‘Drink Don't Need No Mix’ by Shaboozey & BigXthaPlug - Lyrics & Meaning

When Shaboozey revealed the tracklist to his third studio album, Where I've Been, Isn't Where I'm Going, country listeners’ attention was immediately grabbed by Noah Cyrus’ feature on ‘My Fault’ and Paul Cauthen’ contribution to ‘Last Of My Kind’.

Rap aficionados, on the other hand, were excited to see Dallas’ BigXthaPlug appearing on ‘Drink Don't Need No Mix’, a hazy, genre-blending duet that finds the two artists trading verses about how desperately they're pining for a strong dose of liquor.

‘Drink Don't Need No Mix’ is one of the more hip hop-leaning offerings on Shaboozey's widely acclaimed Where I've Been, Isn't Where I'm Going project, but BigXthaPlug is no stranger to country music, with the Texan being spotted hanging out back-stage with Morgan Wallen at one of his shows, before confirming in a later interview that he has “something coming” with both Morgan and Post Malone. ‘Drink Don't Need No Mix’ consolidates BigXthaPlug's decision to experiment with country music, following his viral country-rap hit, ‘Texas’.

The sluggish, misty ambience of ‘Drink Don't Need No Mix’ mirrors the alcohol-induced daze of the lyrics, with the muted 808s and rattling hi-hats serving as the perfect springboard from which Shaboozey and BigXthaPlug can reel off their hedonistic verses.

Shaboozey laces his opening verse with his signature rasp and a casual, relaxed delivery, while BigXthaPlug attacks his portion of the track with an added sense of vigour and ferocity, giving the final chorus an extra boost of energy and electricity.

“Got so drunk, he hit his head on the sidewalk, but he good, he gon' be alright
We just left Whiskey Row thirty minutes ago, and he still seein' neon lights
Drive up to the dive bar, get PBR, that's just how we start our nights
I see them bachelorettes on Broadway, and they all wanna be my wife
I'm tryna flex
Truck bed made of cedarwood, this where I count my checks (Hey)
We just got it painted, baby, please, don't make a mess
Look inside my cup, I'm so confused, where's the rest?
Ah, shit, don't forget”

Similarly to Shaboozey's viral hit, ’A Bar Song (Tipsy)’, ‘Drink Don't Need No Mix’ details an especially rowdy night out in Nashville. He describes how his buddy - presumably BigXthaPlug - got so drunk he fell over and banged his head on the sidewalk, with Shaboozey joking that, even though they left Dierks Bentley's bar, Whiskey Row, half an hour ago, his friend is “still seein’ neon lights” due to the knock.

Nashville has become a prime destination for hen parties in recent years, with Shaboozey conveying his self-confidence by proclaiming all the bachelorettes want to be his wife - a play on the fact that these women are travelling with the wife-to-be.

He goes on to add to the self-aggrandising atmosphere of the verse by outlining that he counts his sizeable checks on the back of his truck, before warning the woman he's with to be careful when she's in his beloved 4x4, as he just got it painted.

Shaboozey concludes his verse by teasingly looking down at his cup of alcohol and wondering where the rest of his drink has gone, a reference both to the fact that he downed it so quickly and that - as the song's title affirms - they don't need a mixer for their liquor, as both Shaboozey and BigXthaPlug prefer to drink it straight.

“The drink don't need no mix, what the fuck is this?
I'm tryna get faded, baby, this ain't gon' do shit
The drink don't need no mix, I need more than this
I'm tryna get faded, baby, this ain't gon' do shit
This drink don't need no mix
Ayy, ayy”

It seems someone has mistakenly handed Shaboozey a cup of whiskey and Coca Cola - or something along these lines - with the ‘A Bar Song (Tipsy)’ singer-songwriter disdainfully rejecting the drink, before repeatedly reminding the listener he wants to enjoy his alcohol neat, as this will help him to get drunker quicker.

