Asia
The 7 best & worst Hip Hop x Country crossovers
1MILL’s new Country Rap song ‘What I Been On’ makes history
Do Hip Hop and Country music go together? It depends on who you ask. The South has been the home of Hip Hop for the last decade or two, so there is a lot of Country music there, plus ‘Old Town Road’ was one of the biggest surprise hits. BUT, Country music is not that great. Let’s just admit it. Hip Hop was built on breakbeats instead of twangy guitars and average-sounding harmonicas.
On 1MILL’s ‘What I Been On,’ released on December 30, the Thai Hip Hop artist dons a cowboy hat, rides some horses, and goes full country with the track. It’s making history as the first Asian Hip Hop Country song.
We’ve decided to look at a handful of Country Rap songs and let you decide for yourself if they are listenable or not.
1MILL ‘What I Been On’
1MILL has been on a hot streak since he started, so it’s only right he tries something different. Trap Country vibe is strong on this one as he cosplays cowboys as he explains how he fell in love with money. It’s high on the listenable scale for Country Rap for sure.
Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus ‘Old Town Road’
‘Old Town Road’ and Lil Nas X’s come up is one of the feel-good stories in Hip Hop because he’s done so much in such a short amount of time. This song was everywhere and is probably the biggest Country Rap song ever.
Kenny Rogers x Coolio ‘Hustler’
A great story about Coolio is that he came to a nightclub in Taipei after performing at a Red Bull event and the management asked him if he wanted to do a song. He said he would do it for sure….for US$5000. They paid him and he did it. I can’t tell who needed money more - Coolio or Kenny Rogers - but either way it’s a big thumbs down.
Nelly x Whatever Country artist will sign the check
Even though Nelly is from St. Louis, he definitely thinks he’s country. One of his biggest hits is called ‘Country Grammer.’ So he’s game to be on a song with Kane Brown, Tim McGraw or Flordia Georgia Line, or even Blanco Brown. These songs are listenable for a quick amount of time, but it’s better when they join him for his hits.
Bubba Sparxxx ‘Ugly’
Bubba was a Country rapper down with Missy and Timbo, so he got some crazy beats while he chased pigs in the mud. This is a Hip Hop classic through and through, but Bubba had some pretty deep and thought-provoking album cuts, too.
LL Cool J x Brad Paisley ‘Accidental Racist’
It’s hard to put into words how bad this song is. Hall of Fame rapper LL Cool J has made some questionable decisions in his life, but this may be his worst one. EVER. This song was terrible in 2013 when it came out and Uncle L was forced to defend it, but in 2022, it’s even worse if that’s possible.