Country rap, sometimes known as country hip-hop or even hick-hop, is a fusion of hip-hop-style singing and rapping with traditional country music. Two Southern music hubs—Nashville, renowned as the center of country music, and Atlanta, known for its hip-hop scene—often produce country rap songs.
People who love music and inspires by it, know what is the modern trend of music in recent times. But people who don’t take much interest in music don’t know it at all.
Before starting with detailed information about country rap, we should know about the trend of modern music and its types.
Modern Music And Its Types
Modern music actually a combination of different themes, singing styles, tracks, and genres. There is not only one genre, music varies with the interests and emotions of the public.
Younger generation mostly like pop and rock styles. Whereas, kids love slow or sometimes rock. Older or above 40s people like classical or traditional songs.
Music, depending on different genres, is divided into the following types:
- Rock music genre
- Country rap genre
- Classical genre
- Blues music genre
- Jazz music genre
- Pop music genre
- Christian music genre
- Disco music genre
- Folk music genre
- Soul music genre
Music can never end in a single genre. It has no limits. There are so many other genres in music, but according to our topic, let’s learn about the country rap genre of music.
What is Country Rap?
A musical genre known as “country rap” fuses hip-hop lyrics with country music’s lyrical and song structure. Country rap, also known as country hip-hop or just hick-hop, is a mix of hip-hop-style singing, rapping, and traditional country music.
A country rap song generally has a hip-hop beat with elided snare and kick drums. These lyrics typically emphasize country themes (such as cowboys, heartbreak, and the old west) and traditional country instrumentation like an audial guitar, a slide guitar, a banjo, and heavily logged background vocals.
Rock, blues, and philosophy have all been included by musicians in this genre’s recent rise to prominence. The songs constantly discuss family, love, and working hard while tackling social and political concerns.
History of the Country Rap Genre
The finest country rap songs always have a country singer singing while rap artists contribute the rap verses. Jason Aldean sings and raps the song “Dirt Road Anthem,” released in 2011.
Country rapper Colt Ford wrote the music, and Jason Aldean recorded it for his fourth studio album, “My Kinda Party.” A cowboy chilling on a dirt road with an ice-cold beer is described in the song. He’s chilling out while driving and flashing back to the good old days.
With over 4 million sales, “Dirt Road Anthem” became the most successful male solo artist digital download. Aldean was nominated for a Grammy for his efforts as well.
Cowboy Troy, a country rap singer, released “I Play Chicken.” His first mega-hit off his debut album, Loco Motive, a lively, upbeat song about pushing limits, was “With the Train,” which launched his musical career.
Most people assume that rap and country do not mix, but this song proves them wrong, supporting our claim that it’s about pushing limits.
The narrator describes his country rap sound as “hick-hop” and claims that Tim McGraw said he liked the change, a statement that’s echoed by many of his fans. The song peaked at 48 on the Hot Country Songs list and was the best-selling iTunes download for one day in 2005.
The Top Country Albums chart and the Top Rap Albums list saw Loco Motive make a fantastic debut. Country rap fans are less likely to have access to the Internet services needed to stream or download music; hence, physical record sales of country rap albums are higher in more remote places.
Country Rap Events
There are a lot of country rap events where musicians get together to perform for over 7,000 spectators. The epithet “hick-hop” is often criticized by several southern musicians, with Struggle Jennings stating, “I love the country, I love the South, I have gone fishing and hunting, but I am not a hick. I do not like hip-hop.”
Due to some right-leaning politics raised by musicians like Upchurch and Forgiato Blow, the political philosophy of country rap artists is seen as right-secular or conservative; nevertheless, the political ideology of country rap artists spans the complete range of political opinions.
What are the Basic Characteristics of Country Rap?
Country rap is based on the combination of hip-hop theme of harmonic language and structural country music.
Popular country rap artists include Danny Boone, Jawga Boyz, and Struggle Jennings. Others include Cowboy Troy, Lil Nas X, Upchurch, Moonshine Bandits, Big Smo, and Bottleneck.
The basic country rap characteristics include the following:
- Southern Roots: Combination of Nashville and Atlanta
- Hybrid Style: Combination of rapping and singing with hip hop theme
- High rankings for the country rap genre: An artist who is good in both the Billboard country and rap chart reaches a high rank.
Popular Country Rap Singers and Their Songs
| Song Title | Name of Singer |
| Old Town Road | Lil Nas X |
| The Git Up | Blanco Brown |
| Dirt Road Anthem | Jason Aldean |
| Ghetto Cowboy | Bone Thugs and Harmony |
| Still My Hero | Jelly Roll |
| The Champion | Carrie Underwood |
| Family Don’t Matter | Young Thug |
| Back | Colt Ford |
| Till It’s Gone | Yelawolf |
| Country Folks | Bubba Sparxx |
| Ridin High | Jawga Boyz |
| Cruise | Florida Georgia Line |
| Cowboy | Kid Rock |
| California Country | Moonshine Bandits |
| Po’ Folks | Anthony Hamilton |
| Kickin Up Mud | The Lacs |
| Awnaw | Jazze Pha |
| Over and Over | Tim Mac Graw |
| Radio Jam | Upchurch |
| Son of a Sinner | Jelly Roll |
| Dirty Side | Colt Ford |
| Superman | Snoop Dogg |
It’s impossible to mention all the country rap songs in one place. The journey is not ended here. New techniques and streaming will develop to release more rap songs.
Some Interesting Facts About Hip Hop Genre
- According to scholars, the country rap genre is a polyculture genre that emerges in history and modern society music.
- Financially, Jay-Z is the first billionaire who is the top richest man in the hip-hop genre. Nicki Minaj is one of the wealthiest females in the rap genre.
- The first official successful album of the country rap genre was The Sugar Hill Gang Rapper’s Delight.
- The genre is specifically dominated by men, and only a few females reached success in the stream.
- The symbol of rapping is MC-ING.
Conclusion
- After the detailed description of the country rap genre, we can say that it is a music genre that blends modern country music and hip-hop-style singing in one genre.
- There are so many music artists who worked in the country rap genre. However, Mikel Knight is known as the king of the country rap genre.
- The genre originated in the 1970s when singers isolated slow folk and pop music.
- The country rap genre is quite popular in the teenage generation rather than other age groups.
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