MAGA’s Insurrection of the Music Charts
Hot Takes
Just like stans, conservative politics has figured out how to manipulate the sales.
BY HARPSICHORD
SEPTEMBER 14, 2023
Digital illustration of Republican candidates standing on the stage of the first Presidential primary debate.
Starting with Morgan Wallen’s 16-week, nonconsecutive reign at the top of the Billboard Hot 100, country music has made a wide resurgence in mainstream popularity in 2023. But at what cost?
A peculiar moment happened during the first Republican Presidential debate in Milwaukee on August 23. The first question posed to the eight candidates on the debate stage centered around the No. 1 song of that time, “Rich Men North of Richmond,” by Oliver Anthony Music.
Released independently by the Virginia folk musician, “Rich Men North of Richmond,” instantly became viral— topping sales and streaming charts. In the first week that it debuted, the song received 147,000 sales and over 17.5 million streams. It’s a jarring criticism of politicians who work in DC— which is north of Richmond. It quickly garnered criticism for being radical, and using terms that allude to the derogatory, “Welfare queen.” “Lord, we got folks in the street, ain’t got nothin’ to eat/And the obese milkin’ welfare,” yells Oliver Anthony. He criticizes high taxes, and swears throughout, as he sings in the hook, “Cause your dollar ain’t sh*t!”
Although he gave Fox News permission to play a snippet of the song during the live broadcast— and although Florida governor, and 2024 hopeful, Ron DeSantis, answered on “why is this song striking such a nerve”— Anthony claims that it is not a conservative anthem. Conservative politicians such as House Representative from Georgia, Marjorie Taylor Greene, have praised the song, believing so. But Anthony felt the usage was ironic, on the count that the song “[was] written about the people on that stage.” In fact, he has no allegiance to either the Republicans or Democrats currently in office, or those seeking higher positions.
Still, people will use a song for their own personal reasons despite the artist’s actual intent. Just a few weeks prior, another song that touted conservative ideology had reached No. 1 on the Hot 100: Jason Aldean’s “Try That In A Small Town.” It led a Top 3 of country songs performed by solo male artists, with Wallen’s “Last Night” at No. 2, and Luke Combs’s cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” at No. 3.
“Try That In A Small Town,” has been interpreted to represent exactly what it is spelling out. Scholars and critics have noted that it alludes to “sundown towns.” Sundown Towns are white-only with no diversity. They become dangerous to occupy for the fear of racial violence towards minorities once night falls.
“See how far you make it down the road,” and “You cross that line, it won’t take long,” are the lyrics that parallel that sentiment. It’s chock full of racist patriotism: Calling for action against those who “stomp on the flag and light it up” and salutes a town “full of good ol' boys.” Despite falling 20 spots the week after debating No. 1, the song remained the most digitally purchased and downloaded for four more weeks. It stayed at No. 1 on the Country Songs chart for two.
It’s the “full of good ol’ boys,” line that is quite alarming. When federal investigations were conducted well after a live televised insurrection of the US Capitol building which took place on January 6, 2021 (an effort to prevent the electoral certification of Joe Biden’s Presidential victory), many of the arrested perpetrators identified as Proud Boys. The Proud Boys are a far-right militant group that believes in violence towards minorities and their progressive allies. Their former leader, Enrique Tarrio, received 22 years in prison for seditious conspiracy for playing a part in planning the attack.
During his presidency, Donald Trump, would not denounce the Proud Boys. In fact, he told them to “Stand back and stand by.” He basically gave the signal to white supremacists and their militia groups to go by an “any means necessary” approach should he be removed from office. Looking at Aldean’s song, he utilized country music— the genre often analyzed as one of the first American music entities— and (inadvertently) gave an anthem to said individuals.
The Country Music Television network (CMT) immediately removed and banned the video from receiving airplay. According to NPR, the backdrop of the music video features Jason Aldean and his band in front of The Maury County Courthouse building in Columbia, Tennessee. That site has become notorious for its race riots in 1946, and served as the grounds for the White mob lynching of Henry Coate, an 18-year-old Black man in 1927. Regarded for its vigilante talk points, Aldean noted in a press statement upon release that the song is about community protection. “An unspoken rule” is how he regards those sentiments.
Following the initial controversy, Aldean claims that he is not “pro-lynching,” and that the viewpoints of his critics “goes too far.” Fellow country musician— and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer— Sheryl Crow called out Aldean in a tweet. “Jason Aldean,” she addresses the singer, “I’m from a small town. Even people in small towns are sick of violence.” She continues: “There’s nothing small-town or American about promoting violence. You should know that better than anyone having survived a mass shooting.” Jason Aldean happened to be present in Las Vegas, in 2017, where 60 people died, 413 were wounded, and 867 were injured, during his performance at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival. The incident is regarded as the largest mass shooting by a single gunman in American history.
