Morgan Wallen Explains What Country and Hip-Hop Have in Common: “There’s a Lot of Honesty”

Via Morgan Wallen Radio on SiriusXm, Morgan Wallen is reflecting on the similarities he sees between two genres that are often viewed as miles apart - country and Hip-Hop.

The Sneedville megastar has never shied away from blurring the lines between genres in his music, with Wallen regularly receiving flak for incorporating trap beats and rap-inspired flows on songs like ‘Miami’, ‘Sunrise’, ‘180 (Lifestyle)’ and ‘Broadway Girls’. He admitted earlier in the year there was initially “all kinds of pushback” when he expressed his desire to bring Hip-Hop and trap-leaning beats into his music.

Wallen has linked up with an array of high-profile figures from the Hip-Hop world, including Lil Wayne and Rick Ross for the electric ‘Miami’ remix, and Lil Durk on both ‘Broadway Girls’ and ‘Stand By Me’. What's more, Wallen's close friendship with Drake has been the source of ongoing rumours about a long-awaited collaboration, with the duo joining forces on a number of occasions in recent years.

And while traditionalists scoff at the ‘Last Night’ hitmaker's ability to stretch the boundaries of what can be considered ‘country’, Wallen is defending his love of Hip-Hop and highlighting how the genres have more in common than his critics might think.

While speaking via his 808 to 865 show on Morgan Wallen Radio, Wallen reflects on how there's a refreshing sense of authenticity and candour in both country and Hip-Hop.

Wallen underlines how this openness leads to more visceral songwriting, “Man, I think there's a lot of honesty in both country music and Hip-Hop. And that honesty really creates specific songwriting, and a specific image in your head that you can create just based off of that honesty. And I think both genres do that very well”.

Elsewhere on 808 to 865, Wallen touches on which period of Hip-Hop he loves the most, “My favourite eras of Hip Hop and Rap, I would still say would be the late 2000s to maybe 2015”.

He name-checks some artists that introduced him to the Atlanta rap sound, before tipping his cap to Drake, “Started with my love for T.I., Young Jeezy and then went into Drake”. Wallen goes on to recall how this eclectic selection of artists, in turn, “led me a little bit more into like the Memphis scene of Young Dolph and guys like that”.

The ‘Love Somebody’ singer-songwriter stresses that his penchant for a multitude of Hip-Hop and rap artists has had a major impact on the kind of country music he likes to create, “I mean, I think it's influenced my music and obviously the sound, but also the phrasing and rhyme scheme as well. It's influenced me a bunch”.

Wallen's love for Hip-Hop remains one of the biggest complaints levelled at the country titan, with purists lamenting the way in which he has opened the floodgates for other artists to take his genre-blurring style a step further and - in their eyes - lead modern country music further away from its perceived roots and origins.

But at the same time, Wallen has propelled the genre to new heights - heights it arguably hasn't experienced since the fabled Golden Era of the ‘90s with Garth and Shania.

And undoubtedly one of the reasons why Wallen has enjoyed so much success is because of his willingness to explore new territory and think outside of the classic country box. His sound is dynamic, forward-facing and appealing to both country fans and listeners that might never have thought to give the genre a try before.

As a result, in this writer's opinion at least, Wallen's incorporation of Hip-Hop textures into country is helping to push the genre forwards, while he continues to show through songs like ‘The Dealer’, ‘Don't We’, ‘Working Man's Song’ and ‘I'm a Little Crazy’ that he can still deliver a stunning, traditionally-minded country anthem, too.

Especially after citing him as one of his biggest influences, we're hoping the ‘Thought You Should Know’ crooner finally gets his long-rumoured Drake collaboration before too long. When he does, it will feel like the crowning moment in Wallen's pursuit of an omnivorous sound that blends country, Hip-Hop, rock and more.

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