Background and cultural contexts
Read this Vox feature and podcast transcript on Lil Nas X and Old Town Road. Make sure you read the whole thing - including the podcast transcript - then answer the following questions:
1) What is the big debate regarding Old Town Road and genre?
Whether or not Old town road should be considered a country song/a part of the genre
2) What do you learn about the background of Lil Nas X and Old Town Road from the podcast transcript?
He is a 20-year-old rapper from Atlanta. Technically his birth name is Montero Hill, but he has been calling himself “Lil Nas X” for several years now. And last year he joined Sound Cloud, as many people do. And by the end of the year in December he released a song called “Old Town Road.”He bought a beat that had this sort of country-sounding instrumental to it. And he said he was living at home feeling very lonely, feeling like a lonely cowboy, and he decided to pair that feeling with this sort of twangy beat that he bought. So “Old Town Road” starts off very much as this deep-voiced ode to the simple life on the dirt road path with your horse. And then it breaks into what he calls “country trap.”
3) What is the Yeehaw agenda?
The yee haw agenda. This woman, Bri Malandro, tweeted about how a lot of black artists are getting interested in sort of the country aesthetic. And the way that Lil Nas X factored into that is, while people were picking up on the good ol’ cowboy/cowgirl aesthetic, his song was circulating on Twitter and he made it available for free on TikTok, which is this huge platform kind of akin to Vine where people can lip sync to songs and record themselves doing dance moves, and people who already were kind of feeling this kind of ironic cowboy vibe turned “Old Town Road” into the “Yee Haw Challenge.” It became this new TikTok phenomenon where people would try and outdo each other dancing to “Old Town Road.” So the way the song starts is, it’s very like classic country, and then the beat drops.
4) How did the story become a debate about race in America?
Genius reached out and of course Billboard said, “Oh no, it has nothing to do with his race, it has everything to do with the song and the lack of country elements in it.” It immediately set off conversation, especially in the black Twitter community. Country has often been very much protected. There’s a big gate keeping sort of vibe, and country music prevents black artists from really penetrating the scene. There are some exceptions.
5) How does Charlie Harding sum up the whole thing in the final part of the podcast transcript?
We have to also point out how amazing it is that this thing which was a meme that was commentary on cowboy culture and black identity that became an immediate overnight think piece which an ageing country star then remixed. Like, this thing is entirely of our moment. This is not old country music of a rural community. This is the internet generation.
Now read this Salon feature on Lil Nas X and LGBTQ+ identity. Answer the following questions:
1) How did Lil Nas X announce his sexuality on social media?
He punctuated the tweet with a rainbow emoji, then posted the artwork from his new EP “7,” which features an illustration of him wearing a cowboy hat and riding a horse towards a building glowing with rainbow lights. His deadpan caption reads, “deadass thought I made it obvious.”
2) Why does the article describe Old Town Road as 'genre-blurring'?
His breakthrough hit harnessed both hip hop and country sounds and fans, Lil Nas X's public declaration of his sexuality touches both genres. On the country side of the industry, LGBTQ visibility and celebration has come a long way in recent years.
3) How has country music demonstrated the social change taking place in American culture and society?
The trend in growing acceptance and support followed a nationwide social and political shift. By 2014, the states that had legalized same-sex marriage cumulatively contained 70 percent of the U.S. population. Then, in 2015, U.S. Supreme Court struck down all state bans, making marriage equality the law of the land.
Old Town Road textual analysis
Watch the video again and answer the following questions. Use your notes from our in-class analysis to help you:
1) How is the narrative features used in the music video? Apply narrative theory here.
Binary oppositions:
-time period
-horse and car race
-costumes and props
-conflict=dance off
-race/ethnicity
Action and Enigma codes:
-race, horse(hooves sparks) all action
-gun reveal=classic western action code
Propp:
-Lil Nas X character as hero?
-Billy Ray Cyrus as helper/sidekick
-this subverts stereotypes towards race and age
Todorov:
-'in media res' = starts in middle off action
-multiple examples of disequilibrium
-ends with new equilibrium
-culture conviviality
2) What examples of genre conventions and intertextuality can you find in the video?
Celebrity cameo:
-Chris Rock out takes
-comedy pieces included
-Billy Ray Cyrus
Intertextuality:
-Billy Ray Cyrus=country legend
-pink suit to subvert it
-rap genre=mariachi. porch, wrangler, Gucci, fender
-dialogue Compton
-car/horse scene=Lil Nas X tune in background
-back to the future (time travel)
-fast and furious= lots of pop culture
3) How are technical codes used to create meanings in the video? Analyse camerawork, editing and mise-en-scene and make specific reference to moments in the video.
Opening scene:
-western move genre(dialogue)
-transition, title font, music and sfx
-social media/Tiktok=dancing, screen within screen
4) How are representations of race and ethnicity constructed in the video?
LGBTQ:
-clothing bright, blinding
-Lil Nas X open about sexuality
-not explicit? but alluded to it
America:
-white picket fence
-cultural conviviality
-American white dream street but all black people living there
Race/ethnicity:
-almost entirely black cast
-'Yeehaw agenda'
-final scene predominantly white but also scene of cultural conviviality
-to appease mainstream white audience?