“Ayy
Tryna get to my level
Took four shots of some Casa and Redbull
I usually don't mix but this shit is a handful
Tryna see why this room at a standstill
Everyone wasted, surprised I can stand still
I don't know but this drank got me spinnin'
Turnt up every day, you can tell that we winnin'
Stay lit off tequila, Shaboozey want whiskey
We tipsy and want every girl if she pretty
Keep tellin' my folks that it's on me and in me
Just pray 'fore you try it ain't safe tryna get me
We livin' and took us a shot every second
We be rockin' out shows, gettin' money and winnin'
I just went gold, tryna get me a Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, whatever come with it
Matter of fact, take a shot, make it strong 'cause”

BigXthaPlug continues the themes of Shaboozey's verse by underlining how wildly drunk he is, describing how he's been doing shots of Casamigos tequila with Red Bull. Although the song revolves around not drinking liquor with mixers, BigXthaPlug makes an exception here, explaining, “I usually don't mix but this shit is a handful”.

He incorporates a witty riff on the phrase ‘standstill’, noting how the room is at a ‘standstill’ due to everyone being out of their mind drunk, before joking he's surprised he can even ‘stand still’. He offers a contrast between himself and Shaboozey, emphasising that his drink of choice is tequila, whereas Shaboozey is a whiskey lover - a possible nod to the latter's colossal 2024 song, ‘A Bar Song (Tipsy)’, in which the Virginia hitmaker croons, “They know me and Jack Daniels got a history”.

In the midst of some more showboating, BigXthaPlug remarks that his family know it's “on me and in me”, due to the fact that he'll be covering the bill whenever they go out so it's ‘on him’, as well as underlining that the greatness he regularly references is inherent and ‘in me’. He makes a suggestion of haters taking ‘shots’ at him, before transitioning back to the desire to take some more ‘shots’ of tequila.

Shaboozey is yet to comment on ’Drink Don't Need No Mix’, but in a Harper's Bazaar interview, Shaboozey shed some light on the creative approach he adopted for each song on the album as a whole, “It’s all very organic. I just see things that inspire me, and I don’t think too much about why - I just follow my response. Whether it’s a vintage magazine, a movie, a pair of jeans, or a classic car, I just pay attention to what it makes me feel, and somehow that gets translated into music”.

He explained how he aims to keep blurring the lines between country, rap and more in his unique way, “I want to continue to be in this world, and evolve here. I want to make music like this for the next couple of projects, and tell stories from this point of view. I’m going to keep picking up a guitar and figuring out how to get better at crafting and telling this story, which is what I’ve been doing for the last 10 years”.

(Shaboozey, BigXthaPlug)

“Got so drunk, he hit his head on the sidewalk, but he good, he gon' be alright
We just left Whiskey Row thirty minutes ago, and he still seein' neon lights
Drive up to the dive bar, get PBR, that's just how we start our nights
I see them bachelorettes on Broadway, and they all wanna be my wife
I'm tryna flex
Truck bed made of cedarwood, this where I count my checks (Hey)
We just got it painted, baby, please, don't make a mess
Look inside my cup, I'm so confused, where's the rest?
Ah, shit, don't forget

-

The drink don't need no mix, what the fuck is this?
I'm tryna get faded, baby, this ain't gon' do shit
The drink don't need no mix, I need more than this
I'm tryna get faded, baby, this ain't gon' do shit
This drink don't need no mix
Ayy, ayy

-

Ayy
Tryna get to my level
Took four shots of some Casa and Redbull
I usually don't mix but this shit is a handful
Tryna see why this room at a standstill
Everyone wasted, surprised I can stand still
I don't know but this drank got me spinnin'
Turnt up every day, you can tell that we winnin'
Stay lit off tequila, Shaboozey want whiskey
We tipsy and want every girl if she pretty
Keep tellin' my folks that it's on me and in me
Just pray 'fore you try it ain't safe tryna get me
We livin' and took us a shot every second
We be rockin' out shows, gettin' money and winnin'
I just went gold, tryna get me a Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, whatever come with it
Matter of fact, take a shot, make it strong 'cause

-

The drink don't need no mix, what the fuck is this?
I'm tryna get faded, baby, this ain't gon' do shit
The drink don't need no mix (Ayy), I need more than this (Ayy)
I'm tryna get faded, baby, this ain't gon' do shit
The drink don't need no mix
(Uh)
The drink don't need no mix”

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