Lil Nas X’s Hip Hop/country hybrid “Old Town Road” took the internet by a storm, first on Instagram, then Tik Tok, to finally being ripped from YouTube to the radio and debuting on Billboard’s cross-genre Hot 100 chart, Hot Country Songs chart and the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart all at once.
The bass-meets-banjo song’s legacy on the Country chart was short-lived, though, with Billboard quietly removing the viral single saying its initial inclusion was a mistake.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ho88VXJTBg#action=share
In a statement released to Rolling Stone, Billboard claimed “Old Town Road” does not “embrace enough elements of today’s country music” to remain included. However, some fans are suggesting the elimination was racially motivated.
The 19-year-old Atlanta artist’s song, that mentions both lean and Wranglers, is the latest in the series of country-leaning debates, following Lil Tracy’s “Like A Famer” and Young Thug’s “Family Don’t Matter,” that make antiquated genre-dividing look silly.
Lil Nas X intentionally debuted “Old Town Road” as a country song, listing it as such on his SoundCloud and iTunes.
According to Rolling Stone, after being signed to Columbia Records, the label decided against submitting the single for consideration on streaming country playlists, claiming Lil Nas X will never be accepted by Hip Hop fans with country accolades under his belt.
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should weird al yankovich get his ‘hiphop’ put on charts too lol thats the equilivent to what this song is lol its not country its a parody mixed with hiphop
That’s country and they know it he’s a black kid with a hit country song with sprinkle of hip hop in it all the knew country artists are doing it .
Lil Nas X? Who’s next, Young Jay M?
I aint mad @ it he aint scared to step out of bounds keep doin u lil bro lil nas x
This kind of music is not real country. Half of the “country” artists today use the same snap track as the last person and label it country. Country music is about listening to the story, and this song like others are pushing country music away from that and making it a party song instead.