Backlash after Lil Nas X song nixed from Billboard country chart

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Last edited Thu Apr 11, 2019, 09:01 AM - Edit history (1)

Set against a cowboy-themed game, the music video for Lil Nas X's "Old Town Road" uses language of the Wild Wild West with a hip hop spin. The genre-blending tune was a breakout hit five weeks ago when it debuted on three Billboard charts at the same time: the Hot 100, Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs and Hot Country Songs. But Billboard quietly removed the song from the country chart the following week, reports CBS News correspondent Jericka Duncan. It later issued a statement saying the song "does not embrace enough elements of today's country music to chart in its current version." Lil Nas X responded on Genius.com. "I started to think about it, I was like, you know, why? After like listening to other songs that's actually on that chart, it's like, wait a minute, something's not right, basically," Lil Nas X said. Rolling Stone reporter Elias Leight said it's traditionally been challenging for black artists to break through on the country charts. "It's often true that black performers are not really allowed to move between genres with the same ease that white performers are," Leight said.

Lil Nas X first uploaded "Old Town Road" to the music streaming service SoundCloud back in December. It took off when listeners posted short videos set to the track on the social media app, TikTok. "In several markets, radio programmers actually ripped the song off YouTube just so they would have something to play," Leight said. For one established country artist, the fact that "Old Town Road" was not embraced as a country song was heartbreaking. Billy Ray Cyrus tweeted: "I thought, it's honest, humble, and has an infectious hook, and a banjo. What the h--- more do ya need?" So he decided to collaborate with Lil Nas X on a remix.

"The song deserves to be on every chart," country music artist Jimmie Allen said. His debut single "Best Shot" was No. 1 for three weeks on country radio.

"I came into this genre as a new artist from a small town in Delaware and I'm a black guy. And I had strikes against me that people thought might stop me, but yet the country community helped welcome me in," Allen said. Billboard maintains its decision to take "Old Town Road" off the country chart had absolutely nothing to do with the race of the artist. "Either way it's a good song, it's catchy, and people are talking about it, and they're playing it. And at the end of the day, that's all that artists want. So Lil Nas, bro, [thumbs up]," Allen said. Billboard said it welcomes the buzz created by genre-blending songs like "Old Town Road," and it could revisit its decision to remove it from the Hot Country Songs chart. It said factors determining which chart a song lives on include musical composition, airplay, and how it's platformed on streaming services.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/music/news/backlash-after-lil-nas-x-song-nixed-from-billboard-country-chart/ar-BBVNISR?li=BBnb7Kz

[Oneironaut]

1. lol This is funny because there is no country music anymore.

It's all pop / light-rock garbage with inserted beat tracks. It's nearly indistinguishable from stuff made by pop-artists.

This isn't "country" enough? Neither is country music in 2019.

[tulipsandroses]

2. Never heard it before but Kudos to Billy Ray Cyrus for teaming up with him

I say that because, with everything that divides us. Its always nice when we find something that unites us! I will add this to my playlist.

[Fullduplexxx]

3. Racism in country music whodathunkit.

Country music is pretty much the bottom of the music barrell you would think the industry would welcome any talent they get but then there's that racism to consider

[erpowers]

4. Country Music Industry Not Racist

The country music is not racist. I do not consider Lil Nas X's song country music. It is a rap song. The lyrics do not matter to me; it about how the lyrics are presented. To me the lyrics are presented in rap form.

Country music has had number black stars. Charlie Pride, as far as I know, was one of the most successful country music artists. Also, Darius Rucker has been very successful in country music. He has been embraced by many in the industry. Mickey Guyton has also been embraced the country music industry.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

5. Yeah, it is.

The exceptions you note prove the rule. Pride and Rucker are only the second and third black performers to join the Grand Ole Opry, for example -- and they did so decades apart. There are plenty of songs that are coded "country" that have rap deliveries. Billboard blew it here. This song is a banger.

[uponit7771]

7. +1

[JI7]

8. the Audience for it is very racist. there was an ugly ugly backlash when Beyonce performed at

some country music awards show a few years ago. it was another sign of the trump support .

Beyonce was brought on to try to bring a wider audience to the music . but the usual ones who think they own it lashed out some ugly ass shit.

[Captain Stern]

9. Yet, Colt Ford's (who is white) 'Ride Through The Country' made the country charts.

This is every bit as much a rap song as Lil Nas X's song.

[Iggo]

11. And that number is probably a single digit.

[malaise]

12. Wasn't Charlie Pride 'invisible' for years? n/t

[Codeine]

6. Pseudo-artists arguing about the flavor

of their pre-chewed pop music product. Hyper-commercial garbage for the zombie-minded.

[aikoaiko]

10. It is infectious. Billboard is behaving badly - racist.

But when he references the black stetson, I think he pronounces matte black as matty black and that drives me a little nuts when I hear it.