Album Review – BigXthaPlug’s “I Hope You’re Happy”
Rap/Hip-Hop (#???) — not applicable to the Country DDS.
It’s official. Country music has entered a new era, at least in the mainstream. And now that the barn doors appear to be thrown completely wide, and anyone who wants to enter into the country music space is embraced with open arms, we might be concluding the welcomed period where country music was going through dramatic renewal and a return to the genre’s roots coming out of the scourge of Bro-Country.
Years from now, we might look back and recognize some time in 2023 as the high water mark for the rise of independent superstars and a return to substance in songwriting before interlopers ushered in a new era of aggressive regression, verified by the conflict and infighting were currently seeing on the dramatic upswing in the performer class, similar to what was experienced during the height of Bro-Country.
Though some love to point at Shaboozey as a problem, the truth is most of his music is pretty inoffensive, and finds sort of an agreeable, Zach Bryan-meets-Lumineers folk vibe. Beyoncé stirred controversy in country of course, but it wasn’t really the approach of Cowboy Carter as much as the conflicts over genre classification. Otherwise, the album was an involved, genre-bending project that might have struggled to find deep appeal. But it wasn’t like it was some terrible work of music.
Post Malone shouldn’t get a pass for his recent country release just because he recorded it in Nashville and collaborated with a bunch of the industry A-listers. It did feel like a letdown after years of shouting out the likes of Sturgill Simpson, Tyler Childers, and Billy Strings, yet it ended up being such a commercially-oriented effort. But the deluxe edition tracks included some good stuff, and F-1 Trillion wasn’t so misplaced to be repulsive.
But this BigXthaPlug record, it really is something special. This really is an aggressive insult, and trespass to the intellect to try and sell it as “country,” which is exactly what is happening. To circumvent any supposed “gatekeeping,” they roped in some of country’s biggest mainstream stars like Luke Combs, Jelly Roll, and Thomas Rhett, not dissimilar to what happened on the Post Malone project. Every song on this BigXthaPlug album is a direct collaboration.
Every song on this album also works exactly the same: Some established country music star sings a melodic and rather formulaic radio-friendly chorus—no verse, just a chorus—and then BigXthaPlug comes in disruptively, says “Hey…” and through a THC fog, raps about how terrible he’s been treated by a woman over a cliché, unimaginative trap beat. Maybe the guest chorus repeats itself again, or maybe it doesn’t. But the chorus never develops or evolves, just like the songs themselves.
That’s what you get. This encompasses the entire album. Over and over. Every single song works exactly the same. And even though the lyrical content might vary ever so slightly, it all just sort of presents itself as a boiler plate, paint-by-the-numbers, stamped out product, with no integration in the collaborations whatsoever. This is a hasty, unimaginative, creatively-bereft, trite and tedious cut-and-paste project that doesn’t present any sort of muster even in the hip-hop world, let alone country.
Even the album title I Hope You’re Happy is a sort of whiny, self-important bromide, though it’s a great encapsulation of the vapid and immature lyrical content of this record. Kendrick Lamar, it isn’t. And though a country critic is uniquely unqualified and ill-equipped to properly assess the virtues or failings of a hip-hop effort (since that’s what it actually is), the cadence, pentameter, and delivery from BigXthaPlug here just feels lazy and uninspired. There is no talent displayed in BigXthaPlug’s deliveries.
Arguably the worst song is the collaboration with Ella Langley on “Hell At Night.” It’s one of these songs where the protagonist wishes the worst on an ex in a very imbecilic and shallow attitude. Seeing Ella in the track list just underscores how unfortunate this entire project is. Sort of like traditional stalwart Jamey Johnson co-writing “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk,” for some purists and rednecks out there, Langley might never live this down.
