Thanks to artists like Young Thug and Lil Nas X, the genre lines between Hip-Hop and Country have blurred a lot in recent years, but you can't fully discuss rap-country crossover artists without mentioning Nelly. In 2004, Nelly dropped the country-leaning record "Over and Over," and now, 17 years later, he has finally dropped his first full country-inspired album, title Heartland.
Heartland is a genre-defying nine-track effort that's packed with good vibes and features from acclaimed country artists such as Florida Georgia Line, Blanco Brown, Breland, Kane Brown, Darius Rucker, City Spud, George Birge, Chris Bandi, and Jimmie Allen.
According to HipHop-N-More, Nelly said the following about Heartland during a recent interview with Apple Music:
I hope it opens people's eyes up as far as some of those minds that might’ve been closed to having the idea of Black folk being in country as much as possible, so to speak, and continuously to grow. But then also inviting more Black artists that are into country. Because I don’t know if they know, but we’re everywhere! You know what I’m saying?… So, I mean, yeah, man, you just want to invite more because you’ve got to understand – It’s been a long time.
Listen to Nelly's new country album below, and let us know in the comments if you think Heartland is a hit or a miss for the veteran Hip-Hop artist.
Tracklist:
1. Lil Bit (feat. Florida Georgia Line)
2. High Horse (feat. Breland & Blanco Brown)
3. Girts & Glamour (feat. Kane Brown)
4. Ms. Drive Me Crazy (feat. Darius Rucker & City Spud)
5. Country Boy Do (feat. Tyler Hubbard)
6. Someone Somewhere (feat. George Birge)
7. 5 Drinks Ago
8. Follow Me (feat. Chris Bandi)
9. Good Times Roll (feat. Jimmie Allen)
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