The collab I don’t think I could’ve ever dreamt up. It’s no secret that country music is the hot genre right now, and everyone wants in… even rappers like BigXthaPlug, who is dropping a country-inspired rap album tomorrow called I Hope You’re Happy, and it features one of country’s most popular artists in Luke Combs. BigX has already released songs with Ella Langley and Shaboozey, and he also had a huge radio hit with Bailey Zimmerman on “All The Way,” which topped the country airplay charts, and cracked the Top 5 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it a crossover hit there. It’s something that’s been in the works for a while, and obviously we knew it would feature several country artists due to the pre-released songs, but I honestly didn’t expect Combs’ name to be on the tracklist, so I’m extremely intrigued to hear whatever this is: “‘Pray Hard’ with my guy BigXThaPlug out tonight at midnight.” It’s unclear if Combs had a hand in writing “Pray Hard,” but if I had to guess, I would think he probably did lend his writing talents in addition to his pure country vocals: View this post on Instagram A post shared by Luke Combs (@lukecombs) BigXthaPlug is a Dallas native and grew up hearing country music being in Texas, and it was actually being imprisoned in solitary confinement during a jail stint that led him to becoming a rapper. He had violated a probation, and at 20-years-old, was in jail on his son’s 1st birthday. He said in an interview with Billboard that took a toll on him, obviously, and he used writing and poetry at first to help him cope. Eventually, that turned into a music career: “It took a toll on me, and made me very emotional. So they [jail officials] had to confine me by myself. And in that confinement, I felt like I was losing myself mentally.” In terms of his motivations for doing an entire country-inspired album with so many country artists involved, BigX previously explained that he believes that a true “artist” doesn’t want to be boxed into one genre… adding that “they can’t hate it if it sounds good.” I mean, fair enough… at it’s core, it’s still a rap album, it just features guest vocals from country singers. Much like EMD producers have done int he past. And surprisingly, the fan reaction to the hip-hop-meets country style he’s created has been pretty well-received: “I mean, it’s the difference between somebody that doesn’t like… hip-hop, a rapper and an artist. So I’m saying, people like Beyoncé, me and a bunch of people that have been able to do it are artists. You can’t just hold them in one lane. It’s like telling a painter you can only paint red apples. No, he’s an artist, he’s gonna play a lot of different things. So I feel like you can’t really, I mean of course there’s gonna be some hate about it, but they can’t hate it if it sounds good.” The album consists of 11-tracks in total, and other features from Jelly Roll, a former rapper, as well as the aforementioned artists. I actually think Luke’s feature is the most surprising one of everyone on the list, and I really can’t wait to hear what “Pray Hard” sounds like, because I can’t imagine it’s anything like what we’ve heard Combs do before. “Hell at Night” “All The Way” The post Luke Combs To Be Featured On Rapper BigXthaPlug’s ‘I Hope You’re Happy’ Country-Inspired Album first appeared on Whiskey Riff.