Perhaps BigXthaPlug’s greatest achievement is to get a line to form to the left of country performers stepping up to proclaim his virtues, frankly beclowning themselves when you ponder the eventual outcome of this album. Not only did Charley Crockett shout him out during his recent shot at Gavin Adcock and Morgan Wallen, Crockett doubled down recently, posting BigXthaPlug’s song “Texas,” while Crockett ludicrously claims he’s the “new Hank Williams” (either BigXthaPlug, or potentially, himself).
Similar to Beyoncé, BigXthaPlug’s native Texas status has been used to explain his country cred, and justify this “country” collaboration. But when asked by Billboard who he liked more, Texan George Strait, or Texan Willie Nelson, BigXthaPlug’s response was “George Strait. I’m not gonna act like I know who either one of those people are, but I’ve heard George Strait a lot more than I’ve heard the other guy.”
Yes, BigXthaPlug doesn’t even know who George Strait and Willie Nelson are. There’s his country/Texas cred for you. He referred to Willie Nelson as “the other guy.” And yet, we’re supposed to consider him country, or even the “next Hank Williams”? Ironically, the song Crockett posted from BigXthaPlug called “Texas” is probably closer to an actual country rap song than anything on this record. That’s why Crockett posted it as opposed to one of this album’s tracks.
This whole entire thing is one giant hoodwink, and there’s a lot of folks on the hook for being duped. And lot of them are being duped because the release of Beyoncé Cowboy Carter conditioned them into believing anyone and everyone should be allowed to make “country” music if they simply declare their desire to.
But it’s not just that BigXthaPlug’s I Hope You’re Happy isn’t country. It’s that it’s just not good. If this is who you want to integrate country music with, and use to highlight the genre’s Black roots, you will do significantly more harm than good in that pursuit.
1/10
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August 26, 2025 @ 8:55 am
I got through 53 seconds of it. My own fault…I made that decision in a weak moment. God forgive me.
August 26, 2025 @ 9:04 am
Wow, if there are people who like this song they can have it. I usually like the music trigger puts up, but wow this is beyond bad . Buddy what ever your day job is don’t quit it. Please trigger try to keep destroying our ears to a minimum.
August 26, 2025 @ 9:05 am
These shitty rappers coming to try and claim to be part of country music (I think machine gun Kelly is also trying to get in on this?) occurring at the same as the best independent country music in a long time and even some pretty good mainstream stuff isn’t a coincidence. Country music means something and there’s going to inevitably be conflict over what it mean. Thesis/antithesis/synthesis.
And make no mistake this is just the world we live in. It’s not specific. We live in the world of private equity where no longer do people want to make a profit selling a product people want at a price they can afford. The frontier is closed and the beast must be fed. There’s nothing new to build so there stripping the copper out of the walls. This is what that looks like.
August 26, 2025 @ 9:08 am
Been disappointed in Luke Combs. Firsrt he does this collaboration with Bailey Zimmerman. Now this. And all the other artists that got sucked into this. Real letdown for Ela Langley. I dont care that Jelly Roll did it. I am so tired of seeing his face everywhere. Talk about overexposure. Every time I hear one of his songs appear really makes me cringe
August 26, 2025 @ 9:30 am
Luke and Ella on this were huge letdowns, and having the awful Zimmerman collab out there as a radio hit right now makes me fear for Combs’ next album project. I feel like a wrestling fan watching his favorite “face” slowly turn “heel.”
August 26, 2025 @ 9:20 am
Gavin Adcock wins round two with Charley Crockett by calling him a ‘cosplay cowboy’. There is no way I could or would listen to BigXthaPlug’s entire album but I’ve listened to ‘Hell at Night’ a few times and the writing is terrible.
This morning I saw a social media clip pop up for BigXthaPlug where he is explaining how he cannot write hooks and has other people write hooks for him. On the songs I hear him wrapping on I can tell he doesn’t understand time signatures. His rap lines end at completely random times never coming back to the 1 beat. I clicked on the comment sections of his video clips and it’s nothing but retards praising this dude’s authenticity. I will be the 2nd or 3rd person to chime in about black contribution to music because I love blues, soul, and jazz and music, but this nonsense is just straight up trash. The industry embracing this turd is pushing black fatigue and I get it.
