Dec. 17, 2021 was an average new music Friday; there were no superstar album launches or hotly anticipated single drops. But when music fans dove into their favorite streaming service, they may have stumbled on a new song that had them taking a double-take: Superstar country artist Morgan Wallen had released a new single called "Broadway Girls," featuring Southside Chicago's own Lil' Durk.
On the surface, the collaboration may have appeared odd. Wallen is a traditional country artist who sports plaid cut off t-shirts and cowboy boots on stage, and tells tales of dirt backroads. “Broadway Girls” is a follow-up to Wallen's Dangerous double LP, which set the record for the most weeks ever at No.1 on the Billboard Country albums chart. Lil' Durk, best known for his Voice of the Heroes collaborative album with Lil' Baby and his appearance on Drake's "Laugh Now, Cry Later," is a rapper from the Southside of Chicago.
That rebellious spirit is reaching the youth in small town America. Kidd G, an 18-year-old from Hamilton, Georgia, a town of just over 1,000 people, grew up freestyling and listening to artists like Chance the Rapper. He is now cracking the Top 40 country charts with emo sing-rapping flows such as those on "Small Town Girl."
Country rap artist UpChurch, formerly known as Upchurch the Redneck, began his career as a comedian posting videos to YouTube. His 2021 album Same Ol, Same Ol charted as high as No. 17 on the Billboard country albums chart and he currently has over 1.5 million monthly listeners on Spotify. His most recent project, People’s Champ, features a collaboration with Boosie Badazz on the song "YZ Remix," where the two rap of Range Rovers, creeks, pistols and country living.
These artists follow a trend in country music that has been happening for several years now: Hip-hop music and culture are weaving their way into the genre's fabric. Yet the marriage of hip-hop's liberal sensibilities with the often conservative culture of country music presents unique challenges. Even for its own artists, country music has traditionally been less than welcoming to ideas that don't fit neatly within the genre's narrative.
During a 2003 concert, the Chicks' lead singer Natalie Manes called out then-President George H.W. Bush's war in Iraq, telling the audience that she was "ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas." As a result, the Dixie Chicks (the group has since dropped "dixie" from their name) were banned from country radio.
And while she wasn’t banned from country radio as a result of her statement, Maren Morris openly supported Joe Biden and Kamala Harris during the 2020 Presidential election saying that she believes "country music is for everyone, and so is this country." The statement stood out in an overwhelmingly conservative country music fanbase.
This begs the question, is country music ready for hip-hop's infiltration and outspoken views?
"Social media and streaming's ability to remove context from culture has significantly benefited hip-hop and country's commingling," says Marcus K. Dowling, the Tennessean's country music reporter. "A 'great song' is now far more defined by sound than by its vocalist's racial, ethnic or social background."
A 2013 article in the Tampa Bay Times titled "Country and rap music are more alike than you think" highlighted the similarities between the genres, including their respective penchants for partying and the sense of pride that runs through their individual musical styles. "Rappers and country stars…share the same template," Sean Daly wrote.
The template Daly speaks of is rooted heavily in the pride both genre's artists share for their hometown roots. There isn't much difference between Lil' Durk talking about the gritty streets of the Southside and Wallen talking about the dirt-filled backroads of his Tennessee hometown. Through their music, each artist holds their upbringing in high regard.
One artist that has managed to blur the lines between country music and hip-hop with significant success is Blanco Brown. As the self-proclaimed inventor of "trailer trap" music, Blanco saw monster success in 2019 with his single "The Git Up," which topped the Hot Country Songs chart and landed in the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100.
Brown grew up in a rural Southern town and was drawn to the relatability of country music. "What drew me to it was growing up in Butler, Georgia, in the summertime listening to Sammi Smith," says Brown of his affinity for the female country music legend. "I can relate to that. I don't know nothing about no drugs, no prostitutes," Brown says, referring to hip-hop's penchant for lyrics about drugs and sex.
The blending of country and hip-hop first saw a flash of success in 2004 when Nelly collaborated with country legend Tim McGraw on the single "Over and Over," which peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. But instead of setting off a wave of prosperous country and rap collaborations, the meshing of the genres largely disappeared.
"People still didn't understand what it was," Brown says of the 2004 collaboration. "They just thought it was a cool song. You had Nelly, and Tim McGraw in their prime and Tim McGraw was already legendary."
In 2012, Nelly, again mixed country and hip-hop by appearing on the remix of "Cruise," the hit song by country duo Florida Georgia Line.
This time, "Cruise" spurred more country and rap collaborations from artists like Ludacris, Carrie Underwood, Jason Aldean, Young Thug, and others, though no song reached the same height. That was until 2019, when a new song eclipsed not only "Cruise" but also any expectations of what could become of country meeting rap music.
In March 2019, Columbia Records re-released "Old Town Road," a twangy country-rap ode to riding horses over a trap-influenced beat that was originally released independently in December 2018. Athen-unknown Black artist named Lil' Nas X, had unwittingly recorded what would become one of the best-selling singles of all time — accelerated when Nas X released a remix of "Old Town Road" with country legend Billy Ray Cyrus.
It would also put rap and country at the forefront of the music industry together as they had never been before. But aside from the monstrous success of Lil Nas X, why are these two genres finding such paired success? Blanco Brown chalks it up to music fans driving cultural shifts in the sounds of the industry.
"The world knows what it needs and wants. That's how to create new things," says Brown. "Why separate the two genres? There shouldn't ever be a musical genre, and those things should have never been put in place. The world is starting to hear things with a free form abstract ear."
And Brown is looking to capitalize on the brewing marriage of rap and country music with a collaborative album with one of hip-hop’s biggest superstars.
“TIP is my homie”, says Brown referring to multi-platinum rap superstar T.I. “We got a whole album together. We’re going to name it Trailer Trap. Trailer park music meets trap music. I’m just bridging the gap by bringing him in.”
But there is also something else at play. Despite the significant challenges of racial divides highlighted by evening newscasts across America, rural America, which has traditionally been an overwhelmingly white demographic, is changing. And along with that change comes more co-mingling of musical tastes.
"Population shifts have moved rural whites and urban-to-rural Black people much closer together than ever before," says Dowling. "So for millennials — especially those from not-so-traditionally urban upbringings, racial differences are far less common than ever."
And while we do know that music streaming has made people draw less defined lines between the genres of music they listen to, Brown again stresses the similarities between the two genres.
"They are one and the same. It's storytelling," Brown says of country and hip-hop's uncanny abilities to weave strong narratives. "The artists in both of those worlds want them to work together, and it's radio that holds it back. When I walk into sessions with these country producers and songwriters, they say, " Man, we've been waiting for your style."
It doesn't appear that the fans or artists have been holding back the further co-mingling of country and hip-hop but rather the engrained Nashville establishment.
"Country music's establishment will always solidly be on the fence regarding anything that oversaturates its already lucrative and thriving revenue streams," remarks Dowling.
A fuller embrace of hip-hop will require country to more deeply diversify its already existing revenue streams. The jury is still out on whether this trend will continue, but these rising artists and popular appetite for this meld is a sign that audiences, and industry, are shifting toward acceptance.