The Dictatorship

The depressing reason this Black country star may end up a Grammys footnote

Published

1 year ago

February 2, 2025

The depressing reason this Black country star may end up a Grammys footnote

Shaboozey goes into this Sunday’s Grammy Awards with five nominationsincluding song of the year, country song of the year and country solo performance for his cross-genre smash, “A Bar Song (Tipsy).” The song was released shortly after Shaboozey was featured on two songs on Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter” album, and he’s also up for a best melodic rap performance Grammy for their collaboration “Spaghettii.”

The Grammy nods are just the latest milestones for Shaboozey, who will be starring in a Super Bowl commercial for the candy Nerds before performing at both the pop/rock-oriented Coachella festival and its country cousin, the Stagecoach Festival, in the coming months.

Arguably no Black artist has ever burst onto the country music charts with a bigger splash than Shaboozey.

Historically, only a very small number of Black artists have ever built sustained careers in country music. So far, they’ve all been men. Darius Rucker has been a country mainstay for years, but his success with Hootie & the Blowfish provided a crossover leg up. Arguably no Black artist has ever burst onto the country music charts with a bigger splash than Shaboozey.

The 29-year-old Virginia native was raised on a mix of his dad’s Kenny Rogers albums and the pop and hip-hop he heard on MTV and BET, leading to a sound that mixes country and hip-hop. Rissi Palmer, the musician, activist and host of Apple Radio’s “Color Me Country,” played Shaboozey’s music on her show long before he released his crossover megahit “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” last year. As Palmer told me, his music has long “straddled the line,” with “vibes of Norman North and early Jelly Roll.”

Though he appeared at the MTV Video Music Awards and performed at the BET Awards over the summer, Shaboozey has also performed at country spaces like the Grand Ole Opry, the CMA Music Festival in Nashville, and the CMA Awards, where he was nominated for single of the year and new artist of the year. A few comments made about Shaboozey’s name during the CMA Awards drew criticismbut Shaboozey himself has steered clear of making too many statements on political issues or the lack of diversity in country music.

Lyrically, “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” is in line with country music’s long-standing penchant for celebrating around-the-clock drinking. The song was a massive hit in the country format, becoming the first song by a Black man to simultaneously top Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart — which it did for 27 weeks — and its Country Airplay chart, for a seven-week run. The country radio support is noteworthy; the format has not typically supported viral hits from Black artists.

Black artists have slowly but surely been gaining traction. But the reception from the various country institutions continues to be mixed, if not contradictory.

With 19 weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s all-genre Hot 100 chart, “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” has now tied Lil Nas X’s 2019 country-rap smash “Old Town Road” for the most weeks atop that tally. However, “Old Town Road” was removed from Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart, which measures radio play, streaming numbers and sales figures for country tracks. Despite its Western themes, the artist’s Georgia twang and a remix featuring country star Billy Ray Cyrus, Billboard claimed that “Old Town Road” “does not embrace enough elements of today’s country music to chart in its current version.” “Old Town Road” eventually wo n a CMA Award for musical event of the year in 2019, but that trophy was presented off camera. Lil Nas X went on to find further success in pop music with his next album, 2021’s “Montero,” which was not promoted to the country format.

Also in 2019, hip-hop producer-turned-artist Blanco Brown scored a viral hit with the “The Git Up,” which was touted as a “sequel” to “Old Town Road.” Unlike Lil Nas X’s song, Blanco’s track did go to No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart but stalled out at No. 44 on the Country Airplay chart.

Also unlike Lil Nas X, Brown had the backing of a Nashville-based record label, Broken Bow Records. He scored a top country radio hit in 2021 with “Just the Way,” a collaboration with his label mates, country group Parmalee. Since then, Brown has not charted another song on either country chart, and he recently posted about having a gig canceled due to rising racial tensions.

Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” going all the way to No. 1 on the Country Airplay chart marks progress in this narrative. But membership in Nashville’s inner circle is signified by consistent play on country radio, and charting one massive hit doesn’t guarantee more will follow, especially for artists of color.

“We know that Black women have virtually no shot at gaining traction in mainstream country music,” writes The Tennessean columnist Andrea Williams. “Black men seem to be doing a bit better — there’s Charley and Darius, after all — but it’s all a façade. Black male artists like Blanco Brown, like Breland, like Shaboozey are given one hit — an uptempo, hip hop-tinged hit that has those “Song of the Summer” vibes — and then they tend to disappear. Rather, they lose all industry support, so it feels like they’ve disappeared, even though, in most cases, they’re still grinding behind the scenes and trying to build something sustainable.”

The country music radio scene is particularly complicated and often based on personal relationships.

The country music radio scene is particularly complicated and often based on personal relationships. Artists have to prove they belong.

Shaboozey is signed to independent record label Empire, the same company that previously helped launch Kane Brown’s country career. “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” was the the first No. 1 country radio hit for Empire’s Nashville office. Along the way, the Empire team helped Shaboozey develop relationships with the decision-makers at country radio that would program his singles. That practice of artists having to personally win over program directors is unique to country music.

Global superstar Beyoncé did not engage in a charm offensive to win over country music insiders when she released “Cowboy Carter,” and it didn’t go unnoticed. The project hit No. 1 on the Billboard Country Albums chart and she became the first Black woman to have a single top the country charts with “Texas Hold ’Em.” But she received zero nominations at last year’s CMA Awards.

