It might seem a curious thing to say, but Hip-Hop and Country are more alike than you might think. While the average country fan might be more up in arms about that statement than they would be after a Dixie Chicks concert — hear me out.
Both genres are lyrically focused. Yes, both do indeed have their own musical styles as well. But the driving force behind any good country ballad are lyrics that people can relate to: “I was driving momma home from jail in my pickup truck, when suddenly ran over my dog named Buck” …Ok. So maybe those lyrics aren’t easy to relate to, but the average country single is. That is exactly the appeal of country music to its fans: the singer isn’t talking about something foreign or unknown. He (or she) is almost always relating to the people who listen to country music, but — what’s more — they are relating to their liseteners on the listeners own terms. The music is contextualized so that the listener can even more easily understand the concepts the singer is trying to get across.
If I grew up on a ranch in Montana the music of John Denver might mean a little more to me, but I didn’t. I grew up in Indiana. Thus, there is nothing more foreign to me than songs about mountains.
Context is important to genres so that they can relate to people, but what is so unique to both hip-hop and country is that they are two genres that are totally rooted in contexts based on race, place, and class. Think about it: where does Rap music come from? Where did it originate? In urban areas with concentrated black populations — most of which were working class. Country music? In rural areas with concentrated (but spread out) white populations — most of which were, gasp, working class.
Hip-hop is felt by the black community as something it identifies with, something that belongs to that community. It is much more than genre of music — it is a form of identification. The same can be said about country music. It is a genre primarily identified with by the NASCAR dads of America — the rural, white, working class citizen.
So what do these two have in common? They’re the same genre with a different face. It’s the same idea, the same shared sense of identity — just amongst two different groups. In a sense, Rap is the working man’s music for black America, while country is the white working man’s music.
Exceptions can be made, I’m sure. There are Eminems and there are Nick Turners, but by and large the two genres belong to two very distinct and specific groups defined by their race and place. Even though many people thought it odd that Tim McGraw and Nelly might do a duo together — it just makes perfect sense.
