Mickey Gayton beats racism by singing the National Anthem for the Super Bowl

As a black country artist, Mickey Gayton has spent the past year breaking down barriers of color – and gender – in the predominantly white male genre.

She gave a solid performance of her song “black like me” At the Grammys, she was the first African-American woman to co-host the ACM Awards and rocked a huge afro when I did “I love my hair” in CMAs.

Now, the 38-year-old singer – his debut album, “Remember her name,” Three Grammy Awards in April – You’ll have another memorable moment when you perform the national anthem at the Super Bowl on Sunday.

“It’s Black History Month, and a black country singer can sing the national anthem at the Super Bowl. Wow,” Guyton told the newspaper. “This is a big moment for me. It’s a great moment for black people. And I want to represent that in the best way I can.”

Before Los Angeles Rams deal with the Cincinnati Bengals At SoFi Stadium in Englewood, California, Gayton plans to unite players, fans, and the country into a song.

“I defined Nyami by chanting the national anthem. She said, ‘Well, teamwork is what I really want.’ So, I felt the way people would feel together if I had a choir, with people that I think represented America. And you know, I have everyone from my black queen to a retarded cowboy to a one-legged girl in this chorus. And this is the America I’m most proud of – we all stand together. We all belong.”

Overcoming racism

However, there are those who didn’t feel like Gayton belonged in country music just because of the color of her skin. Even after all her groundbreaking success in 2021, the 2022 Texas native started tackling one of those racist trolls who tweeted, “We don’t want the country music you love!” What is Gayton’s response? “Bless your little heart.”

She said, “When you see something like that, you’re like, ‘This person doesn’t even know who I am and what I stand for.’” It’s like you can’t even fight with some of these people because what comes out of their mouths is just ignorance. He’s like an asshole. You can’t argue with someone like that. “

Despite this resistance, There was a movement happening With black country artists — from Ken Brown and Jimmy Allen to veteran Darius Rucker — they’ve made strides in Nashville. However, Guyton is not satisfied.

“I want to see more women,” she said. “It’s not enough to make one black woman in country music—or anywhere else. It’s not enough, like, there can’t be just one.”

Game day plans

For now, though, Gayton enjoys a national anthem recording win on the biggest stage of the game. She’s proud to share the field with some other black artists It will be shown during the first half: Kendrick Lamar, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and the Queen of Hip Hop Soul, Mary J. Blige.

“I think I’m so excited to see Mary J. Blige perform the classic Mary dance,” she said. “This is going to be one of the best halftime shows, and I can’t believe I’m part of the Super Bowl doing it.”

As for who you’ll root for during the big game – once you can relax with a glass of wine – it’s the rams along the way.

“my husband [lawyer Grant Savoy] He is from Los Angeles, so he is a fan of the Rams. At the earliest they came [back] to Los AngelesHe gave up his team, which was originally the Philadelphia Eagles,” Gayton said. “So he would kill me—or shoot me, not kill me—if I go for anyone else.”