Toby Keith Says Country Shouldn’t Make A Living Off Of Hip-Hop
In mid October, Toby Keith lent his voice to the litany of artists criticizing modern country music in one capacity or another, specifically taking on the recent country rap trend, telling Country Weekly, “You hear the hip-hop thing start kicking in, and you start going, ‘Is that what we gotta do now to have a hit? Is that what I need every one of my songs to sound like now?’” The comments came in the context of Keith explaining how hard it is to get a country-sounding song played on the radio.
In another recent interview with Country 92.5 in Connecticut (listen below), Keith expanded on his statements, saying that his remarks weren’t a “diss,” but then doubled down on his opinion that rap shouldn’t be a predominant part of the country format.
I started that stuff with “[I Wanna] Talk About Me”… I think it’s cool to step out and do something like that, I just don’t think it’s cool to make a living doing that….It’s cool to step out and do some R&B stuff. It’s cool to step out and do some rock stuff. It’s cool to do traditional country. But at the end of the day if you’re gonna be a country artist, I don’t think you just keep making a living off of turning country into hip-hop songs. I think the hip-hop artists would get tired of listening to you do bad country.
Artist like Colt Ford, Cowboy Troy, and even more mainstream artists like Florida Georgia Line regularly release singles that feature country rap, while some of country’s biggest male stars like Luke Bryan and Jason Aldean have released multiple country rap singles. Keith also opens up the conversation about how country rap is viewed by a hip hop community that may be just as disappointed about what is happening with rap as many country fans are with country when the two formats mix.
Toby Keith’s “I Wanna Talk About Me” released in 2001 is given credit for being one of the first modern country rap songs, though at the time Keith was quoted as saying about it, “They’re going to call it a rap, [although] there ain’t nobody doing rap who would call it a rap.” The song was written by Country Music Hall of Famer Bobby Braddock, and was originally slated to be released by Blake Shelton before being turned down as “too risky.” Later in the interview with Country 92.5, Keith left open the possibility of doing country rap in the future, but only as a one-off collaboration instead of a sonic direction for his music.
My son played on an elite football team that played Canada in San Antonio and Snoop Dogg’s son was on the team too. And we met down there and I had “Red Solo Cup” out then and he was going, “Man I need to get in the studio with you and hit on some of that ‘Red Solo Cup.'” I’d love to. Me and Snoop would be fun. It wasn’t a diss as much as a do what you do, but get in your zone if you’re
going to be country.
November 3, 2013 @ 11:16 am
Wanna have your cake and eat it much, Toby Keith? I cringe everytime this cretin opens his mouth.
November 3, 2013 @ 11:30 am
I agree with everything he said, I just wonder if he truly believes that what he does is country. Does he really have the right to talk? I’m not talking about “I Wanna Talk About Me”. That was just a stupid, fun song. He’s right, nobody would really consider that a rap song. Not like today, where they are actually playing country rap on the pop and hip hop stations.He followed it with some decent songs.
Everything he has done recently is where my problem comes in. He hasn’t put out a single decent country song for years. How is “Red Solo Cup” any better than Florida Georgia Line or Jason Aldean? If he really believes what he says, than I hope he takes that and tries to change country music. But from his most recent single, I don’t see that happening.
November 3, 2013 @ 12:11 pm
Toby seems to be at the denial stage of his career where he complains about stuff while at the same time doing the things he’s complaining about. While he may not have done a recent rap song his recent output has been topically similar to many of these rap songs, if not worse. He strikes me as an artist trying to hold on to his relevancy. In his and others defense it must be hard to come to grip with the fact that your hit making days may be over. Some like Alan Jackson and Vince Gill quietly move to the next phase while others fight it like mad.
November 3, 2013 @ 12:21 pm
I don’t know. Keith remains the highest-paid artist in country music because of his stake in labels, and I think if country continues to go in this direction and he gets relegated to a has-been, he’ll just sit back and keep cashing checks and selling out arenas. In the first Country Weekly interview that started all of this, when he was asked if he would give in to the country rap trend, he said, “I”™m not going to change much. And when it quits working, I”™ve got other stuff to do.”
