Lil Nas X hit 'Old Town Road' pulled from Billboard country chart, sparking outcry

By Bradford Betz | Fox News


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“Old Town Road,” a viral hit from rapper Lil Nas X, has been removed from Billboard’s Hot Country chart because it supposedly isn’t “country enough.”

The song, a rap/country crossover that juxtaposes Western and cowboy-themed imagery to a trap beat, debuted at No. 19 on Billboard’s Hot County chart just three weeks ago.

"Upon further review, it was determined that 'Old Town Road' by Lil Nas X does not currently merit inclusion on Billboard's country charts," Billboard said in a statement. "When determining genres, a few factors are examined, but first and foremost is musical composition. While 'Old Town Road' incorporates references to country and cowboy imagery, it does not embrace enough elements of today's country music to chart in its current version."

“Old Town Road” remains on rap/hip hop charts and reached 32 on the all-genre Hot 100 chart. The music video on YouTube features clips from the videogame "Red Dead Redemption 2," and has received more than 15 million views, with 426,000 likes.

Shortly after the song was dropped, the rapper posted a headline of the news on his Instagram page, writing: "extremely disappointed," along with a "sadface" emoji.

A post shared by on Jan 01, 2017 at 12:00pm PDT

Critics suggested that the rapper, who is black, was singled out because of his race and pointed out that crossover songs are routinely included on country charts.

Billboard fired back, stating that its decision to take the song off of the country chart "had absolutely nothing to do with the race of the artist.”

Lil Nas X was recently signed to Columbia Records.

A post shared by on Jan 01, 2017 at 12:00pm PDT

The song has spawned dance videos and received a shout-out on social media from Justin Bieber. Texas Tech's basketball team posted a video of the team dancing to the song in the locker room and country singer Jake Owen tweeted at the rapper, saying he wanted to jam with him.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ho88VXJTBg

Im only interested in what the Black Press has to say...

Oh and BTW.. White boy can dance in the 'thguru' instagram post...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Muddy

Im only interested in what the Black Press has to say...

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Apparently, Billboard Doesn't Think Lil Nas X's Country Hit 'Old Town Road' Has Enough 'Country Elements' for Its Chart
Tonja Renée Stidhum - The Root


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Remember that time Beyoncé performed “Daddy Lessons” at the Country Music Awards (CMAs) with the Dixie Chicks (in an extra-loaded and delightfully shady move, given the group’s comments about George W. Bush and their subsequent snubbing) and Cranky Caucausia got in their feelings about it?

Good times.

Cut to now.

So, there’s this artist named Lil Nas X. Want to see him? Here he go:

A post shared by on Jan 01, 2017 at 12:00pm PDT

He has a new song called “Old Town Road,” which quickly became a hit, landing on coveted charts such as Billboard’s Hot 100, Hot Country Songs, and Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs. Additionally, the young artist recently signed to Columbia Records, who described the song as a “country-inspired rap track,” “a country song,” and “a country trap song” in its press release. The song is also listed under the “Country” category on iTunes and Soundcloud.

However, Billboard has decided to remove the song from its charts. Why? It ain’t country enough for them.

Billboard told Rolling Stone in a statement, “upon further review, it was determined that ‘Old Town Road’ by Lil Nas X does not currently merit inclusion on Billboard‘s country charts. When determining genres, a few factors are examined, but first and foremost is musical composition. While ‘Old Town Road’ incorporates references to country and cowboy imagery, it does not embrace enough elements of today’s country music to chart in its current version.”

So, I’m only just into a little bit of country (hey “Jolene”!) and I’d never heard of Lil Nas X until this controversy (I thought his moniker was the product of an “If Nas and Director X Had a Baby” name generator), but I definitely know what a country song sounds like. This sounds country song-ish as fuck.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ho88VXJTBg

Several folks took to social media to express just how bullshit this decision was and we all couldn’t help but notice Lil Nas X’s key feature: he is black-black-bliggety-blackety-black.

CMA nominee Meghan Linsey said his song had plenty of “country elements,” in fact.

Lil Nas X, who was clearly disappointed when he heard the news, also joined the convo, perfectly executing the “Too Much Dip In Ya Chip” meme from comedian Kountry Wayne:

Despite the obvious optics of this whole thing, Billboard assures us this isn’t about his blackness.

“Billboard’s decision to take the song off of the country chart had absolutely nothing to do with the race of the artist,” a Billboard spokesperson told Genius.

Sure, Jan.



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And the comments at the end of the article don't disappoint: https://thegrapevine.theroot.com/app...y-h-1833634990

At least homeboy knows how to wear a ball cap properly.. :lol:

Top screenshot in latest post is from the video game Red Dead Redemption 2. Pretty much a white cowboy simulator :rofl: