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Back to Press Play with Madeleine Brand

Press Play with Madeleine Brand

Lil Nas X’s ‘Old Town Road’ and the cultural significance of black country music

The number one track on the Billboard Top 100 Chart right now is called Old Town Road with Lil Nas X.

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By Madeleine Brand • Apr 16, 2019 • 1 min read

The number one track on the Billboard Top 100 Chart right now is called Old Town Road with Lil Nas X.

He describes his song as country-trap, but not everyone agrees it’s country enough. Billboard quietly removed the song from their “Hot Country Songs” chart, saying, it “does not embrace enough elements of today’s country music.” As a result the song has ended up at the center of a debate on race, the Nashville establishment and musical genres.

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    Madeleine Brand

    Host, 'Press Play'

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