Lil Nas X - Old Town Road: Blog tasks

1) What is the big debate regarding Old Town Road and genre?

The big debate was about whether “Old Town Road” can be defined as country music. Billboard removed “Old Town Road” from its country chart, which started a debate about what defines country music and who gets to decide.

2) What do you learn about the background of Lil Nas X and Old Town Road from the podcast transcript?

He is a 20-year-old rapper from Atlanta. His his birth name is Montero Hill, but he has been calling himself “Lil Nas X” for a while. Last year, he joined SoundCloud, as many people do and he released a song called “Old Town Road” at the end of December. He bought a beat that had this sort of country like instrumental to it. He said he felt like a lonely cowboy, and he decided to pair that feeling with the beat that he bought.

3) What is the Yeehaw agenda?

The Yeehaw Agenda often refers to country-western fashion, especially cowboy hats, boots, jackets, and horses. It's particularly associated with Black culture and shared on Black Twitter.

4) How did the story become a debate about race in America?

A black artist in America who’s using very white music in his own music discovers that his song gets quietly removed by a very powerful, influential organization that is Billboard. Genius reached out and  Billboard said, “Oh no, it has nothing to do with his race, it has everything to do with the song and the lack of country elements in it.” which started a debate.

5) How does Charlie Harding sum up the whole thing in the final part of the podcast transcript?

The institutions like Billboard might seem uneasy by the fact that there are other folks deciding whether or not something is or is not a certain genre. He thinks that today people listen as much by mood as they do by genre, upending an entire way of thinking about the importance of these generic categories.  It is changing the way things chart, where they end up.

Now read this Salon feature on Lil Nas X and LGBTQ+ identity. Answer the following questions:

1) How did Lil Nas X announce his sexuality on social media?

He encouraged fans to listen to his song “c7osure,” which talks about coming clean about secrets and accepting themselves.  He posted the artwork from his new EP “7,” which is an illustration of him wearing a cowboy hat and riding a horse towards a building glowing with rainbow lights.  caption reads, “deadass thought i made it obvious.”

2) Why does the article describe Old Town Road as 'genre-blurring'?

His breakthrough hit harnessed both hip hop and country sounds and fans, Lil Nas X's public declaration of his sexuality touches both genres. 

3) How has country music demonstrated the social change taking place in American culture and society? 

2014 was a big year for LGBTQ news in country music. The trend in growing acceptance and support followed a nationwide social and political shift. By 2014, the states that had legalized same-sex marriage cumulatively contained 70 percent of the U.S. population. Then, in 2015,  U.S. Supreme Court struck down all state bans, making marriage equality the law of the land. 

Old Town Road textual analysis

Watch the video again and answer the following questions. Use your notes from our in-class analysis to help you:

1) How is the narrative features used in the music video? Apply narrative theory here.

binary opposition: western vs modern, country music vs rap music

action code: gun, shooting, the whip sound

enigma code: The tunnel; time travel

propp: Hero

2) What examples of genre conventions and intertextuality can you find in the video?

Celebrity cameos: Chris Rock; "when you see a black man on a horse, you just gotta let him fly"

Intertextuality: name check brands which is significant to rap: hip hop culture

Line dancing; bingo hall; country genre vs hip hop dancing; hood; rap genre

Music genre: hybridity, postmodern text

3) How are technical codes used to create meanings in the video? Analyse camerawork, editing and mise-en-scene and make specific reference to moments in the video.

Costume: cowboy outfit used to create meaning of the western, modern clothing used to represent current fashion. Allows binary oppositiion to be shown here

Camerawork is fast paced in order to keep interest

Editing: uses fades and many cuts.  

Props: cars and horse used to create old vs new meaning, another binary opposition

4) How are representations of race and ethnicity constructed in the video?

Lil Nas X is a young Black man. 

While Lil Nas X is singing it only shows Black extras  links to the fact that rap and hip hop are usually affiliated with Black rappers, but when Billy Ray Cyrus was singing it showed white people at a bingo hall line dancing and stereotypically, country music is associated with white artists.

 

5) What other representations can you find in the video? You may wish to comment on gender, sexuality or America/American culture. 

Lil Nas Xs sexuality and the fact that he is gay may make the audience view Old Town Road in a different meaning.