This combination of photos shows country singer Rissi Palmer, from left, Chuck Harmony, left, and Claude Kelly of Louis York and country rapper Breland. Black artists say the country music industry still needs to do the hard work of addressing the systematic racial barriers that have been entrenched in country music for decades. The genre has historically been marketed to white audiences and reinforced white male artist stereotypes. (Chris Charles via AP, left, Jeremy Ryan via AP, center and Paul R. Giunta/Invision/AP)This combination photo shows, from left, Darius Rucker, Jimmie Allen and Kane Brown, who have all had No. 1 country hits recently. (AP Photo)FILE - In this May 3, 1994 file photo, country singer Charley Pride poses with the Pioneer Award he received at the 29th Academy of Country Music Awards show in Universal City, Calif. In 2000, Pride was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. (AP Photo/Lois Bernstein, File)FILE - In this July 22, 2017 file photo, Darius Rucker performs at the Faster Horses Music Festival in Brooklyn, Mich. Artists like Rucker, Kane Brown and Jimmie Allen have all had No. 1 country hits in recent years. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP, File)FILE - In this June 5, 2019 file photo, country singer Jimmie Allen performs "Best Shot" at the CMT Music Awards in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)FILE - This June 23, 2019 file photo shows Lil Nas X performing his Xs genre bending "Old Town Road" at the BET Awards in Los Angeles. The rapper won many awards, including Grammys for best music video and best pop duo/group performance, an American Music Award for favorite rap/hip-hop and a CMA award for musical event of the year. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)FILE - In this Jan. 26, 2020 file photo, Lil Nas X poses in the press room with the awards for best music video and best pop duo/group performance for "Old Town Road," at the 62nd annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)In this June 21, 2020 photo, country rapper Breland poses for a portrait in Atlanta. Black artists say the country music industry still needs to do the hard work of addressing the systematic racial barriers that have been entrenched in country music for decades. The genre has historically been marketed to white audiences and reinforced white male artist stereotypes. (Photo by Paul R. Giunta/Invision/AP)In this June 21, 2020 photo, country rapper Breland poses for a portrait in Atlanta. Black artists say the country music industry still needs to do the hard work of addressing the systematic racial barriers that have been entrenched in country music for decades. The genre has historically been marketed to white audiences and reinforced white male artist stereotypes. (Photo by Paul R. Giunta/Invision/AP)In this June 21, 2020 photo, country rapper Breland poses for a portrait in Atlanta. Black artists say the country music industry still needs to do the hard work of addressing the systematic racial barriers that have been entrenched in country music for decades. The genre has historically been marketed to white audiences and reinforced white male artist stereotypes. (Photo by Paul R. Giunta/Invision/AP)In this June 21, 2020 photo, country rapper Breland poses for a portrait in Atlanta. Black artists say the country music industry still needs to do the hard work of addressing the systematic racial barriers that have been entrenched in country music for decades. The genre has historically been marketed to white audiences and reinforced white male artist stereotypes. (Photo by Paul R. Giunta/Invision/AP)This Nov. 18, 2018 photo shows country singer Rissi Palmer. Black artists say the country music industry still needs to do the hard work of addressing the systematic racial barriers that have been entrenched in country music for decades. The genre has historically been marketed to white audiences and reinforced white male artist stereotypes. (Chris Charles via AP)This Nov. 18, 2018 photo shows country singer Rissi Palmer. Black artists say the country music industry still needs to do the hard work of addressing the systematic racial barriers that have been entrenched in country music for decades. The genre has historically been marketed to white audiences and reinforced white male artist stereotypes. (Chris Charles via AP)This Nov. 18, 2018 photo shows country singer Rissi Palmer. Black artists say the country music industry still needs to do the hard work of addressing the systematic racial barriers that have been entrenched in country music for decades. The genre has historically been marketed to white audiences and reinforced white male artist stereotypes. (Chris Charles via AP)This 2019 image shows Chuck Harmony, left, and Claude Kelly of Louis York. Black artists say the country music industry still needs to do the hard work of addressing the systematic racial barriers that have been entrenched in country music for decades. The genre has historically been marketed to white audiences and reinforced white male artist stereotypes. (Jeremy Ryan via AP)
This combination of photos shows country singer Rissi Palmer, from left, Chuck Harmony, left, and Claude Kelly of Louis York and country rapper Breland. Black artists say the country music industry still needs to do the hard work of addressing the systematic racial barriers that have been entrenched in country music for decades. The genre has historically been marketed to white audiences and reinforced white male artist stereotypes. (Chris Charles via AP, left, Jeremy Ryan via AP, center and Paul R. Giunta/Invision/AP)