August 26, 2025 @ 9:36 am
Yes, BigXthaPlug has admitted to using ghost writers, but still taking his own credit on the tracks, including on his song “The Largest,” which happens to already have eleven songwriters.
I’m not even sure if BigXthaPlug has any talent, or if he’s simply the figurehead a label places as the front-facing facade to a franchise they can then funnel attention through because he looks the part. It’s absolutely insane to me that this album even exists.
August 26, 2025 @ 9:45 am
The ability to write a hook or a catchy rhyme is the biggest differentiator between this modern trap and mumble rap vs 90’s and 2000’s rap. I hate rap but there are catchy songs. If a rapper can’t even write a catchy hook or have good rhythm what the hell even is this music?
August 26, 2025 @ 9:21 am
The corporate design: sell anything you can get the audience to accept as country, including a mediocre, Trump-supporting hip-hop performer, and welcome more sales and profits than you ever dreamed possible. If it weren’t depressingly a feature of real life, it would be the plot of a dystopian novel.
Who says corporate capitalists are sentimental souls? Who says a significant portion of self-identified country fans really give a rip?
As if the world weren’t dark enough as it is.
August 26, 2025 @ 9:25 am
The if you don’t like this you’re a racist crowd is past its expiry date and boring at this point.
And if you’re surprised by Charley Crockett’s comments, I don’t know what to tell you…that was completely predictable.
August 26, 2025 @ 9:50 am
I think Charley Crockett is a very important artist to our time. His recent album “Dollar A Day” is great, and might go on to complete for Album of the Year.
I have no idea what he thinks he’s doing here, except for maybe he saw all the attention he got in the Gavin Adcock moment, and is now trying to recreate it by making ludicrous statements until another one sticks. This is how social media games our brain chemistry, and gets otherwise rational people to do completely idiotic things. Crockett recently posted something calling out TikTok and TV competition stars … before quickly deleting it and replacing it by saying “Black music made me.” At this point he’s just prattling for applause lines.
I remember when Randy Houser once tried to claim Luke Bryan was like the Willie, Waylon, and Cash of our time, and we all had a big laugh over it. Saying BigXthaPlug is the “new Hank Williams” is so far beyond ludicrous and implausible, you can’t even quantify the lunacy. But of course, otherwise very intelligent people are going along with it 100%, because they feel like they need to get on the right side of this history.
The only thing that gives me solace is all of this stuff is so ridiculous, you don’t even have to actively refute it. It’s so obvious what’s happening here, you just sit back and witness it with calm bemusement.
And for the record, I was not going to write this review. I kept picking it up, and putting it down. But when Crockett issued that line, it forced my hand. Someone needs to step up and offer at least a little bit of sanity here.
August 26, 2025 @ 9:59 am
Maybe I’m missing it. Where did he call BigXthaPlug the “new Hank williams?”
Charlie’s quickly becoming one of those guys where it’s just better to listen to the music and ignore all the rest. It impossible to tell what any of them actually believe, other than there being no such thing as bad pub.
August 26, 2025 @ 10:35 am
He said it on an Instagram post. For context, he posted BigXthaPlug’s song “Texas” on the post, who he also shouted out in a previous social media post. Though it’s also a possibility Charley Crockett is also referring to himself as the “new Hank Williams.” But if that is the case, the situation is even worse.
Here’s the post:
https://www.instagram.com/p/DNzWxeZ2tBa/?hl=en
August 26, 2025 @ 10:59 am
Audio must have been removed at some point. I think he was facetiously referring to himself, either way.
