19 year old Atlanta artist Lil Nas X released on song called “Old Town Road” last year and it began to blow up. Thanks in part to the app Tik Tok, where a sample of the song was used in some of the apps most popular uploads.
Lil Nas X expressed his gratitude in a Fader interview by saying:
“I should maybe be paying TikTok,”he said. “They really boosted the song. It was getting to the point that it was almost stagnant. When TikTok hit it, almost every day since that, the streams have been up. I credit them a lot.”
Despite being used as a sort of “meme”, the fact remains that this is a legitimately good song.
It has elements of country and elements of Atlanta trap fused together perfectly in a track that’s catchy, not too long, and will definitely get stuck in your head.
The song kept gaining traction and ended up on Billboard’s “Hot Country Songs” chart. That is, until Billboard decided to remove the song from that list entirely.
Some critics and outlets tried to point to the artist’s race as the reason. Lil Nas X himself doesn’t agree with that assessment, saying that Billboard had a problem with Country Trap, not his race. He stated to Fader that his song is, “country trap. It’s not one, it’s not the other.” and that it should be reflected in charts dedicated to both genres.
I see no reason why a pop act like Sam Hunt or Taylor Swift can dominate the country charts, but an artist who’s blending trap and country gets disregarded.
In regards to the genre of “Country Trap” he went on to say,
“I believe whenever you’re trying something new, it’s always going to get some kind of bad reception. For example, when rap started, or when rock and roll began. But with country trap, I in no way want to take credit for that. I believe Young Thug would be one of the biggest pioneers in that.”
Check out the visual for “Old Town Road” below:
