Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road (I Got Horses In The Back)” Hits #1 on Bilboard’s Hot 100

We’ve all heard the viral smash hit, “Old Town Road (I Got Horses in the Back)” from rapper Lil Nas X by now. Classic country lyrics blended with a bomb trap baseline, creating the perfect rap-country hybrid and giving country stars a run for their money.

The song was released independently back in December 2018 but quickly went viral after its popularity grew on the video app, TikTok, which led to Lil Nas X being signed by Columbia Records.

The rapper’s debut single shot to #19 on the Billboard Hot 100 Country Chart in March but ran into controversy after Billboard decided to remove the hit from the chart, claiming that the song was missing critical “elements of today’s country music in its current version.”

What…???

This sparked backlash within the music industry as well as the African American community, many believing the decision was made with racial bias. Makes sense, a black boy from Atlanta makes a country hit great enough to peak on the Hot 100 Billboard chart, but its not country enough…???

Now enter 90’s country icon, Billy Ray Cyrus, who was NOT here for the shade. He and Lil Nas X hoped on the mic and the remix to “Old Town Road” was born. Cyrus said in a press release, “Country music fans decide what they like. Not critics or anyone else … Country music fans don’t need to be defined by critics.”

As of this day (Thursday, April 11, 2019) the song has landed at #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100, surpassing Ariana Grande’s “7 Rings“, which held the spot for 8 weeks. And the best part is the news came on Lil Nas X’s birthday, April 9th! Happy Birthday and hats off to him!

View the “Old Town Road [Remix]” music video here:

Update: “Old Town Road” is on track to do 80 million streams this week! This would beat the record of Drake’s “God’s Plan” which did 69 million streams in a single week.