Lil Nas Xs lonesome cowboy trap ballad, Old Town Road, is a runaway hit thats been banished from the Billboard country charts almost as quickly as it broke them. Evidently the song isnt country enough which is in and of itself a ridiculous sentiment, given country musics recent years spent gleaning influence from Southern hip-hop.
Instead of letting the country life of Old Town Road die there, Lil Nas X decided to amp it up: For the official remix, he called up Billy Ray Cyrus, a country veteran with his own history of infuriating genre purists. Together, theyve created something magical. Cyrus Old Town Road remix is a campy bit of country-trap that is somehow as earnest as it is utterly insane. The matrix is glitching, but maybe we dont need it to get fixed any time soon.
Cyrus contributions are simple, and they dont change the songs fundamental aspects. Old Town Road was already a short, simple piece, and anything extra would be obscene. Showing his respect for Lil Nas Xs craft, Cyrus merely sings his version of the chorus at the opening and returns at the end for what I can only describe as some of the best bars ever dropped by a country artist (sorry but not sorry to Luke Bryans Thats My Kind of Night and Taylor Swifts Thug Story). I find it incredibly hard to believe that Billy Ray wrote this verse himself, but would also love to be proven wrong; its almost too satisfying when Cyrus convincingly spits, Hat down, cross town, livin like a rock star/Spend a lot of money on my brand new guitar over the spare, hollow repetition of the songs own guitar riff.
This might be one of countrys greatest outlaw moments, pairing two stars who can relate to being outcasts in the genre. In the same way Cyrus helped country turn over a brand new pop leaf, could Old Town Road fully turn trap-country into its own sub-genre? Lets at least hope this gives a second chance to Old Town Road and its country chart moment. Maybe some other country names will give it their own remix treatment as the song continues its inescapable rise. Florida Georgia Line, are you listening?
Lil Nas X's Havoc-Wreaking Meme Is a Hit. Hes as Surprised as You AreBilly Ray Cyrus Burnishes Lil Nas X's Country Credentials With 'Old Town Road' Remix40 Greatest Animated Movies EverComing of Age: Millennials' Most Earth-Shaking Sexual Moments