When Music Genres Clash You Get Magic Like Joe Nichol’s Baby Got Back
When Music Genres Clash, Magic Usually Happens
We've heard the albums where pop goes rock and metal goes pop, and the list goes on and on. In the country world, cover songs are everywhere, whether you know it or not. But it's not often we see country music going another way. For example, John Michael Montgomery was known for multiple crossover hits, meaning he covered songs from other genres and achieved success with them in the country music genre. I Swear and I Can Love You Like That are two of his biggest hits that, sure enough, were originally recorded in other genres. The legendary band Alabama had a massive hit when they covered NSYNC's God Must've Spent A Little More Time On You. Multiple acts have covered Fleetwood Mac's Landslide, but few did it better than The Chicks. Would I even be a country music DJ if I didn't mention Rascal Flatt's cover of the timeless Life Is A Highway? One of the best rock songs to ever crossover is the Nine Inch Nails tune Hurt, which Johnny Cash cryptically covered on his final album. A surprise rock crossover is Justin Moore's version of Motley Crue's Home Sweet Home. Check it out below.
What Happens When Rap Goes Country?
It's not very often a rap song can go country, but I really think this is just because of a lack of trying. There have been a couple of instances in which this was done successfully. My personal favorite is from an episode of The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. Guest Chance The Rapper was propositioned to play a round of "That's My Jam", in which Jimmy spins the wheel and a song is selected in coordination with a different genre from its original recording, and the guest must perform the song in that style (to the best of their ability). Chance was given Nelly's Hot In Herre to perform country style. Needless to say, he nailed it!
The rap gone country song that takes the cake, however, is Joe Nichol's version of the Sir-Mix-A-Lot smash, Baby Got Back. In a comedic music video, you see Sir himself holding auditions for musicians to cover Baby Got Back. Needless to say, Joe Nichols steals the show.