Beyoncé talks music, whiskey, family — and why no 'Cowboy Carter' visuals — in GQ

A day after the CMA Awards snub, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter is turning heads as she graces the latest cover of GQ magazine, where she opens up about mastering multiple lanes, expanding her legacy and life behind-the-scenes.

GQ magazine, an international monthly men's magazine, features the "Cowboy Carter" creator in its October issue, where she stuns in many different outfits, rocking platinum blonde hair — one of her many signature looks. Moreover, she talks all things business, legacy, family and art.

In the GQ interview, Beyoncé got candid over email about a number of topics, namely her business ventures and how they are woven into her career. When asked about her latest brands, like SirDavis whiskey and her Cécred hair care line, she made it clear that her entrepreneurial projects are always deliberate and bigger than herself.

She told the magazine: "I’m here to focus on the quality. We took our time, and we did our research, and we have earned respect for our brand. I try to choose integrity over shortcuts. I’ve learned that true success isn’t about leaning on a name; it’s about crafting something genuine, something that can hold its own. It’s not about being perfect. It’s about being revolutionary."

As fans know, she released her acclaimed Cécred hair care line Feb. 20. Recently, she announced her newest brand, SirDavis whiskey, which honors her great-grandfather Davis Hogue, who was a successful moonshiner in the American South during Prohibition.

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"I get excited about love, legacy, and longevity. Do I love what I am trying to create for the love of it? I am discovering that legacy is the common denominator in all the businesses that I have done," she wrote. "I’m drawn to authenticity. I don’t waste my time on something unless I’m deeply passionate about it. If I don’t wake up thinking about it and I’m not going to sleep dreaming about it, it’s not for me."

However she makes it clear, "I am a musician first. 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."

Of course, she wrote about her lastest album "Cowboy Carter," its significance and her history with creating genre-bending music.

"From the start of my career and on every album, I have always mixed genres," she wrote. "Whether it is R&B, Dance, Country, Rap, Zydeco, Blues, Opera, Gospel, they have all influenced me in some way. I have favorite 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 color, have been creating and mastering multiple genres, since forever."

Beyoncé also opened up about the burden of fame and constantly being in the limelight, but using music as a form of freedom.

"In fact, I only work on what liberates me. It is fame that can at times feel like prison," she wrote. "So, when you don’t see me on red carpets, and when I disappear until I have art to share, that’s why."

As far as a sense of normalcy and her other simple pleasures behind the spotlight, she told GQ the best movie she's seen this year is "Inside Out 2" and she currently watching "House of the Dragon" and "The Chi." She also talked about her respect for female singers and songwriters including Miley Cyrus, Raye, Victoria Monét, Sasha Keable, Chloe x Halle, Reneé Rapp, Doechii, GloRilla and Sabrina Carpenter. And she gave a special shoutout to That Mexican OT.

And it's clear that motherhood is a priority.

She told the magazine, "Most days I try to wake up around 6 a.m., squeezing in an hour or two of work before the little ones are up. Parenting while working, I move forward, embracing the beauty and the chaos of it all. ... Our home is alive with cousins and friends, spontaneous talent shows, and the clatter of dominoes."

She added, "I build my work schedule around my family. I try to only tour when my kids are out of school. I always dreamt of a life where I could see the world with my family and expose them to different languages, architecture, and lifestyles."

And as far as the Beyhive itching for any visuals for her latest projects, it seems the superstar has switched gears this time around.

"I thought it was important that during a time where all we see is visuals, that the world can focus on the voice. The music is so rich in history and instrumentation. It takes months to digest, research, and understand. The music needed space to breathe on its own," she wrote. "Sometimes a visual can be a distraction from the quality of the voice and the music. The years of hard work and detail put into an album that takes over four years! The music is enough. The fans from all over the world became the visual. We all got the visual on tour. We then got more visuals from my film."

Follow Caché McClay, the USA TODAY Network's Beyoncé Knowles-Carter reporter, on Instagram, TikTok and X as @cachemcclay.