November 3, 2013 @ 12:35 pm
I don’t know. His “when it quits working, I’ll try other things” seems like “I’ll cash in on whatever is trendy at the time”. Of course he can (and should) do whatever he likes, but I think it’s rich that someone with the lack of depth as an artist such as Toby Keith should be saying anything around artistic integrity. Toby should be happy that his own mediocre music caught on the way it did, rejoice that he has a stake in some moneymaking ventures label-wise, and leave all the intellectual heavy lifting to those people who actually have a message or aspirations to do something better with country music.
As far as I’m concerned, ‘ol Toby probably knows where his musical appeal is and will continue to cater to that crowd, which he should. He’s a ham and egger, and he knows it, but he’s a rich, successful ham and egger. I just don’t think he (or we, for that matter) should overthink anything too hard. He’s staked out his piece of country music property, such as it is, but it’s not like he’s an Elder Statesman or face of a musical movement. In reality, he’s just another artist who has the luxury of being comfortable and secure in their career spouting off in his own way about everyone’s pet gripe.
November 3, 2013 @ 3:33 pm
…while he rethinks his income investments and back pedals previous statements to make sure he has covered all arguments about what he or his labels disciples are releasing. You can bettchur BeddonkaDonk on it!
November 3, 2013 @ 12:13 pm
I’m conflicted about all of this as well. I love the message, but question the messenger. At the same time, I think when you have someone like Toby Keith saying these things, it speaks to just how out-of-control the lack of quality control has gotten with country. I can’t see how it can hurt. Even if he’s a hypocrite, it doesn’t mean what he’s saying isn’t true, and his words will help raise awareness on a much bigger level about the country rap issue. I personally think the message is much more important than any personal feelings on taste I might have for Toby Keith. In fact I think the words are stronger, are an even greater indictment coming from someone like Toby Keith than some traditional, or underground artist that can simply be blown off as having a grudge. There are some very serious concerns about what could happen to country music if it becomes so submissive to hip hop influences that it loses its unique flavor, and Toby, not just as an artist but a man who has a stake in multiple labels, I think is seriously concerned.
November 3, 2013 @ 12:50 pm
I agree the more big recognizable names that talk about this the better. The big question to me on all of this is what breaks the fever? I have zero confidence in the major labels to self correct. They will continue to put this junk out as long as it sells and not give a second thought about the ramifications for the genre. So my current theory is that the change will come from the outside as some new trend in rock or mainstream top 40 will break big and all the Aldean, FGL, Bryan fans will migrate back where they came from. This will force the country labels to strongly court their base which will lead to more country sounding country music. Am I being too optimistic that this could happen?
November 3, 2013 @ 2:17 pm
Hard to tell Scotty but if it does I bet a lot of artists like Blake Sheldon and Tim McGraw will try and come back to traditional country acting as if they never really wanted to put out all the hick-hop/bro-country crap.
November 3, 2013 @ 2:23 pm
I always felt his song ” I wanna Talk About Me” was a country rap song. Seems he has a short memory.
November 3, 2013 @ 3:20 pm
If you look at the numbers when you compare Toby Keith to another 90s singer (Tim McGraw), Toby Keith has only three top ten hits and one number-one this decade and Tim McGraw has five, including three number-ones… and keep in mind Toby Keith has released four albums to only two from Tim McGraw.
Not saying any of his recent material is great, and Toby Keith is by no means some perfect messenger here, but it should be pretty clear why McGraw is having consistent top ten hits and Keith is struggling to get out of the top twenty… McGraw is producing music with the goal of staying relevant on radio and Keith is producing music that, quality notwithstanding, isn’t going to go top ten without a very strong radio push.
November 3, 2013 @ 3:55 pm
in my mind I keep picturing a board meeting where someone says hey guys are we going too far? and then I see the others busting out laughing at him saying have you seen my bank account. this to me is the dilemma. the uppers don’t care if they ruin a style of music that is precious to us as long as their pockets stay lined.
