Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” was propelled to popularity (in part) by controversy surrounding Billboard’s decision to remove it from the Hot Country Songs chart. At the time, the magazine told Genius that the track didn’t “embrace enough elements of today’s country music.” Stars like Billy Ray Cyrus came to his defense, and it seems that the controversy inspired some of his songwriting, too. His new EP, 7, includes a song titled “Kick It” where he addresses the controversy from an outside perspective.
On the song’s first verse, he raps:
Seen you on the TV, heard that Billboard took your chartin' place
Heard your snippets on IG, man, tell me what’s the droppin' dates
The “snippets on IG” refers to his latest single, “Panini,” which he teased extensively before its release. The track’s long build up became a running joke amongst his fans:
Although “Old Town Road” never made it back onto the Hot Country Songs chart (even with a Billy Ray Cyrus remix), the press attention helped it land at No. 1 on the Hot 100 chart. He’s avoided being overly critical of Billboard throughout the controversy, but it seems he still wanted to address the situation on wax.
Listen to the song above and read all the lyrics to Lil Nas X’s “Kick It” on Genius now.
