(07-30-2014 10:41 AM)oklalittledixie Wrote: A lot of this has to do with the fact that Country has crossed over into the hip hop culture and it is starting to attracted that kind of element.
This country will be a lot better off when it starts to reject the rap and hip hop culture.
I'll agree that some rap elements has crossed over into country music but nobody from the hood listens to country music. Here in Pittsburgh there has been several incidents of country fans getting out of hand. If anything, it's the millennial crowd and their inability to handle their alcohol more so than the hip hop culture.
It was actually the rise of rap in the 80s that pushed a lot of white non-country acts into the country realm (because the pop/rock scene no longer had any use for them), thus creating "New Country" of the Mary Chapin Carpenter, Garth Brooks, Clint Black, Dixie Chicks variety. The old-line country performers like George Jones and Waylon Jennings and Hank Williams Jr. just about disappeared overnight (the entire transformation occurred from mid-1989 to mid-1991).
I don't know how to quantify the #, but as an adult in Metro Atlanta I have been honestly shocked at how many African-Americans listen to country music. They have the country station on in their office, their car, their homes, and they clearly know exactly who's been nominated for the awards, and who's just released an album, and which concerts are coming up, etc. etc. etc. Not saying it's a majority but it's more -- a lot more -- than just a random sample. A few who are younger/20s, but mostly 30s and up. Also -- to take another stereotypically "White" subject -- I've been to about 8 or 9 NASCAR events in my life (Talladega, Hampton, Daytona) and there were thousands of African-Americans present every time, fully decked out in the gear of their favorite driver.
(This post was last modified: 07-30-2014 10:03 PM by Native Georgian.)
I'd say that Grundge/Alternative pushed white non-country acts into the country realm. During that same period, Grundge totally removed the Glam/Hair bands from the scene overnight. Perhaps the rise of Grunge and Rap are both a cause of Country's change in the early 90's.... But what OklaDixie is referring to is acts like Colt Ford and such.
(07-30-2014 10:58 PM)ClairtonPanther Wrote: I'd say that Grundge/Alternative pushed white non-country acts into the country realm.
That played a role, too. But -- and maybe my memory is playing tricks here -- but didn't rap "happen" first, in terms of gaining mainstream acceptance?
