18, a few months after Kid Rock released “Cowboy,” the single that many credit as the first ever country-rap song on wax. 2011’s comedically-enhanced “ Red Solo Cup ” peaked at No. By both cultural and sonic standards, “Old Town Road” is a country song, and the executive choice to deny it indicates how rules are often bent by institutions and gatekeepers that historically and continuously disqualify hip-hop’s cross-genre impact on music and pop culture as a whole.Īccording to critics and country songwriters, Keith’s “I Wanna Talk About Me” is not the only Country Songs charting entry from Keith that contains elements of rap. 19 on the Hot Country Songs chart, before it was revealed that Billboard decided to strike the track from the ranking, releasing a statement attesting that it did not “embrace enough elements of today’s country music.”īillboard’s removal of Lil Nas X from the country chart is blatant real-time erasure of a young black artist pushing the boundaries of country music, the same way his predecessors did. In December 2018, Lil Nas X released “Old Town Road.” The 19-year-old Atlanta artist’s song originally debuted at No.
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At the time of the song’s hype, outlets defined Keith’s fast-paced spoken word twang as “country-rap,” although the singer himself opined, “They’re going to call it a rap, there ain’t nobody doing rap who would call it a rap.” ” The track became the first country-rap song to top the Hot Country Songs chart on the Novemedition. 1 debut from Toby Keith, who made Billboard history four years prior with his song “ I Wanna Talk About Me. Ironically, that same chart featured a No. The opening frame of the video shows a marquee branding Cowboy Troy’s style of music as “Hick-Hop.” At one point, Cowboy Troy even raps “But I already been on the CMA’s/Hell Tim McGraw said he like the change/and he likes the way my hick-hop sounds.” It appeared, Billboard ’s Top Country Albums chart welcomed the change as well, as Cowboy Troy’s Loco Motive debuted and peaked at No.
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The song features a twangy hook sung by country duo Big & Rich, underscored by electric acoustic guitars and fiddling violins. 56, “I Play Chicken With The Train” eventually peaked at No. Source: Instagram After Billboard removed the rising artist’s viral track from its Hot Country Songs chart, a discussion about the technical and racial elements in genre gatekeeping emerged.Īround this time, 14 years ago, the self-proclaimed “Big Blackneck” country-rapper, Cowboy Troy, charted his first entry on Billboard ’s Hot Country Songs chart.