hick hop, black country music and what's next

this happy moment in concert happened in amsterdam (where else?) this april on willie nelson's tour. note snoop's western wear look, complete with flowing locks and red bandana.



and this gleeful little tidbit called "my medicine" happened in amsterdam (of course it did!) on snoop dog's tour. when presenting himself to the hip-hop crowd, willie's got to represent with a gigantic cowboy hat. (heh.)

it's so obvious that they like each other and they're just messing around and having fun. my theory is that it was the gourds version of gin n' juice that sent snoop in this country direction, especially when he realized the vast audience potential and the money he could make. at this point, he can afford to experiment because he's as much of an icon as willie is.

delightful, isn't it -- this merging of country and hip-hop, what some are calling hick hop (or combining mountain music and hip-hop to make hill hop) as made popular by cowboy troy. all major label efforts made by snoop, willie and CT are fine, well and good, but it stands to reason that this sound came from somewhere. by following that twangy trail, we can explore everything that's wrong with this country right now. i think this sound speaks to an all-american class struggle that no one is willing to address. radio shows like holler 2 the hood are growing in popularity because today's urban and rural communities are waking up to the fact that they are the american underclass, irregardless of race. the american serf is real. this music is compelling people who wouldn't have anything to do with each other otherwise to stand together and connect. it will be more than interesting to see where this goes.

most people don't understand that black country music is not an oxymoron. to my ear, it's not about country and hip-hop as much as it's about country and black rock. but hey -- that's me. and i'm hardly the only one.

here's an interesting tidbit: no black rockers/bloggers that i know of are discussing any of this. they are going on and on 'til the break of dawn about what's popular, what's signed, what's got a major label deal with major label money behind it. they don't seem all too concerned about what's next, what's politically explosive, what speaks to class issues. most black rockers balk at the idea of country music melding with any black anything. heh.

we'll see what develops.