November 3, 2013 @ 4:13 pm
Didn’t that fuck head make alot of money rapping on I wanna talk about me even before the whole country rap (crap) thing really even took off? God I hate that guy shouldn’t expect alot from ole red solo cup what an asshole
November 3, 2013 @ 5:09 pm
“Didn”™t that fuck head make alot of money rapping on I wanna talk about me even before the whole country rap (crap) thing really even took off?”
Look Jake, and I don’t want to pick on you here specifically, but I’ve seen about a dozen or so of these comments today, and about another dozen or so that see the name “Toby Keith” and have some immediate reactionary response, and honestly, both of these things are very unhelpful to the cause of saving country music.
First off, when Toby Keith was asked about this by the folks interviewing him, the very first thing he did was bring up “I Wanna Talk About Me,” and so if you or anybody else thinks you’ve got him in some sort of “gotcha” moment, all you’re really doing is showing that you did not read the story, or listen to his comments. Furthermore, Keith went on to elaborate on why a one-off song or collaboration (Willie Nelson’s “Roll Me Up And Smoke Me When I Die” anyone?) is not the problem, it is artists that want to make a living turning country songs into rap, which is a stance I happen to agree with. “I Wanna Talk About Me” was released 13 years ago. It is a reduction of the extent of the country rap problem right now to believe that song has any relevance to this discussion.
I understand people hate Toby Keith and his songs. There might not be anyone that in a public forum has given more shit to Toby Keith over the years than me. All of that goes without saying. But this specific topic has very little to do with Toby Keith’s music. If you want to have a discussion about what Toby Keith said, if he’s a hypocrite or not, that’s cool, we can do that. But if your reaction to this story is “What about ‘I Wanna Talk About Me?'” or “Toby Keith SUCKS!’ then you’re really not contributing anything more than making independent-minded country fans look like uninformed, reactionary fools.
If the immediate thing we do when one of these pop country stars criticizes what’s going on in country is jump down their throats and scream obscenities at them, what’s their motivation to do it again, and what’s the motivation for others to speak out? You don’t have to like Toby Keith to agree with what he said, or see that there’s a difference (however subtle) between his music, and Luke Bryan’s. We yell at these people for not speaking out, and then we yell at them again when they do.,
And for all the folks that say that their jumping on some bandwagon to somehow capitalize off of this recent sentiment…please. As much as I personally hate Toby Keith, I see no benefit to him to say these things, and have no reason to think anything but that he’s saying what he truly believes, if for no other reason than that what he’s saying is simply pointing out the obvious.
You don’t like Toby Keith’s music? Well I don’t either. Now, let’s actually read his comments, and talk about what he said.
November 3, 2013 @ 5:29 pm
I’ve noticed with a lot of the comments it kinda goes like:
If Toby Keith or Jake Owen or someone says something everyone says: “They are just hypocrites!!”
If Rob Flynn or someone says something: “They aren’t part of country music anyway!!”
If Alan Jackson or someone says something: “They are past their time anyway!!” (less so with this one)
Well, who do we want to say these things? I mean we agree with what’s being said, but everyone is discounting it all because there is something “wrong” with the person making the statement. Sure, it’s great when people that we enjoy listening to like Hank3 or Dale Watson make statements like this, but that doesn’t get anyones attention anymore. I may not like to listen to Toby Keith’s music, but when he says stuff like this at least it gets in the mainstream country music news. Why are we complaining so much when the message we want people to hear is finally getting out? Just because it’s being stated by a less than perfect spokesperson? Hey, at least it’s out there now and people are thinking about it all.
November 3, 2013 @ 5:37 pm
Exactly.
November 4, 2013 @ 4:48 pm
I cannot stand most mainstream country music, but I have usually liked the TK songs I have heard from time to time.
Most of the ones I have heard have been rather entertaining (albeit not particularly cerebral), but perhaps I was being scammed by Music Row in the process.
I picked up a few TK CDs and I like some of his songs, but was disappointed about how some of them seem to just kind of run together.
I don’t plan to catch a TK show at a football stadium anytime soon, because I prefer small venues with less known artists.
