Give Country Music a Chance… The Rapper?
Lil Nas X’s massive hit “Old Town Road” taught us that country music and rap can go very well together. As a genre, country music was actually pioneered by enslaved people most recently referred to as African Americans. They played this style of music for their masters in the antebellum south centuries ago. The genre stuck but the face of its originators did not. It has been more recently associated more with the southern region of America as opposed to those who made it. The rest is gentrified history.
Considering Jimmy Fallon’s version of “The Tonight Show” is pretty much a game show already, it was inevitable the former SNL cast member would host a new NBC show called “That’s My Jam.” The show is described as “an hourlong music and comedy variety show” based on the karaoke-style games Fallon plays with his “Tonight Show” guests.
With a rollicking cover of Nelly’s 2002 hit “Hot In Herre,” Chance The Rapper shows he has a bright future in country-rock, should he ever tire of rap.
He performed the song – complete with a twangy faux-Texan accent and proper acoustic backing from a live band – as part of Jimmy Fallon’s new musical game show, That’s My Jam.
Give Country Music a… Chance?
In a series of music, dance, and trivia-based games and performances, two teams of two celebrities will compete for a charity of their choice. Fallon has hosted segments of The Tonight Show.
Chance plays alongside Josh Groban, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Alessia Cara in the premiere. It’s their team going up against Kelly Clarkson, Ariana Grande, Blake Shelton and John Legend.
Chance the Rapper had the seemingly impossible task of turning Nelly’s ‘Hot in Herre’ into a country-rock song. To everyone’s delight, he absolutely nailed it.
Chance The Rapper Delivers in a Way Jimmy Fallon Could Not Forsee
The rapper strutted onto the stage with his usual gravitas before putting on a show.
Chance the Rapper had the audience eating out of his hand before he even reached the chorus. Audience members jumped around and danced in their seats as he led them in singing the chorus.
After the country twist, Fallon came up to him, amazed. “Never, never, never in my life, never in my life did I think that was going to work, but it did!”
Fallon eagerly pulled the lever that generated the song choice and genre combination in the game “Musical Genre Challenge.”. Without hesitation, Chance The Rapper entered the stage and sang the all-too-familiar lyrics with a new approach. Even his body language appeared as if he was some handsome farmboy from a honky tonk town.
Chance The Rapper: Brings Country Music Back Home Where it Started
In terms of his own music, the 28-year-old remained relatively quiet in 2021, issuing only a handful of guest features. He appeared on “Winners” with Smoko Ono, Yxng Bane, and Joey Purp, “Through The Fire” with Grace Weber, “SHELTER” with Vic Mensa and Wyclef Jean, “Everything New” with Wiz Khalifa and Rocke Fresh, and “Nothing’s Impossible” with Dionne Warwick.
That’s My Jam is an hourlong variety game show with music and comedy based on the most popular “Tonight Show” games. According to the YouTube video description, “each episode features two teams of two celebrities competing in a series of music, dance, and trivia-based games and musical performances to benefit a charity of their choice.”
Contestants will play such signature games as Launch the Mic, Air Guitar, Don’t Drop the Beat, Perfect Mash-Up, Wheel of Impossible Karaoke, Slay It, Don’t Spray It, and many more.