August 26, 2025 @ 12:03 pm
Yeah, the audio was definitely there when I saw it yesterday. I go to it on desktop, and it shows no audio. I go to it on mobile, it’s still showing the audio attached, but no sound. So I don’t know. I did add to the article earlier this morning and state the possibility that Crockett is referring to himself. But again, you’re referring to yourself as the new Hank Williams, that might be an ever greater faux pas.
August 26, 2025 @ 11:53 am
Charley Crookett = Talcum X
August 26, 2025 @ 10:16 am
Charley is being stupid if he’s going to categorize every black artist as being equal. I would say Oscar Peterson is the greatest musician and the Howlin Wolf rocking chair album is the greatest rock record but this BigXthaPlug is just skid row karaoke.
August 26, 2025 @ 10:30 am
I don’t think Charley Crockett is trying to categorize every Black artist as equal. Charley is from the Dallas area, BigXthaPlug is from the Dallas area, and there might be some deeper connection there. Interesting though that Crockett feels the need to canonize the guy when he didn’t even invite him to collaborate on his album. BogXthaPlug should be shouting out Charley Crockett. And instead of shouting out Beyonce and BigXthaPlug, Charley Crockett should be shouting out Nikky Diamonds, Rhiannon Giddens, Kashus Culpepper, Aaron Vance, and other actual Black artist making actual Black roots music.
Charley Crockett is falling for the classic mistake of trading short-term attention for long-term credibility facilitated by the dopamine rush you get from posting on social media. He’s also playing right into the hands of all his detractors who’ve I’ve been trying to defend him against for going on a decade.
All that said, this is not a Charley Crockett story. This is a story about how the entirety of the country music industry, top to bottom, is opening veins to bleed out for BigXthaPlug for reasons that don’t seem to be entirely obvious, but are most certainly self-defeating.
August 26, 2025 @ 10:40 am
If Charley is the most credible Country music artist and he’s supporting BigXthaPlug it implicates him because of his remarks praising him.
August 26, 2025 @ 10:42 am
I’m starting to have Texas fatigue
August 26, 2025 @ 10:51 am
I am pretty annoyed to be honest about how much negative attention Charley is getting for this. Like he’s responsible for this album or general trends like this. But I can understand why he might feel defensive about a black artist getting harsh criticism for doing some sort of country music (while I agree this shit sucks ass). I just don’t think this should be about him at all. He’s not responsible for either this album or anyone’s embrace of it.
Cause well you can find people on the comments of this website saying Charley Crockett isn’t black, is inauthentic, is all sorts of very personal things that amount to he’s not allowed to make country music. That country music is only for white southerners. I don’t blame him for being defensive.
August 26, 2025 @ 12:11 pm
I get absolutely no pleasure in bringing Charley Crockett into this conversation. I would also be showing bias and attempting to shield him if I didn’t. He made two pretty big endorsements of BigXthaPlug (no matter how you read the latest Insta post), and that definitely speaks to the full, bear hug embrace BigXthaPlug has been receiving in all sectors of country music.
I understand what Charley Crockett is attempting to do here. He’s standing up for Black creators in the country space, and as a general principle, I support and endorse his efforts in that direction. He’s just picking the wrong people to endorse, in my opinion.
Charley Crockett plays a very important role in race and country music. But I can’t in good conscience endorse his endorsement of BogXthaPlug, or calling BigXthaPlug or himself the “new Hank Williams.” This is the reason I reviewed this album, and as objectively as I could. This is not the music we need to be pushing in the country space. It’s going to stoke more racism than it will challenge.
August 26, 2025 @ 10:59 am
Charlie isn’t black. I would still say he’s authentic, but he wasn’t asked about BigXthaPlug or Beyonce, he willingly made those remarks on his own. Yes there is a knee-jerk reaction by many to blame Beyonce for the ills of modern Country, but embracing her music and Bigx’s as legit hurts his credibility.
August 26, 2025 @ 12:13 pm
Charley has Black heritage, and at a percentage enough that he is willing to identify with it. I don’t know what that exact percentage is, but I respect his decision to assert himself as an artist in the country music space with Black roots.
