Opinion | Christopher Mosley: 'Old Town Road,' by Lil Nas X, is forcing Billboard — and country music — to reckon with its roots. - NBCNewsTHINK
Musgraves, Ramsey and now Lil Nas X are living, breathing memes — able to rob the spotlight from other manufactured and vetted pop acts. In the process, they are pushing the limits of this very traditional genre — in good ways. Such stretching and exploring will both grow the audience and help to resolve some of the issues from country’s dark past.
While the sun was setting on America's minstrel era, the music industry became more covert about exploiting artists of color. The way that Lil Nas X is being treated — as an unwelcome guest — brings these historically closed doors into much sharper focus. The integrated studios of the soul music era have been portrayed as evidence of a mythical utopian musical past. But upon further inspection, a more complicated picture of integrated recording studios emerges. Beyond the self-imposed humiliation of America's minstrel show history is the fact that the erasure of black contributions to country music is baked into the foundation of the genre.
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