Lil Nas X managed to turn a 2-minute song into a cultural phenomenon, a crossover hit, a successful music video, and a big FU to the insular country music industry that wanted to deny him a place on their charts. It’s a lot, but he is an Aries, so we shouldn’t have expected any less. Still, despite all the success, some country fans are, let’s just say, nettled about his recent partnership with Wrangler jeans.
Some commenters were not so happy about this collab, with one person saying, “Really? Supporting an artist that so clearly is mocking country music and the lifestyle it represents? Bad move Wrangler.”
Another said, “This makes me not want to buy wrangler jeans anymore tbh, the cowboy spirit is nothing to be made fun of.”
As the composer, Mr. X, said himself on Twitter:
y’all really boycotting wrangler?? is it that deep 🧐
— nope (@LilNasX) May 21, 2019
Yes, for some, it is that deep.
This idea that Lil Nas X is trying to mock or dishonor the “cowboy spirit” or “country music” is so humorous to me because the song does nothing to mock being a cowboy. Yes, there are trap beats in the song, but have you listened to Florida Georgia Line? Just because there’s rap in it doesn’t mean it can’t be a country song.
The music critic Todd in the Shadows already touched on this on his video about the song and its Billy Ray Cyrus remix, but when it comes to modern country music, most of it doesn’t sound like what we’d call traditional country. It’s just a ridiculous music industry elitist mentality that has trickled down to some country fans. It’s just disappointing because (a) I like country music, and (b) I hate this mentality that country music can’t include Black country artists.
Now, do I think Lil Nas X is a country artist or that this is a “pure country song”? No. Do I care? No, because the song is good and the only people making good country music right now are women, and country radio doesn’t play them, so screw it.
Also, there’s nothing political about this choice. Country radio just had a huge crossover hit. The video came out a week ago, and it’s already at 59 million views. This is just a good business decision by Wrangler, doing with their jeans the same thing that Nike did with Colin Kaepernick. They’re trying to attract the Black/young/urban dollar because they know we will spend money on this kind of stuff, especially if it makes us feel like we’re making a point.
Now they get to make more money by upping the price of this “collection.” It’s pure capitalism, and there’s nothing more country than that.
(via The Root, image: Screengrab)
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