With lyrics that start with a horseback ride down the “old town road”, Lil Nas’ Old Town Road has become the biggest hit of the year. Despite the popularity and importance of country in American pop music, such success is explained by the unusual mix of rhythm with hip-hop, another buzz of huge appeal to the American public. And it’s not just him.
Responsible for the bold proposal is Lil Nas X, 20 years old.
The lead time for the Hot 100 matched that of Bayside Boys’ 1996 Macarena remix as the longest-running debut artist song in the nº 1 spot. Marks hit by Old Town Road include the longest-running hip-hop title in first place – beating Eminem’s Lose Yourself.
One detail that says a lot about the song, is that it arrived appearing in the country targeted listing before it became a worldwide hit. But was eventually excluded by Billboard itself in April.
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In interviews, Nas prefers to define his music as a “trap-country”. That is the fusion of hip-hop’s most melodic strand with the traditional style.
Although his biggest hit is Old Town Road, Lil Nas X did not follow the country footprint for the rest of his EP. He chooses to use traditional guitars and hip-hop beats.
This does not mean that he is the same as other young rappers currently pumping. Lil Nas X prouds himself to having a different flow and writing than the others.
Old town road also earned an over-produced clip that exceeded 200 million views on YouTube. In the video, Lil Nas X appears riding his horse in cowboy outfit. You can watch here.