November 6, 2013 @ 11:52 am
Well said. I don’t particularly like Barry Bonds, but that doesn’t mean that he didn’t hit a hell of a lot of home runs.
November 3, 2013 @ 5:38 pm
But if your reaction to this story is “What about ”˜I Wanna Talk About Me?”™” or “Toby Keith SUCKS!”™ then you”™re really not contributing anything more than making independent-minded country fans look like uninformed, reactionary fools.
And let’s not forget cliquey!
It’s about time someone said this. I won’t lie. I’ll admit there have been times that, as a fan of a fair amount of mainstream country, I’ve been here and made to think that there are quite a few people here who would call me a poser because I don’t meet their standards as a music fan, like some folks did with the dude who copped to liking Tim McGraw’s ’90s stuff a few weeks back. How are that mentality and the “Toby Keith SUCKS!” responses to this article going to make anything better for the genre? Is it really going to do the genre any good if we dismiss the artists making a stink IN ADDITION TO making fans of any mainstream music feel unwelcome?
November 3, 2013 @ 6:43 pm
After listening to the second single off of his new album “Drinks After Work, titled “Shut Up And Hold On”…………..it is quite clear he is trying to have it both ways here.
“Shut Up And Hold On” is a shameless attempt to milk the Rhythmic/”country” hybridization fad for all its worth. While I surely wouldn’t go so far as to call it a “county rap” song in that it is neither “country”, rap OR “country rap”, “Shut Up And Hold On” nonetheless shamelessly panders to the unfortunate trend of allowing “country” to play a submissive role to Rhythmic/”hip hop” beats in the urban versus rural musical dichotomy, as well as the lyrically hemorrhaging cliches of “frat boy country”.
Make no mistake: Toby Keith is essentially a businessman first, artist second. Granted he can still write some decent material when he sets his mind to it, but more often than not he thinks more like a CEO than he does an actual artist………….and that is why sites like this exist to keep him honest when folks like Keith and Eric Church are…………well………..much less than honest! 😉
November 3, 2013 @ 6:52 pm
And while I do agree with some of the sensibilities already raised in this discussion, it’s curious that his latest single isn’t even cited because it lends a considerable credence to Keith’s constant tendency to double-speak.
It doesn’t diminish the worthiness whatsoever of the points especially raised by Trigger and Synthetic Paper here. I find myself nodding appreciatively to them. But while I would surely refrain from ever claiming Toby Keith is going so far as to making a living off of “hip-hop”, he is nonetheless kind of insulting the intelligence of his listeners.
November 3, 2013 @ 8:18 pm
I haven’t really paid much attention to Toby Keith in years but I will say this. He has, in my opinion, one of the greatest voices in country music history and did put out some great country songs early in his career.
November 3, 2013 @ 8:47 pm
I agree 100% with Toby! Country artists shouldn”™t make a living off of pop, rap, or hip-hop. Keep it out of country music and off of country radio! You don’t see pop, rap, and hip-hop artists making bad country music, or pop, rap and hip-hop radio playing those songs. At least they still have some sense and integrity left. I Wanna Talk About Me is far better written and more country than today’s pop/rap “bro country” laundry list songs.
Also Toby is saying he doesn’t like needing to change his music to get played on radio today and I bet many artists feel the same way but aren’t in a high enough position to speak out about it. Some are just on their first album or so and have to do what the label says.
Some of the people bashing Zac Brown, Tom Petty, Toby, etc. for stating their honest opinions are fans of bro country or pop artists. If the only response you can come up with is “Toby sucks” or “what about I Wanna Talk About Me” try again.
November 4, 2013 @ 7:17 am
On my drive into work this morning, the radio was going over some of the top comments from the weekend and one of them said that Tim Mcgraw has stated that he has plans to make a country rap album. He has not set a time table for a release it said, but it is something he is going to do. I can’t find anything on it, but that’s what they said this morning.
November 4, 2013 @ 9:26 am
Today, I read every article on “Forbes” about Toby Keith. He is the top earner. I read so many…the site asked me to make a comment about “Forbes”.