August 26, 2025 @ 11:43 am
Harris,
Hardly anyone, if anyone at all, says things that “amount to” people saying “he’s not allowed to make country music.” That’s such a mischaracterization.
I’m not a fan of him because I don’t like his voice, I think his schtick is a way too heavy handed, and I don’t think his songs are that good. Never would I ever suggest or even think he shouldn’t be “allowed” to make country music. I don’t think anyone feels that way.
August 26, 2025 @ 1:25 pm
Charley Crockett’s mother is Jan Onda Applehans who is of German descent. His father Brant E. Crockett is the son of Charles Hayes “Charlie” Crockett Sr. a chemical engineer in TX. Charles Hayes has a picture in his obituary online and he is very much white. Charley Crockett is not black.
August 26, 2025 @ 2:05 pm
I have been face to face with Charley Crockett in the past. You can tell he’s got African DNA in him. Where it comes from, or what the percentage of it is, I don’t know. But it does continue to astound me how many people will spends hours of their lives digging into his past. I wish someone in the media would do half as much research as the random Saving Country Music commenter does into Charley Crockett into the past of Jelly Roll.
August 26, 2025 @ 2:08 pm
I was referencing information that is linked on his own Wikipedia page – that isn’t “hours of research.” You are treating him like J-Rock in the Trailer Park Boys where he is a white dude who believes he’s black and no one else bothers to tell him he’s not. I realize that you have called him black too often and linked him with Chapel Hart and other black artists too often to walk this one back but if his direct parents aren’t black, and his grandparents aren’t black…he’s not black.
August 26, 2025 @ 3:06 pm
I understand you did not do hours of research. There are definitely people who have done hours of research into his past that comment on this website.
I am not in a position to report that Charley Crockett has no Black ancestry. If I did so and it was untrue, I could be sued for slander. You can draw that conclusion from the research you’ve done, but his Black ancestry has been explained in the past.
August 26, 2025 @ 9:31 am
“while Crockett ludicrously claims he’s the ‘new Hank Williams.’”
Trigger, come on dude. He was being sarcastic. Don’t mislead people.
August 26, 2025 @ 10:04 am
I don’t think he was being sarcastic at all. He was being hyperbolic for sure. But few if anyone is reading it as sarcasm, especially since it dovetails into Crockett’s other recent posts. If you believe he is being sarcastic, you’d also have to believe he’s mocking BiXthaPlug after roundly endorsing him when calling out Gavin Adcock.
Charley Crockett previously said about BigXthaPlug, “He’s genuine. A true story teller. The best hip hop sound to come out of Texas in this century.”
Again, another ludicrous, hyperbolic statement.
August 26, 2025 @ 9:47 am
This ties into my fear with the Grammys now recognizing “traditional country” as it’s own genre that mainstream country now has carte Blanche to make the genre as backwards and hip hop sounding as they please.
August 26, 2025 @ 9:52 am
That ship already sailed last year unfortunately. The traditional Country category is trying to deal with the aftermath. That said, I understand your concern, and think we should continue to concern ourselves with what is happening in mainstream country. Because it’s albums like this that can send it all into a tailspin in a way that affects the perception and fate of the entire genre.
August 26, 2025 @ 9:49 am
The ol’ Colt Ford formula. It sucked when he did it, too.
August 26, 2025 @ 10:04 am
I was not going to listen to Shaboozey’s album then I saw him perform at a festival. It was a good show, he seems genuine enough, and I must admit I have since enjoyed his album. It is fun. Whatever one thinks of Morgan Wallen, there are always a few tracks which are pretty good. Beyonce said her album was not country but whilst not for me, it really isn’t the worst album I have ever heard. Post Malone’s album was pretty poor. However, on a quick listen of this one, not only is it definitely nothing to do with country music, it is in my opinion pretty awful. Not sure who the target audience is for this one. It cannot be country fans.
