Since his first song in early 2019, “Old Town Road” has been an unstoppable force! With over 1 billion streams to date, “Road” is one of the most well-known songs of all time. The music video for this track features several cameos and appearances by famous rappers like Drake and Future.
Nas aspired to be a rapper since he was very young, but he didn’t start recording until he was nearly 40 years old. He spent many years trying to break into the industry before getting noticed for his work.
He released two more singles after “Road”, both featuring other artists, but they received little attention. It took him almost two years to release another hit, so people might have forgotten about him already. Luckily, though, he found success with something new — kazooing.
What is kazooing?
Kazoos are small plastic instruments that you blow through or press down on top of to make different sounds. People use them for fun, to learn how to play some basic melodies, and sometimes to perform with them. Some people even get paid for it!
A lot of musicians were influenced by kazooing when they learned how to play their instrument.
Many people may not know who originally wrote and recorded what would become one of the most popular songs in recent memory, but they have probably heard it before. Back in late 2017, rapper/singer Lil Nas X released his song “Old Town Road.” The lyrics tell the story of someone trying to get away from their past self by listening to music that is made up mostly of catchy beats and simple lyrics.
The song quickly gained popularity due to its relatable lyrics and infectious chorus. Even though the song was written several months ago, the artist still receives praise for writing an authentic piece of music that many can relate to.
His success has been constant since he first published the song back in November of 2017. He has collaborated with some well-known artists such as Ariana Grande and Miley Cyrus and even won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album last year!
He also received recognition for being nominated for Songwriter Of The Year at this years Billboard Music Awards.
In March of 2018, twenty-two year old rapper Lil Nas X dropped his first single “Old Town Road”. The song quickly skyrocketed to success, topping the Billboard charts within weeks!
Lil Nas X then followed up this feat with another hit titled “Where Ya At?” This song was featured in the movie Aquaholic and also reached number one at the music chart.
Since these songs were both successful, they opened up opportunities for Lil Nas X as an artist. He has since released several other songs including two collaborations that have made it onto the top ten list of best selling singles of all time!
These songs not only helped him gain recognition as a musician but also proved that he can write catchy lyrics which is something that many people admire about him.
His musical style has been described as fun, youthful, and unique. Many artists have inspired Lil Nas X to start writing and performing their own material. He even gave some credit to Taylor Swift by copying her style before launching his career as a soloist.
While most musicians work hard to get their foot in the door, Lil Nas X is arguably one of the biggest viral artists of our time! He achieved major success not only because he worked hard, but also due to his use of social media.
He started posting songs on YouTube back in early 2018, which eventually lead to him receiving over 100 million views and climbing the ladder as an artist.
By creating his own channel on both Instagram and Twitter, he was able to spread his music to different audiences and promote himself. Many people have made money off of his songs, making it clear that his content is something that people want to hear.
His song “Old Town Road” even broke into radio rotation before getting popular through online singing contests. His catchy lyrics and lovable personality help make him very accessible to other people.
Originally, “Old Town Road” was an acoustic song that featured one main vocalist and some background vocals. When it received radio play, however, there were problems with who sang what part. Many people noticed this and asked for the person or persons to be credited. This is when collaborations come into play!
A collaboration is when two separate artists work together to create an album or track. In this case, users of social media platforms like YouTube uploaded covers and re-recorded the songs with new lyrics. These covers are referred to as remakes or versions.
One such remake was done by user iAmErrBoy. He recreated the song with new lyrics written by his personal friend. He also included himself in the recording process using his own voice. This artist got famous off of his version alone!
His cover was published on YouTube on March 26th, 2018. It quickly went viral and has over 1 billion views at the time of writing this article.
After his song “Old Town Road” hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in April, it quickly became clear that there was more to this rapper than just his catchy music. He had a very successful career ahead of him!
As you may have noticed, he now has a feature with Milla Jovovich — yes, that Milla from The Matrix movies! They made their appearance together on her track “In This World.”
He also released an album titled Money Make Me Bang!, which features several other artists including Ariana Grande, LunchMoney Lewis, and Yung Miami.
