Hi,

This newsletter is dedicated to the continued growing trend of hip-hop and country collaborations.

We’ve been seeing the emergence of it for decades, however now it feels like it’s taking on new life with BigXthaPlug & Bailey Zimmerman’s crossover “All the Way”.

Let’s dive in ⬇️

Before starting, it’s worth noting that hip-hop and country collaborations have been around for decades.

From Kid Rock’s style of country rap infused rock music to one of Nelly’s albums literally being titled “Country Grammar”, hip-hop and country music have been collaborating for a long time.

Nelly was one of the pioneers of this in the hip-hop space, doing collaborations with Tim McGraw (“Over and Over”), Florida Georgia Line (“Lil Bit”), and more.

Later came Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” when the genre defying and record breaking song brought the conversation to a new forefront.

Fast forward since then and we’ve seen multiple collaborations from superstar artists on both sides.

One of the biggest crossovers in recent years was Beyonce’s Grammy Winning album “Cowboy Carter”. The album was an ode to her Texas roots while still serving as a large variation in the music the world had previously known her for.

Then came Shaboozey and “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” - a country inspired take on one of the most famous rap songs of the early 2000s that would go on to tie the record for most weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Within the past year, we’ve also had Post Malone & Luke Combs’ “Guy For That”.

As well as mgk & Jelly Roll’s “Lonely Road”.

Fast forward to May of 2025 and BigXthaPlug & Bailey Zimmerman’s new collab song “All the Way” just peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The song has 41 million streams already on Spotify, over 13 million YouTube views, and looks like it might be a legitimate hit record while serving as another sonically blending song bridging the gap of both genres.

While the phenomenon is nothing new, I can’t help but find it fascinating.

How 2 genres that sound so sonically different (for the most part), can come together and create music that doesn’t feel forced.

Why is the trend growing so fast and why is it working so well?

There’s the obvious answer of artists trying to reach new audiences which makes total sense. Collaborating with other artists, especially established ones with big fanbases, can be a really effective method to grow your own audience.

There’s also the geographic symmetry - BigXthaPlug is from Texas which has a long history of country music being one of the dominant musical genres of the state.

Post Malone was born in the state of New York but spent a lot of time growing up in Texas and Beyonce was born in Houston. mgk is also from Houston and Jelly Roll is from Nashville.

As I’m writing this and realize how many insanely talented artists are actually from Texas, I can’t help but think that deserves another deep dive on its own - how so much innovation and collaboration from these genres is coming from a specific state.

That said, a lot of this music didn’t just become experimental and never go anywhere.

It turned into music that is winning Grammys, becoming hit records, and making the charts.

The collaborations, sonically, are working (at least on some level).

What do you think it is about the actual music itself that allows it to be so effective sometimes?

I’d be curious for your take - this trend feels like it’s only growing and picking up steam.

Thanks for reading, until next time.

_{The Vault}

1) The Artist Marketing Playbook - I teamed up with my good friend and fellow music marketing expert Drew De Leon to present The Artist Marketing Playbook. An in-depth look at what an artist can do to set themselves up for success in 2025. More info HERE.