πΎ πππ ππ½π π½πππππ πΎπ ππ½π π·πΆπΈπ π₯π¬π―π°π’ π±ππ π¨ π¦π° ππ±π±ππ π₯π’π‘ At this point, youβve probably heard these lyrics before. They come from Lil Nas Xβs recent hit, βOld Country Road,βΒ which his producer, Yungkio, describes as a βcountry trapβ song. Released in December of 2018, the track gained popularity through the #yeehaw challenge on the popular app TikTok, in which participants would transform themselves into cowboys as the song plays in the background. After the challenge went viral, the song took off, and eventually found itself as the No. 19 single on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.Β Instagram: @lilnasx That is, until, Billboard removed Lil Nas Xβs song from the charts completely, claiming the song was βnot embracing enough elements of todayβs country music.” A strange accusation to claim while, just last year, Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Lineβs country-EDM hybrid, Meant To Be, ruled the country charts. With that in mind, wouldnβt βOld Country Roadβ just be another product of this fresh new Β approach to country music? Why was Lil Nas Xβs song actually removed? In a recent interview with Times Magazine, Lil Nas X spoke on the controversial issue of his songβs unjustified removal by stating, βThe song is country trap. It’s not one, it’s not the other. It’s both. It should be on both.β He continues by adding, “I believe whenever youβre trying something new, it’s always going to get some kind of bad reception,β when asked if he believed if there was a racially motivated reason for the songβs removal.Β When the song was initially released, Lil Nas X tweeted, βjust because old town road has funny lines doesnβt mean itβs parody. it has a theme. anybody with ears can tell i put some kind of effort into that song.β Lil Nas X gained support from his fans, along with other musicians. Fellow rapper Ski Mask tha Slump God called Billboardβs action βdiscrimination at itβs finest,β while country singer Meghan Linsey said, βThat is some BS. Itβs got plenty of ‘country elements’ and its as ‘country’ as anything on country radio, tbh.β What was the real reason Lil Nas Xβs song was no longer considered βcountryβ enough for country? I mean, with just one listen, it’s clear that the song has a clear country vibe to it; so what was the real issue? Shane Morris, a former country music label employee who once worked for the largest music label in Nashville, composed a Twitter thread to add his insight on the whole situation.Β In it, Morris states that βOld Country Roadβ was removed because βthe [mainstream] terrestrial country music market is filled to a surfeit with racism and bigotry.β Morris brings up the point that βGIRLβ by Maren Morris and βGolden Hourβ by Kacey Musgraves are both pop-leaning songs, yet they still found a spot on the country Billboard chart. Morris then speaks upon the present racism in Nashvilleβs country music scene and the dominance of whiteness in the industry of country music as a whole and comments upon, βwhat they want country music to sound like, and more importantly… LOOK like.β Instagram: @lilnasx Unfortunately, the whiteness of the country music genre doesnβt come as a shocker to many; however, itβs a complacency that we should no longer allow. Country music has Black roots: it’s a fact. Author Pamela Foster writes in her book My Country: The African Diaspora’s Country Music Heritage that, βIn the antebellum South, banjos, fiddles, and harmonicas were the dominant instruments played in black culture. Unfortunately, history has distorted these facts to make people believe jazz, blues and spirituals were the staples of black culture at that time when, in fact, it was country.β Why is it that the country music industry excludes the very same group of people that they originate their sound from? Former country singer Cleve Francis states that “Black artists feel like they have been left out of a whole industry for no reason other than color. Country music has mirrored the racial divide in this country. Other forms, such as pop and opera, have integrated but . . . blacks have never been welcome in Nashville.” Morris reminds us in his Twitter thread that in the history of country music, only four Black men have ever topped Billboard’s Country charts, and now, with βOld Country Roadβ being taken off the charts, thatβs 25% of black men removed. Not a good statistic. The removal of Lil Nas Xβs song from the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart is unjustified, and an obviously racialized issue that reveals the overt racism present in the genre of country music. With that I say: To Billboard: reconsider Lil Nas Xβs placement. To Black artists: produce more country music. Letβs boil the blood of racist YTS. To Everyone: support Black country musicians. Article by Sunny SanghaΒ Share this:Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Leave a Reply Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published.CommentName* Email* Website Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Currently you have JavaScript disabled. In order to post comments, please make sure JavaScript and Cookies are enabled, and reload the page. Click here for instructions on how to enable JavaScript in your browser. Δ