Lil Nas X Featuring Billy Ray Cyrus – Old Town Road

“Old Town Road” – Single by Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus from the EP 7, released December 3, 2018 (original) and April 5, 2019 (Billy Ray Cyrus remix)

“Old Town Road” is the debut mainstream single by American rapper Lil Nas X, first released independently in December 2018. After gaining popularity, the single was re-released by Columbia Records in March 2019. Lil Nas X also recorded a remix with American country singer Billy Ray Cyrus, which was released on April 5, 2019. Both were included in Lil Nas X’s second EP, 7 (2019).

The song has been widely labeled as “country rap”, a genre that had not often reached the mainstream prior to its release. Dutch record producer YoungKio composed the instrumental and made it available for purchase online in 2018. It features a sample of “34 Ghosts IV” by the American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails. The sample was placed behind trap-style Roland TR-808 drums and bass. Lil Nas X purchased the instrumental for US$30 and recorded “Old Town Road” in one day. At the time, he had been living with his sister after dropping out of college; his real-world struggles were an influence on some of the lyrics.

In the United States, the original version of “Old Town Road” reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in the week ending April 13, 2019; at one minute and 53 seconds in length, it became the shortest number-one single since “I’m Henry VIII, I Am” by Herman’s Hermits in 1965 and the fifth-shortest in the history of the chart. In the following week, it and the newly released remix featuring Billy Ray Cyrus received a combined 143 million streams, surpassing Drake’s “In My Feelings”, which in the previous year had amassed 116.2 million in the same period, as the song with the highest single-week streaming figure in the country. This song also became Cyrus’s biggest hit in the U.S. since “Achy Breaky Heart” peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 27 years ago. “Old Town Road” continued to exceed 100 million streams in each of the eight following weeks, and in June 2019, was responsible for the three highest weekly U.S. streaming totals in the history of digital music, as well as nine of the eleven highest overall. In October 2019, “Old Town Road” became the fastest single in RIAA history to receive diamond certification in the United States. The certification, which is awarded to singles that attain national combined sales and streams of ten million units, was achieved by the song in its eleventh month of release. The single had sold 1.6 million digital copies in the United States by February 2020.

The first official video for this song was posted on December 2, 2018. Lil Nas X doesn’t appear in it; footage is from the video game Red Dead Redemption. On April 9, 2019 a new unofficial video was posted for the remix using grainy performance and behind-the-scenes footage of X and Billy Ray Cyrus.

On May 17, the official music video for the remix dropped, with Lil Nas X and Billie Ray Cyrus as Old West outlaws on the run in 1889. Billed as a “movie,” it runs 5:08, starting with a horseback chase scene where the town sheriff, played by Chris Rock, is after the pair. Rock calls it off, telling his deputies, “When you see a black man on a horse going that fast, you just gotta let him fly.” But there’s more trouble ahead for the outlaws, especially for Lil Nas X, who escapes gunfire by jumping into a bunker that turns into a wormhole, transporting him to modern-day Old Town Road, where he’s out of place with his cowboy gear and horse. The locals warm up to him though, and he earns their respect when he wins a drag race with his horse.

Later on, Lil Nas meets up again with Cyrus, and together they turn a bingo night at the town hall (led by rapper Rico Nasty) into a line-dancing-filled party. Diplo backs them up by strumming on a washboard as the senior citizens take to the dance floor.

Other cameos include rappers Vince Staples, HaHa Davis and Jozzy as well as “Old Town Road” beatmaker YoungKio. It was made by the director Calmatic, whose work includes “Young, Dumb and Broke” for Khalid and “Bubblin'” for Anderson Paak.

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Lil Nas X - Old Town Road (feat. Billy Ray Cyrus) (Music Video)02:32

O melodie care nu este deloc country,  inclina mai mult spre hip-hop, dar, suna bine si aranjamentul muzical este foarte bun. La 9 Mai 2019, se afla in a 5-a saptamana pe locul #1 la Billboard 100. Nu este o melodie extraordinara, dar este catchy, si are chiar si versuri interesante.

Melodia fara Billy Ray suna diferit, dar in acest remix vocea lui face toata melodia, si chiar restul care este hip-hop si trap beat, e acceptabil.

Lyrics/Versuri:
[Intro: Billy Ray Cyrus]
Oh, oh-oh
Oh

[Refrain: Billy Ray Cyrus]
Yeah, I’m gonna take my horse to the old town road
I’m gonna ride ’til I can’t no more
I’m gonna take my horse to the old town road
I’m gonna ride ’til I can’t no more
(Kio, Kio)

[Verse 1: Lil Nas X]
I got the horses in the back
Horse tack is attached
Hat is matte black
Got the boots that’s black to match
Ridin’ on a horse, ha
You can whip your Porsche
I been in the valley
You ain’t been up off that porch, now

[Chorus: Lil Nas X]
Can’t nobody tell me nothin’
You can’t tell me nothin’
Can’t nobody tell me nothin’
You can’t tell me nothin’

[Verse 2: Lil Nas X]
Ridin’ on a tractor
Lean all in my bladder
Cheated on my baby
You can go and ask her
My life is a movie
Bull ridin’ and boobies
Cowboy hat from Gucci
Wrangler on my booty

[Chorus: Lil Nas X]
Can’t nobody tell me nothin’
You can’t tell me nothin’
Can’t nobody tell me nothin’
You can’t tell me nothin’

[Refrain: Lil Nas X]
Yeah, I’m gonna take my horse to the old town road
I’m gonna ride ’til I can’t no more
I’m gonna take my horse to the old town road
I’m gonna ride ’til I can’t no more

[Verse 3: Billy Ray Cyrus]
Hat down, cross town, livin’ like a rockstar
Spent a lot of money on my brand new guitar
Baby’s got a habit: diamond rings and Fendi sports bras
Ridin’ down Rodeo in my Maserati sports car
Got no stress, I’ve been through all that
I’m like a Marlboro Man so I kick on back
Wish I could roll on back to that old town road
I wanna ride ’til I can’t no more

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