Genre:
-opening reinforces gender stereotypes
-mainly subverts traditional masculinity 'Marlboro man'
-pink suit, Lil Nas X's jacket= modern masculinity
5) What other representations can you find in the video? You may wish to comment on gender, sexuality or America/American culture.
Throughout the music video we are introduced to various cowboys, mostly focusing on the 'yeehaw' agenda that has provided black cowboys to appear in their own aesthetic. However there has been no visual representation of female cowboys, there are many female actors such as the girl who had a dance off with Lil Nas X but that was it.
Old Town Road Media Factsheet
Finally, read Media Factsheet #262 - Old Town Road. You'll need to log in to Google using your Greenford Google account to access this. Read the factsheet and answer the following questions:
1) Who are the celebrities that appear in cameos in the video?
Both versions were included in Lil Nas X’s second EP, entitled 7 (2019). The music video featured cameos from comedians Chris Rock and Haha Davis, rappers Vince Staples and Rico Nasty, songwriter Jozzy, producer Youngkio, and DJ Diplo
2) Choose three of the key terms defined on the first page of the factsheet and write the definitions here. Focus on terms you are unfamiliar with.
- Archetypal : A representation that is very typical of a person, place or thing.
- Mytheme: Small units of narrative in cultural products; such as theme, character and action, the study of which can reveal the dominant ideas and values of culture.
- Cultural Myth: Deeper ideologies that have been shaped through cultural coding through connotations over time.
3) How did Lil Nas X use social media to boost his own popularity and the success of the video?
Firstly, he was a fan of Nicki Minaj and ran an anonymous Twitter account named @nasmaraj. Minaj is known for having a huge fan-base with Stans (stalker/fans) nicknamed “Barbz”. Lil Nas X, despite saying he did not run the account later admitted he did. Lil Nas X had a clear understanding of social media’s role in marketing and promotion of stars even before he released his own music. By trafficking in memes, viral threads, engagement bait, and Nicki Minaj stanning, he was able to create a six-digit follower base on Twitter, a process that is known a tweet decking. This account served as a springboard to release Old Town Road.
4) Look at the video analysis on page 3. What conventions of the western can be found in the video?
-The video is a camp black western, complete with a hick hoe-down, car vs. horse showdowns and most importantly a stranger riding into town.
-The exposition of the video starts in media res (in the middle of action) and shows Lil Nas X riding through rugged countryside of the outback being chased by the sheriff and his deputies.
Traditional westerns used deserted rocky, uninhabited settings to depict a particular form of American intrepidness that was dangerous and hostile for individuals, but if embraced could be a “land of opportunities”.
-A montage of images is used to reinforce the conspicuous consumption of material goods. The Maserati car, the dollar sign, diamonds, rhinestones, the Super Mall, flashy suits and
high-end sunglasses connote the capitalist nature of America. Furthermore, the material riches can be seen as mytheme; Vladimir Propp noted that the hero would often be given riches and wealth as a reward for his labours, he called this transfiguration. Furthermore, these signifiers of wealth such as clutching a money bag with a dollar sign on it, construct the hyperreality of The American Dream, a cultural myth that states everyone should have equal access and opportunities, especially when it comes to success.
-The cowboy in popular American culture has featured on radio, in comic books, games, films, and television shows, had music written about him and featured in advertising.
5) How does the video begin?
The exposition of the video starts in media res (in the middle of action) and shows Lil Nas X riding through rugged countryside of the outback being chased by the sheriff and his deputies.
Bank robberies and hostage situations were also conventional and this opening scene intertextualises these elements to create a meaning of promise and adventure but also to represent the character as someone who is willing to take risks.
6) What does the factsheet suggest regarding the modern-day part of the video?
It juxtaposes the wild west where it shows the streets of Los Angeles. The area is filmed in slow motion for the audience to intake the change in setting. There is a high contrast between items in the modern day such as cars and phones.
7) How can the video be read as a reinforcement of capitalism and the American dream?
The Maserati car, the dollar sign, diamonds, rhinestones, the Super Mall, flashy suits and high-end sunglasses connote the capitalist nature of America.
8) How does the factsheet suggest the video creates a hyperreality?
The video ends with Lil Nas hugging a little white Bingo playing, line-dancing old lady, subverting the negative stereotype of the threatening black man as well as suggesting that outsiders should not be feared. This culminates in a message which constructs a hyperreality of inclusivity and community above fear and violence.
9) How is masculinity represented in the video?
The cowboy in popular American culture has featured on radio, in comic books, games, films, and television shows, had music written about him and featured in advertising. This representation often takes a romanticised an ideal of masculinity that is WASP (White Anglo Saxon Protestant). They are depicted as self-reliant, macho and tough, often self-sacrificing and shun romantic relationships with women. John Wayne, real name Marion Robert Morrison, was arguably the most famous and archetypal (best version) of this version of masculinity.
10) Look at the final page. What theories are suggested for this CSP and which do you think are the most useful?
Stuart Hall’s concept of transcoding stereotypes could be useful ad Lil Nas X subverts the aggressive black male stereotype, especially in regard to the violent, misogynistic, homophobic rap star.
David Gauntlett’s identity theory would argue that more varied and nuanced representations of masculinity offer audiences more identity models to follow. Plus, marginalised representations of gay, black country, and rap artists getting mainstream exposure and being accepted could pave the way for more artists from these groups.
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