The rise of modern conservative aligning songs (whether intended to purposefully express those sentiments or not) can be traced back to Loza Alexander’s “Let’s Go Brandon.” The saying “Let’s Go Brandon,” is an oath that truly means “F*ck Joe Biden.” During a Sparks 300 NASCAR race on October 2, 2021, audio picked up the crowd chanting “F*ck Joe Biden,” during an interview of driver Brandon Brown. The reporter, Kelli Stavast, received flack for lying on air, stating the crowd was yelling “Let’s Go Brandon,” as an attempt to follow FCC guidelines. Trump’s MAGA supporting base immediately adopted the euphemism.
The hip hop song immediately went No. 1 on iTunes upon its release. That helped it reach No. 38 on the Billboard Hot 100. Many other acts have benefitted from having conservative ideals laced in their music, including Canadian rapper, Tom MacDonald. He achieved fame for, “Whiteboy,” a song that Rolling Stone Magazine claims “trash[es the] Black Lives Matter [movement].”
Morgan Wallen has seen a rise in success due to his own racist snafu. Back in February 2021, when his sophomore, ‘Dangerous: The Double Album,’ was already receiving chart topping success on Billboard, Spotify, and Apple Music, TMZ leaked footage of Wallen hurling the “n-word” during a drunken night in a Nashville neighborhood.
Immediately, Wallen apologized for his actions and claimed he would do better. But despite the initial backlash— including banned nominations from country entities— his album remained No. 1 for an overall total of ten weeks. It is now certified six times platinum by the RIAA. He’d even have two collabs with Black drill rapper, Lil Durk, following the situation.
Much of Wallen’s music does not deal with politics. It’s unknown what his political affiliation is, but it is clear that he must appeal to many Republicans— as he’s embarked on his One Night At A Time World Tour in Mississippi, Kentucky, and Nebraska, just a few of the states that annually vote red during Presidential elections.
Morgan Wallen’s biggest hit, “Last Night,” became the first song by a country song by a solo male artist to reach No. 1 on the Hot 100 since Eddie Rabbit’s 1981 hit, “I Love A Rainy Night.” It’s standard country pop that fits in the genre of bro-country. “Last night we let the liquor talk,” sings Wallen. It revolves around a romantic argument, and has a bit of a trap sway. There is a bit of swearing: “You packed your sh*t and you slammed the door.” Confidentially, Wallen assures his antagonist “no way it was our last night” of ever speaking to one another.
Wallen proves that not all country music reigning at the top has to be political. He does show, however, that if a White artist in that space receives controversy for doing something racist, they can receive support as a way to combat the idea of “cancel culture.”
Usually what rules the charts is pop-adjacent music. Most of the time, that music is pumped out by more progressive artists, female singers that champion feminism, or minorities that occupy the spaces of hip hop, Latin music, or Korea’s own k-pop.
Luke Combs had a chance of going No. 1 this year with his cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car.” That song is about a working class woman, trying to escape the cycle of poverty. While Combs does not identify with politics publicly, it is more than likely that disenfranchised blue collar conservatives can appreciate a folk-pop classic that once appealed to listeners in 1988. Comb’s management has stated that due to Combs’s affinity for Chapman’s songwriting, he decided to not change any of the lyrics, even if it complicates the gender of who is singing the song. The song peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, being blocked by Wallen’s “Last Night.” Due to it reaching No. 1 on the Country Songs chart, Chapman became the first Black woman writer to chart at that summit alone.
Through all of the political madness in country music, what has also been noticeable is the lack of women being played on radio and charting in the top spot. An ominous moment came in the 2022 Grammys cycle, when it was revealed that Kacey Musgraves would not be eligible for country genre nominations. The committee felt her album, ‘Star-Crossed,’ was more pop-oriented. The musically progressive album also discussed divorce, which can be viewed as a sin to most conservatives in today’s political cycle. Recently, Musgraves received a No. 1 hit on the Hot 100 with her Luke Bryan-lead ballad, “I Remember Everything.”
Holding down the fort for women in country music (outside Kacey Musgraves) is Lainey Wilson. In September, she was announced as this year’s most nominated artist for the CMA Awards, with nine. Her traditional album, ‘Bell Bottom Country,’ has already won Album of the Year at the Academy of Country Music Awards. While the album is doused in funk and soul influences of the ‘70s, “Watermelon Moonshine,” embarks on modern country pop that’s akin to Dolly Parton, Kenny Chesney or Sheryl Crow. It’s the simple fodder of how alcohol influences everlasting love. It may also help that during a time where America is divided politically, Wilson’s affiliation is speculated, but not factual public knowledge.
What remains clear in country music’s rise to the top of the mainstream, is that traditionalism remains key. Although political controversy has propelled certain songs to do better than others, the debate on what makes a song country, underlies it all. This can be traced back to Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” being removed from the Billboard’s genre chart in 2019. Somehow, as the genre continues to progress into different territories that involve mixing genres, and the identities of its vocal performers, country music still relies on conservative America to make it popular. If that’s not an indicator of what will happen in 2024 when Trump attempts to garner a second term, what else should we be looking for?