I would rather read about Toby’s road to the top than give heed to any dried up old man in a business suit. Prunes don’t impress me much, not because they’re old…but it’s a trust issue with insider trading, whatever.
I would listen to Toby’s take on business before I would pay any attention to a Wallstreet unknown. Toby has a platform and it’s far and beyond hip-hop. He has his eye on the big picture. His business acumen and perception has catapulted him there.
Do you really think Toby is worried about ‘his” songs on the radio? I do think he is concerned about those on his label.
November 4, 2013 @ 11:35 am
I guess I have never hated Toby Keith as much as the bulk of SCM fans have over the years.I’m no “super fan” of his by any stretch,and hate a lot he has done,but I just always felt there are far bigger fish to fry.He’s had a lot of his own battles with Nashville over the years and if anything,it’s amazing how the guy is still getting airplay after all these years while doing it his way.Love him or hate him,I think he deserves a bit of respect for it.
November 4, 2013 @ 1:04 pm
I think That the tides are turning and he is simply trying to stay in front of it. CNTY RAP is a fad and nothing more one that’s been around too long already. TK is smart though, a good buisiness man unfortunately and is just beating the fad downslope to the punch
but there is still hope because
We believe in Sturgill Simpson
“WBSS”
February 23, 2014 @ 11:28 am
I bet I could write some GREAT Country song about Yours Truly and a long-preferably blonde-haired,buxom,leggy country bird/cowgirl and I as boyfriend/girlfriend.(Oh,thats right:I’m a good ol’ black Canadian lad,60,with boyish good looks,a muscular build-I’m 5’9″,200 lb.,18-inch guns [arms,folks!!!!!!],who resembles a handsome black cowboy stud IN AND OUT of my Wranglers and other casual and/or Western wear,and have already penned about 150 original Country lyrics spanning the Traditional Country,rockabilly,cowboy songs and ballads gamut,but too many Bubbas and Billy Bobs among Country’s fans and musicians would grit their teeth and curse at the thought of a handsome,randy black lad with one of their buxom blonde Blossoms,Daisys or Beckys!!!!!
July 8, 2014 @ 7:33 am
Happy 53rd Birthday,Toby!!!!!(Though some [?} MUCH{!!!!!!!}of his later work is trite and cliché,and I took the Dixie Chicks’ side in their feud,Keith would likely be a great dude to down some suds with,and “As Good As I Once Was,” “A Little Less Talk,A Lot More Action” and “I Love This Bar” are VINTAGE TOBY,and not like today’s “bro-country” swill-however,I LIKE SOME of those “bro-tastic” tunes.And who can forget Keth’s 1994 classic,”I Should Have Been A Cowboy??????”)
August 21, 2022 @ 8:31 am
(Note: I recently discovered this comment I had written on July 9, 2014 about this article, though I forgot to post it so I might as well post it now).
My 75 now, and it makes me sick to the stomach when I go and visit my great-grandchildren (the oldest of which is 11 years old), and listens to nothing but bro-country. It was disheartening to walk into their home, and be greeted with the sounds of Jason Aldean’s “The Only Way I Know”, and then Toby Keith’s “Beers Ago”. It made me sick. Luckily, I brought my record player, and subjected my young great-grandchildren to all of the classic country I could find.
August 21, 2022 @ 8:27 am
(Note: I recently discovered this comment I had written on November 5, 2013 about this article, though I forgot to post it so I might as well post it now).
It’s ironic that this is coming from Toby Keith, who’s new song “Shut Up and Hold On” is a clear attempt to “piggyback” on the success of the bro-country movement. I’m sure the song will become a huge hit, which is much needed for the “When Love Fades” singer, as his last three singles have stalled at #17, #18, and #17 respectively. Like it or not, this song could be huge, and possibly the song that brings Toby Keith back into the “A-List” of country stars, for better or for worse. I just find it ironic that he says these things (which I agree with), but goes and makes a terrible song like this. I’m a 75-year olf retired fur trader, so please take my word for what it is, but I’ve also been a musician for 60 + years, so I’ve seen a lot of changes in music, and I often find that songs like this often become the biggest hits.