Earlier today (March 19), Beyoncé hopped on Instagram to send a heartfelt message to her fans ahead of her highly anticipated act ii COWBOY CARTER project. First, she thanked everyone involved in the success of the singles "TEXAS HOLD 'EM" and "16 CARRIAGES."

"I feel honored to be the first Black woman with the No. 1 single on the Hot Country Songs chart. That would not have happened without the outpouring of support from each and every one of you," she wrote. "My hope is that years from now, the mention of an artist’s race, as it relates to releasing genres of music, will be irrelevant."

King Bey then broke down the factors that brought COWBOY CARTER to fruition. "This album has been over five years in the making. It was born out of an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed... and it was very clear that I wasn’t," she revealed. "But because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of country music and studied our rich musical archive. It feels good to see how music can unite so many people around the world, while also amplifying the voices of some of the people who have dedicated so much of their lives educating [us] on our musical history."

She continued, "The criticisms I faced when I first entered this genre forced me to propel past the limitations that were put on me. act ii is a result of challenging myself, and taking my time to bend and blend genres together to create this body of work." Beyoncé also confirmed that there will be "a few surprises" on the project and made it clear that the body of work isn't aligned with any typical genre. "This ain’t a country album. This is a 'Beyoncé' album," she declared.

Check out her entire IG post below.