In Old Town Road, Chris Molanphy considers Lil Nas X’s debut single as pop artifact, chart phenomenon, and cultural watershed. “Old Town Road” was more than a massive hit, with the most weeks at No. 1 in Billboard Hot 100 history. It is also a prism through which to track the evolution of popular music consumption and the ways race influences how the music industry categorizes songs and artists. By both lionizing and satirizing genre tropes—it’s a country song built from an alternative rock sample, a hip-hop song in which nobody raps, a comical song that transcends novelty, and a queer anthem—Lil Nas X troubles the very idea of genre. Ultimately, Molanphy shows how “Old Town Road” channeled decades of Americana to point the way toward our cultural future.

Chris Molanphy is a columnist for Slate and the host of the Hit Parade podcast. He has written for publications including Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, New York Magazine, NPR Music, the Village Voice, and others. He is author of Kurt Cobain: Voice of a Generation.

Introduction. BONAFIDE ’til I Can’t No More: “Old Town Road” as the Endpoint of a Century of Genre and Chat Evolution  1
1. WIDE-EYED ’til I Can’t No More: The Maker of “Old Town Road” and the Elements of Its Creation  7
2. HIED ’til I Can’t No More: A Brief History of Country and Race  17
3. FLY ’til I Can’t No More: The Collision and Cross-Pollination of Rap and Country  29
4. REIFIED ’til I Can’t No More: What a No. 1 Hit Meant as the Hot 100 Evolved  41
5. DIVIDE ’til I Can’t No More: Genre Charts, Data, and Identity  51
6. WORLD WIDE ’til I Can’t No More: How Technology and Internet Culture Built “Old Town Road”  69
7. BESTRIDE ’til I Can’t No More: How Lil Nas X Dominated 2019  87
Epilogue. PRIDE ’til I Can’t No More: How Lil Nas X Became a Multihit Wonder  121
Acknowledgments  127
Bibliography  129
Index  133