The Evolution of Country Rap

 I chose to do this blog on country rap. I listen to country music all the time, pretty much on the daily but I also listen to other genres of music, and rap is included in that, so I thought this would be the perfect topic for me to do. 

My first point in this begins with Bubba Sparxx. 



Back in the 80's and 90's, Bubba took the hip-hop beats and rhymes and mixed them with country stories. His hit song, "Ugly", was one of the main songs that really allowed this genre to take off and become something big. "Ugly was produced by Timbaland and was released in 2001 in the US. (more info about that here. You can listen to it here, on YouTube.


My next point is on Kidd G. 


By the time he was 16, Kidd G started writing his own music. His single, "Dirt Road", which was also his first attempt at country music, hit No.40 on hot country songs. One of my favorite songs by him is Teenage Dream, and you can listen to it here. It was produced by Kidd G & Bonnie Dymond and was released in 2020.


As I stated earlier, country rap has been around since the 90's. It's grown a lot in popularity since then. Other popular artists like Jelly Roll, have music that falls into this category and is played on the radio quite frequently on multiple different channels that play different genres of music (hip-hop, country). The main key with this genre and genres like it is finding a way to balance the styles and weave them together. 

One musical element that I think has changed from the first song to the second is the tone. The first one is a lot more rap-like and has a faster tempo, whereas the second one is a lot more country-like and has a slower tempo. 

I personally prefer the song by Kidd G, but I think that may just be because I'm more drawn to country music as opposed to rap music. 


Works Cited

Caramanica, Jon. “Meet Kidd G, Country Music’s next Emo-Rap Star.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 14 Jan. 2021, www.nytimes.com/2021/01/14/arts/music/kidd-g-country-rap.html. 

“Kidd G – Teenage Dream.” Genius, genius.com/Kidd-g-teenage-dream-lyrics. Accessed 6 Mar. 2024. 

Megan Grisham·Music·September 24, 2023. “How Exactly Did ‘country Rap’ Become a Popular Music Genre?” Circle All Access - Country Plays Here, 25 Sept. 2023, www.circleallaccess.com/how-did-country-rap-become-a-popular-music-genre/. 

Comments

  1. HollyMarch 10, 2024 at 7:31 PM

    I had never thought about country rap as its own genre. I agree that is most definitely up and coming and gaining more popularity. I do wonder how the idea to mix the two genres came together though. I think with the popularity of tiktok and people blending songs together to make remixes for videos that this genre has help boosting its popularity.

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