famous superstar of today, she was just Candace, growing up in Crawford, Texas, a small and really rural town in the Lone Star State, where her friends were her siblings. Like many black artists, church attendance was routine for her family and played a significant role in her life as her parents were deacons and deaconesses. These moments introduced her to her passion and what would soon change into her profession. “We spent a lot of time in church and that was the music we sang,” Guyton tells ESSENCE. However, it was Whitney Houston’s legendary Super Bowl XXV performance of the national anthem or seeing 10-year-old LeAnn Rimes sing at a Texas Rangers game that defined the moment that Guyton decided to try singing herself.

“It was my introduction to music. A teen who appeared like an adult woman was singing. I didn’t care what genre it was. I just desired to be her. That’s what made me need to sing,” Guyton says.

Growing up in the South, country music is played in predominantly black communities and is given as much priority as hip-hop music. Because her grandmother was a Dolly Parton fan, Guyton gravitated towards a country sound. He considers songs reminiscent of “I Will Always Love You” and “Coat of Many Colors” his most important and favorites. She mentions the famous journalist Jessica Bendinger, who encouraged her to change into interested in this genre, which, nonetheless, was associated with great hesitation. She eventually left Crawford and moved to Nashville to achieve a wider network of opportunities. “I always loved it, but I just didn’t know there was anyone who could help me or who could sing country music like me, or even if black people were allowed to do it,” Guyton says. “That’s form of where it began for me. We moved to Nashville and that was the start of all of it, but then there was a long fight.

After the move, Guyton signed with Capitol Records and shares her unexpected story of performing for the Obamas on the White House in 2011 after Keith Urban couldn’t commit. Singing a version of Patsy Cline’s “Crazy,” this story is true proof that her success was just across the corner. In 2014, she released her first self-titled EP, featuring the breakout hit “Better Than You Left Me”, detailing a previous relationship. However, in 2021, she re-released an EP titled “Heaven Down Here” with one other hit. The second design was heavily inspired by the events of 2020, when people needed fresh air.

“There was a lot occurring in our country, so I sang songs that helped me get through it. I used to be pregnant and living in downtown Los Angeles, so I remember the protests right outside my window. I desired to be with them but as a result of Covid-19 I had to remain home to guard my baby. There was a lot beauty in it too, because people were coming together for a cause, for Black Lives Matter, which inspired ‘Heaven Down Here,’” Guyton says.

Over the following 4 years, Guyton built an incredible resume, from being the primary black woman to co-host the Academy of Country Music Awards to being named Breakthrough Artist of the Year by Country Music Magazine and Television. She became a four-time Grammy-nominated country artist, sang on the Democratic National Convention, the Essence Festival Of Culture and, to return full circle, performed the national anthem at Super Bowl 56. Guyton, the dream of many small-town artists, rose to fame inside a decade. While these achievements could also be large, seeing others gain recognition in this genre motivated her to proceed.

“My career came at a very difficult time, during all the racial turmoil in our country, and I felt like the country music industry wanted to do better and be more inclusive,” Guyton says. “In those moments, because I was getting all these opportunities, I felt like I had to use that motivation to give opportunities to other Black, Latinx or LGBTQIA artists and use my platform to empower them as well.”

The recognition of Black artists in the agricultural space saw a surge in recognition when Beyoncé released her album, the second installment of her Act series, earlier this 12 months. Several country singers participated in the project, including Shaboozy, Dolly Parton, Tanner Adell, Reyna Roberts and Miley Cyrus. Although she was not included on the album, Guyton received flowers from Beyoncé in recognition of her contributions to the genre. While this will likely have generated some belated recognition from the masses, Guyton desires to make it clear that black country artists will not be just a trend.

“When Beyoncé released this album, it was very exciting to see the world and social media discover all of those artists, especially since Beyoncé is such a famous artist and her platform is so vast. However, I used to be afraid that everybody would only love country music for a moment, but that is the true lifetime of these artists and so they deserve our support beyond this moment,” says Guyton. “Will you still be here? It’s great that you’re hitting the “Follow” button, but are you hitting the streaming button? Do you show up at their shows? This is where actively supporting these artists really counts, because it is extremely important right now. “I pray that folks remember about these artists because if they do not get support, it won’t be viable for them anymore, then we’ll be back to square one for black country music artists.”

This 12 months, Guyton continues to represent Black Country artists with the discharge of her second album, a 12-track project with breakout singles including “Scary Love,” which comes from her experiences early after giving birth to her son, and ” My Kind of Country ,” detailing the similarities of the black experience in the South. This will coincide with the album embark in your first headlining tour, making stops in major cities including Atlanta, Chicago, Philadelphia and Nashville. Guyton ushers in a new era in country music focused on resilience, love and peace.

“This is the era of my love. That’s what my music reflects now. The course is just so big; it’s a spiritual thing and I’m at a really exciting time in my life,” Guyton says.