Sturgill got some bars.
At this point in his career, Sturgill Simpson has reached God-like status in country music. Arguably being the forefather of the independent/alternative country renaissance, along with the likes of Tyler Childers, Cody Jinks and more, the Kentucky native has probably influenced your favorite artist in some capacity or another in the past decade.
The “Long White Line” singer, for lack of a better term, has nearly gone in every direction possible. Delivering an atmospheric journey on the Grammy-winning A Sailor’s Guide to Earth, a full-blown rock adventure in SOUND & FURY, a bluegrass double album on Cuttin’ Grass, the narrative-driven The Ballad of Dood & Jaunita and finally being rebirthed as Johnny Blue Skies on Passage Du Desir and his latest album, the dance and protest-inspired Mutiny After Midnight. Of course, this doesn’t even mention his first two albums, High Top Mountain and Metamodern Sounds in Country Music, which are all but standards in the genre at this point.
Thanks to the buzzy release of Mutiny After Midnight last month, which was highlighted by Simpson himself “leaking” the album on YouTube before releasing the album on physical media (vinyl, CDs, cassettes) only, he’s arguably the most popular he’s ever been right now. Not only did Mutiny After Midnight debut at #3 on the all-genre Billboard 200 without being released to streaming services, but Simpson also readied an arena tour (the largest venue-wise of his career thus far) behind the record, aptly titled Mutiny For The Masses.
With all the attention lately, somehow, someway, a vintage video of the “Turtles All the Way Down” singer has surfaced on the internet, and it’s downright hilarious. Though it’s unknown at the time where exactly the video came from, it depicts a young Simpson in high school rapping about… going to prom circa 1990-something.
In the clip, Stu can be seen with two buddies laying down a verse from the parody track. Starting off hot, he opened it with, “I’m gonna tell you a little something ’bout prom/That’s the night they got it going on/Eating breakfast at the Continental with my crew/Doing that thing, getting to you.”
Not exactly on the same lyrical level as something like “I Don’t Mind,” but I think you can argue that it laid the groundwork for new tracks on Mutiny After Midnight like “Make America Fuk Again” and “Stay On That.”
All jokes aside, it’s pretty hilarious to see such a young Stu laying down some bars all the back in high school. Hell, at the rate he’s going and genre-jumping seemingly at will lately, we might very well see something similar (albeit much more R-rated) in the near future.
Before you go, fire up the one track from Mutiny After Midnight that’s available online now, “Situation.”
Mutiny For The Masses Tour Dates
Sep 4 -Austin, TX -Moody Center
Sep 6 -Rio Rancho, NM -Rio Rancho Events Center
Sep 8 -Glendale, AZ -Desert Diamond Arena
Sep 9 -Santa Barbara, CA -Santa Barbara Bowl
Sep 11 -Inglewood, CA -Kia Forum
Sep 13 – San Diego, CA – Viejas Arena
Sep 15 – Berkeley, CA – The Greek Theatre
Sep 18 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena
Sep 19 – Vancouver, BC – Pacific Coliseum
Sep 21 – Eugene, OR – Matthew Knight Arena
Sep 23 – Denver, CO – Ball Arena
Sep 26 – Kansas City, MO – T-Mobile Center
Sep 27 – St. Paul, MN – Grand Casino Arena
Sep 29 -Chicago, IL – United Center
Oct 2 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena
Oct 3 – Indianapolis, IN – Gainbridge Fieldhouse
Oct 6 – St. Louis, MO – Enterprise Center
Oct 7 – Columbus, OH – Nationwide Arena
Oct 9 – Pittsburgh, PA – Petersen Events Center
Oct 10 – Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena
Oct 13 – Boston, MA – TD Garden
Oct 15 – Philadelphia, PA – Xfinity Mobile Arena
Oct 16 – Brooklyn, NY – Barclays Center
Oct 18 – Washington, DC – Capital One Arena
Oct 21 – Raleigh, NC – Lenovo Center
Oct 23 – Charleston, SC – Credit One Stadium
Oct 25 – Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena
Oct 27 – New Orleans, LA – Lakefront Arena
Oct 30 – Lexington, KY – Rupp Arena
