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Lil Nas X, Country Music's Unlikely Son, Sparks Conversation On Genre¹ And Race

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

When an artist finds their song climbing up the Billboard² charts, it's usually a cause for celebration. In the case of the rapper Lil Nas X and his viral hit "Old Town Road," it's also been a cause of controversy³.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "OLD TOWN ROAD")

LIL NAS X: (Singing) I got the horses in the back. Horse tack⁴ is attached. Hat is matte black.

MARTIN: The song blends genres⁵, and its debut⁶ on three different Billboard charts illustrated⁷ that very fact. But then Billboard decided⁸ to just remove the song from the Hot Country Songs chart. A lot of critics did not like that decision one bit. They say it's proof that the music industry doesn't afford black artists the same creative license⁹ as white artists. NPR's Sam Sanders is the host of the news and culture podcast It's Been A Minute, and he is with us to talk about this. Hey, Sam.

SAM SANDERS, BYLINE¹⁰: Hey, Rachel. Isn't that the catchiest¹¹ song (laughter)?

MARTIN: It is super catchy¹².

SANDERS: Yeah.

MARTIN: I found myself just sitting, grooving¹³. So before we get into the whole controversy, we have to understand where this song came from, right? Explain.

SANDERS: Yeah. So "Old Town Road" is a TikTok phenomenon. And TikTok is the social media app that lets you make these really highly edited videos of yourself, usually lip synching or dancing to popular songs. And that's how this song blew up at first.

MARTIN: All right. How does it even get there?

SANDERS: So Lil Nas X first released "Old Town Road" independently back in December, but it broke out because a lot of young, mostly white kids who like country began to make videos of themselves set to this song on TikTok. Once it blew up on TikTok, it blew up on streaming, and then radio begins to play it. And then all of a sudden, country radio has a country hit on its hands by a black rapper.

MARTIN: And what was the big deal about that?

SANDERS: People were mad about it. You know, there's this blog called Saving Country Music, and this writer there - Kyle "The Trigger Man" Coroneos - he called "Old Town Road" nothing more than an internet meme, and he said it's not qualified¹⁴ as a country song. It's just a rap song with a trap beat. And he wasn't the only one that felt that way because after making an appearance on the Billboard country chart for a week, where it hit No. 19, Billboard pulled "Old Town Road" from that chart. They said the song has references to country and cowboy imagery, but it does not, quote, "embrace enough elements of today's country music."

MARTIN: So I guess that gets to how we define any kind of musical genre. I mean, I guess to a certain degree, Billboard has a point. The song is a rap song, right?

SANDERS: Oh, yeah. The song is definitely a rap song, but who decides what is or isn't country music...

MARTIN: Right.

SANDERS: ...Is very subjective¹⁵. And lots of folks are saying, hey, Billboard, hey, country, you allow white artists to get on these charts with songs that aren't quite country all the time. There are artists like Sam Hunt, who was clearly influenced by hip-hop, artists like Taylor Swift, who made country songs that were more pop than country for years.

MARTIN: Right, total crossover. Yeah.

SANDERS: Yeah. But all those artists, Rachel - they're white.

MARTIN: So what does this say about the state of country music?

SANDERS: So I talked with Shane Morris. He worked in Nashville for years doing digital artist development, and he says part of the pushback against Lil Nas X and this song - it wasn't just race. It was also the industry kind of being afraid of how this guy emerged - on social media, without going through the Nashville gatekeepers.

SHANE MORRIS: There isn't, like, a Soundcloud for independent country. The fans very much are given what they're supposed to like, and then that's that.

SANDERS: And so the question is, can country music catch up with hip-hop and everyone else and make peace with this brave, new world?

MARTIN: Sam Sanders is the host of It's Been A Minute. Sam, thanks as always.

SANDERS: Yee-haw.

MARTIN: And now, an update on this story. Billy Ray Cyrus collaborated¹⁶ with Lil Nas X and released a remix of "Old Town Road" overnight.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "OLD TOWN ROAD (REMIX)")

BILLY RAY CYRUS: (Singing) Hat down, crosstown, living like a rock star. Spend a lot of money on my brand new...

1 genre   

n.(文学、艺术等的)类型，体裁，风格

参考例句：

• My favorite music genre is blues.我最喜欢的音乐种类是布鲁斯音乐。
• Superficially,this Shakespeare's work seems to fit into the same genre.从表面上看， 莎士比亚的这个剧本似乎属于同一类型。

2 billboard   

n.布告板，揭示栏，广告牌

参考例句：

• He ploughed his energies into his father's billboard business.他把精力投入到父亲的广告牌业务中。
• Billboard spreads will be simpler and more eye-catching.广告牌广告会比较简单且更引人注目。

3 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

4 tack   

n.大头钉；假缝，粗缝

参考例句：

• He is hammering a tack into the wall to hang a picture.他正往墙上钉一枚平头钉用来挂画。
• We are going to tack the map on the wall.我们打算把这张地图钉在墙上。

5 genres   

（文学、艺术等的）类型，体裁，风格( genre的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Novel and short story are different genres. 长篇小说和短篇小说是不同的类别。
• But confusions over the two genres have a long history. 但是类型的混淆，古已有之。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译

6 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。

7 illustrated   

adj. 有插图的，列举的 动词illustrate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• His lecture was illustrated with slides taken during the expedition. 他在讲演中使用了探险时拍摄到的幻灯片。
• The manufacturing Methods: Will be illustrated in the next chapter. 制作方法将在下一章说明。

8 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

9 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

10 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

11 catchiest   

（曲调、歌曲）容易记住的( catchy的最高级 )

参考例句：

12 catchy   

adj.易记住的，诡诈的，易使人上当的

参考例句：

• We need a new slogan.The old one's not catchy enough.我们需要新的口号，旧的不够吸引人。
• The chorus is very catchy to say the least.副歌部分很容易上口。

13 grooving   

n.（轧辊）孔型设计v.沟( groove的现在分词 )；槽；老一套；（某种）音乐节奏

参考例句：

• It can be used for cutting ceramics, grooving and beveling. 该切机具备切割、切槽、倒角等功能。 来自互联网
• Top-quality steel blades are used to guarantee smoothness grooving. 选任优质锯齿型开槽刀片，保证开槽光洁度。 来自互联网

14 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

15 subjective   

a.主观(上)的，个人的

参考例句：

• The way they interpreted their past was highly subjective. 他们解释其过去的方式太主观。
• A literary critic should not be too subjective in his approach. 文学评论家的看法不应太主观。

16 collaborated   

合作( collaborate的过去式和过去分词 )； 勾结叛国

参考例句：

• We have collaborated on many projects over the years. 这些年来我们合作搞了许多项目。
• We have collaborated closely with the university on this project. 我们与大学在这个专案上紧密合作。