August 26, 2025 @ 12:44 pm
I liked several tracks from Shaboozey’s album, and “Good News” has become a really strong earworm for me. I think Trig’s blues/folk/Lumineers characterization is on target. The question remains, though: Is this catchy tune that’s going to be No. 1 in country airplay next Monday country, and should I feel guilty for liking it if it isn’t?
August 26, 2025 @ 10:35 am
Trigger was being generous giving this a 1. It’s a 0/10.
I’ve been thinking about this since the other column about this guy and his album and his weapons arrest…man, if I’m a long time country fan (I’m not, I only started listening 5-6 years ago), someone that’s been listening for most of my life and have strong allegiances to the art form and some of the artists, I am fucking livid right now.
Fucking livid because it’s becoming increasingly apparent that people like Beyonce who need a career boost turn to country to find one. Fucking livid because a guy like this who is a terrible, terrible rapper and can’t come close to anything that Kendrick or Drake or Future or Clipse can create…or that Outkast, Jay-Z, Tupac, Biggie and Eminem created knows it, so he needs to turn to country and stand on the backs of all these artists he’s collaborating with in order to get spins and a spot on the charts. Fucking livid because Post Malone couldn’t hack it past an album or two as a rapper so he turned to country. Fucking livid because Jelly Roll couldn’t figure out a way to go mainstream with hip-hop so he turned to country. Fucking livid because that dildo Aaron Lewis thinks he’s speaking for Merle Haggard all of a sudden.
It’s so obvious that artists from other genres who can no longer hack it with what brought them to the dance turn to country in order to cut to the front of the line. Beyonce’s last album doesn’t get nearly the attention it did if it didn’t have some sort of a country slant. Jelly Roll all of a sudden isn’t some mainstream friendly act if he doesn’t turn to country. And there’s NO fucking way BigXthaPlug gets this type of publicity and notoriety overnight if he’s not trying to dip his fat feet in the country kiddie pool.
It’s gotta be highly offensive to the fans and artists who have spent their lives and careers with the genre.
August 26, 2025 @ 11:58 am
Louis Armstrong played on a few Jimmie Rodgers songs, ol’ Satchmo even recorded some country songs late in his career.
He’s got a lot more credibility in the annuals of what became country music than those posers and slimebags (Kid Rock among them) who claim they’re country today. Good, old Satchmo could be traced through Bob Wills to Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson and Asleep at the Wheel to George Strait and Randy Travis.
I cannot find a single trace of those greats in the “favored” country “hitmakers” anno 2025.
August 26, 2025 @ 10:42 am
This album is single handedly fueling late stage capitalism.
August 26, 2025 @ 11:37 am
DAAAANG! That was a soft review for such a horrid album. I so badly hope this rap trash era in “country” is ending soon. I would rather hear a baby crying next to a police siren and nails on a chalkboard. Just horrid sounds coming out of my phone.
August 26, 2025 @ 11:38 am
Trig, serious question: What do you use to clean your ears or how do you regain your well-being after suffering through horrible crap like this album?
August 26, 2025 @ 11:51 am
Hell, even Boy George in his heydays sounded more country than this.
He could write some good lyrics and catchy tunes, at least.
August 26, 2025 @ 1:58 pm
Karma Chameleon is a stellar rockabilly jam!
August 26, 2025 @ 12:05 pm
WOW. I may go cleanse my palate with Rascal Flatts. I used to think they were the worst we could do. Ugh,so glad Jones ain’t here to see/hear this.
August 26, 2025 @ 1:00 pm
You got cucked.
August 26, 2025 @ 2:48 pm
Yikes! These two genres are too disparate to co-exist within the same song. Yikes, I say.
August 26, 2025 @ 4:08 pm
Yeah this is bad. Do his fans like this? Just no creativity in even attempting to blend genres.