The country music scene is much more close knit than hip-hop… according to BigXthaPlug.
The Dallas, Texas native, whose real name is Xavier Landum, does have perspective on both genres. After all, he did release a country-inspired album, I Hope You’re Happy, which included features from country stars like Jelly Roll, Ella Langley, Luke Combs and Thomas Rhett.
Ever since, he’s kept tabs on the country music world, and is great friends with Shaboozey. And during a recent conversation with Shannon Sharpe on the Club Shay Shay podcast, BigXthaPlug did say that the two genres and the scenes behind them are vastly different.
Sharpe asked the rapper if country music artists were more united than hip-hop artists, and he answered with this:
“As of right now, yes. With hip-hop, it’s segregated. You got your Atlanta rappers, you got your Miami rappers, you have your New York rappers. It shouldn’t be like that. It didn’t used to be like that. I don’t feel like it used to be like that.”
The “Box Me Up” singer went on to explain why he answered yes by juxtaposing two different festivals.
BigXthaPlug has been a part of both Rolling Loud (a massive hip-hop fest that got started in Miami) and Stagecoach (which is a huge country fest in California ), and says that the backstage experiences at both couldn’t be more dissimilar:
“You go to Rolling Loud now, you can’t even talk to nobody. You’ve got to get there, do your interviews, do your set and leave. Because everybody’s fighting. There’s people getting stabbed…
I went to the country festival, what was it, Stagecoach? You don’t have to deal with none of that. I was walking back there with fans. They don’t (have that). It’s not there. You go to a Rolling Loud and it’s that. They’re searching your cars. You can’t have nothing. You can’t do nothing.”
Totally different experiences.
Shannon Sharpe would later ask if it’s normal to see multiple country artists hanging out, to which BigXthaPlug yes. When asked the same question about rappers, the hip-hop artist said it’s never genuine:
“Even if you do (see seven rappers in a room together), it’s not real. With country artists, if they are in a room together… the difference with a country artist is that you can catch those two artists drinking beer at a bar on a random Wednesday, just cause. You aren’t gonna catch these two rappers hanging out. If they are doing it, it’s something that’s been set up by the label. It’s just fake.”
That’s not to say that country music never has any orchestrated moments… but from BigXthaPlug’s point of view, those type of “set up get togethers” are much more plentiful in the hip-hop community.
All in all, it’s just another example of BigXthaPlug showing respect for the country music space. He obviously appreciated the music – and the people in it – enough to do his own version of a country album. But as you can see, the artist certainly seems to wish that hip-hop artists could get along (and have a drink) like country singers do.
You can hear BigXthaPlug speak more on that on the latest episode of Club Shay Shay:
