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PEOPLE & ARTS Friday 12 July 2019

Blanco Brown has the next country rap hit with ‘The Git Up’

By KRISTIN M. HALL on top of the Hot 100 chart,
Associated Press opened a lot of people’s
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Af- ears to the music he’s been
ter “Old Town Road” kicked passionate about.
off a trend of country-trap “People heard that record
this year, Blanco Brown felt and they were just look-
the timing was just right for ing for something close to
his dance hit “The Git Up.” it,” Brown said. “The whole
Brown, who grew up in time I had been building
Atlanta, has been living my sound and I was like,
in both musical worlds his ‘It’s in the same vein.’ So
entire life. His mom played that just gave me like a
him OutKast and Jodeci, sense of ‘OK, there is an ap-
but he’d spend summers petite for this.’”
with his aunt in rural Butler, But unlike Lil Nas X, Brown’s
Georgia, where he’d hear song has not been re-
mostly Johnny Cash and moved from Billboard’s
Tim McGraw. country charts. He said he
“Later on when I was about wasn’t concerned about
23, 24, I started recording anyone saying it wasn’t
country records,” 34-year- country enough.
old Brown said. “And my “People are gonna try to
friends would tell me, ‘Man, criticize it, but if you take
you’re black. You know This July 5, 2019 photo shows Blanco Brown during a photo session in Nashville, Tenn. Brown, who away the 808s, then you
you can’t do no country is signed to a Nashville record label, has been mixing country and rap sounds for years. got traditional country,”
records.’” Brown kept work- Associated Press Brown said. While “The
ing on his combination of EP in May. His songs com- 1 on Billboard’s Hot coun- to “Old Town Road” on the Git Up” is popular online,
hip-hop and country, which bine trap music styles such try songs chart in just five social media app TikTok, Brown’s label is just now
he likes to call “trailer trap,” as 808 drum machines, ag- weeks. He named the song where people have recre- making an official push to
while also songwriting and gressive synths and tempo after a saying he heard ated Brown’s dance moves get the song played on
working as a vocal produc- with melodic strings, lap from his childhood. or added their own dances country radio. Brown said
er for Grammy-winning acts steel and guitar and lyr- “I remember growing up in and tagged it to #TheGi- that music fans are a lot
like Fergie and Monica. His ics about Southern culture. the hood and my grand- tUpChallenge. “It felt so more open to new sounds
music caught the atten- He was experimenting with mother saying, ‘Ya’ll better fine and I was like, ‘Peo- and mixing of genres than
tion of BBR Music Group, a a different tuning on the git up and do ya’ll work,” ple got to dance to this,’” ever before. “You hear it at
Nashville-based record la- lap steel when he came Brown said. Brown said. the club. You hear it at the
bel with artists like Jason Al- up with the twang that he The song, which is No. 16 Brown said “Old Town after parties,” Brown said.
dean and Zac Brown Band, looped throughout “The Git on the all-genre Hot 100 Road,” which is spending “Why not be the artist that
which put out his self-titled Up,” which has shot to No. chart, became viral similar its 14th consecutive week does it wholeheartedly?”q

Taylor Swift shakes off drama with fun concert performance

By MESFIN FEKADU Swift’s die-hard fans were Swift sang her “You Need
Associated Press as loud as ever Wednes- to Calm Down” live for
NEW YORK (AP) — In her first day, erupting before she hit the first time at the event,
public appearance since the stage at the Hammer- which also featured per-
discovering her masters stein Ballroom, chanting formances by singers SZA,
were in the hands of some- her name minutes before Dua Lipa and Becky G. On
one she’s not a fan of, Tay- opened her set with a col- the song Swift addresses
lor Swift didn’t directly ad- orful performance of the her own haters but also
dress the issue, but she did song “ME!” calls out those who attack
play music from that rich She sang tunes from all the LGBTQ community. It
catalog, including songs of her albums except her will appear on her new
from her groundbreaking 2006 self-titled debut and album, “Lover,” to be re-
sophomore album to her 2010’s “Speak Now.” She leased Aug. 23.
first full-blown pop project strummed her guitar while “It’s really, sort of, a love let-
to her latest title. she sang “Delicate” from ter to love itself. And I think
There was one moment, “reputation” and “Wel- that love is such an inspir-
though, where Swift may come to New York” from ing thing to write about,”
have called out Scooter “1989,” which won the she said of the upcoming
Braun and Scott Borchetta Singer Taylor Swift performs at Amazon Music’s Prime Day Grammy for album of the album. “Love is complex-
on Wednesday night when concert at the Hammerstein Ballroom on Wednesday, July 10, year. She reminded the ity. Love is struggle. Love
she headlined Amazon Mu- 2019, in New York. audience she was a for- is pain. Love is joy. Love is
sic’s Prime Day Concert in Associated Press mer country singer before hope. Love is equality.”
New York City. When sing- Some viewers on social me- wrote that she was sad and performing “Love Story” Emmy-winning actress Jane
ing her final song, the up- dia felt like Swift was throw- grossed out that her music from “Fearless,” which also Lynch hosted the event,
beat hit “Shake It Off,” she ing shade, but the pop star catalog now belongs to won the top Grammy prize. which featured clips of Am-
was extra loud as she ut- seemed to shake off the Braun, who she accuses of And she whipped her head azon Prime programming
tered the words: “Liars and drama with a fun, enter- subjecting her to years of back and forth as she belt- between performances,
the dirty, dirty cheats of the taining performance that incessant and manipula- ed “I Knew You Were Trou- from “The Marvelous Mrs.
world.” came two weeks after she tive bullying. ble” from her “Red” album. Maisel” to “Jack Ryan.”q