Notably, white male hip-hop artists seem to have an easier time achieving crossover success on country radio. Jelly Roll is up for two Grammys in country categories this year, after previously releasing seven hip-hop albums. He’s also racked up five country radio chart toppers since 2022. Rap/pop superstar Post Malone has made a similar leap, earning two No. 1 country radio hits (so far) from his star-studded “F-1 Trillion” album, which is up for best country album at Sunday’s Grammys.

Shaboozey’s follow-up singles to “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” are not racing up the Country Airplay chart. Some Grammy wins could give those follow-up singles — like “Good News” and “Highway” — a boost. Regardless, Shaboozey is doubling down. He recently told Billboard his “next project is going to be even more country.”

For Palmer, seeing Shaboozey achieve country radio longevity would be a welcome and surprising development. “Shaboozey has put down roots as a country artist,” she told me. “Personally, I would like to see him treated as a viable country artist and not just a novelty or a byproduct of Beyoncé stopping by.”

Williams has a less optimistic view. The fact that he didn’t win any trophies at the CMA Awards, despite having the biggest country single of 2024, may indicate where Shaboozey’s story is headed.

“He’ll have the hit song that makes everybody dance, but he won’t have the follow-up success that will allow him to book shows and make music and win awards in the future,” she said. “By limiting Shaboozey to just that one hit, it also ensures his name is just a footnote instead of a full entry in country music’s history books. This way, the status quo stands.”

Hunter Kelly

Hunter Kelly is a journalist and broadcaster focused on music and LGBTQ+ issues. His articles have been published by Rolling Stone SpinBillboard, and Apple News. He previously served as the Nashville correspondent for ABC News and ABC News Radio, interviewing everyone from Taylor Swift and Katy Perry to Garth Brooks, Merle Haggard, and Loretta.

The Dictatorship

Court denies request to immediately block DOJ ‘slush fund’

Published

9 hours ago

June 11, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Court denies request to immediately block DOJ ‘slush fund’

Jun. 10, 2026, 6:14 PM EDT

A federal judge in Washington has denied a bid Wednesday brought by a watchdog group to immediately block the Justice Department’s “anti-weaponization” fund, for now choosing to trust the department’s assertions that it is not moving forward with the fund.

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon ruled immediately, denying Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington’s request for a temporary restraining order that would have blocked the Department of Justice from taking steps to create the fund.

Throughout the 30-minute hearing, the DOJ reiterated that the administration was not moving forward with the nearly $1.8 billion fund, which seeks to compensate individuals who allege they have been politically targeted or victimized by the DOJ.

Andrew Block, the only lawyer present for the government, repeatedly cited Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s June 2 congressional testimonyin which he said the administration was “not moving forward” with plans to create the fund.

Leon indicated he agreed with the DOJ’s position that the case appeared to be moot, saying he was not persuaded there was an issue for the court to decide regarding the creation of the fund. He issued a stern warning to the DOJ, saying, “Don’t play possum with this court!” — meaning he does not want to be deceived.

The plaintiffs argued Blanche’s testimony did not amount to an official cancellation. Nikhel Sus, CREW’s attorney, said Blanche “refused to memorialize that rescission,” or in other words, put it in writing. Sus said that was “highly unusual.” Leon responded, “This whole case is highly unusual to say the least.”

Leon asked the government twice why they would not just rescind the order that established the fund. Block responded, “I don’t know,” and pointed again to Blanche’s public statements about the fund’s future.

Both Leon and Sus raised the issue of Trump’s continued public defense of the fund. “It can still be an important issue and also not moving forward,” Block said. “That isn’t a direction to move forward with the fund.”

Although Leon rejected CREW’s bid for an immediate block, he indicated he is still considering its request for a longer-term block against the fund.

A block order from a separate federal judge in Virginia remains in effect until at least Friday.

Fallon Gallagher is a legal affairs reporter for MS NOW.

The Dictatorship

Trump is accelerating our Social Security insolvency crisis

Published

9 hours ago

June 11, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Jun. 10, 2026, 5:50 PM EDT

The date when Social Security’s trust fund is expected to run out of money just got bumped up. The fund is now projected to empty in 2032according to a new report released by Social Security’s trustees.

The new depletion date isn’t an earth-shaking change — it’s only a quarter earlier than the estimate in last year’s report. But it illustrates how President Donald Trump’s policies are degrading a program he promised to never jeopardize — and accelerating an approaching crisis in how our government will assist the elderly and disabled.

The report names three factors that contributed to the earlier insolvency date. One is a declining fertility rate, but the other two drivers can be traced back to Trump: a drop in immigration into the country, and the “substantial effect” of the tax policies in the One Big Beautiful Bill he signed last summer.

Trump’s acceleration of the program’s insolvency comes atop his assaults on the program’s administrative capacities.

Reduced immigration during Trump’s second term — especially when coupled with a declining fertility rate — strains Social Security because the program is funded through payroll taxes. Those come out of people’s paychecks, and fewer workers supporting an aging population means the program receives less revenue. Indeed, Social Security already has been tapping its trust fund for the better part of the past two decades because the program’s costs have exceeded its cash income. And as the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities pointed out last yearlast year’s tax cuts were a boon to the rich but a bust for the solvency of the Social Security trust fund.

To be clear, if the fund is depleted, Social Security won’t go belly up. Benefits will continue to be paid out, but there will be a large drop in the amount. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates that the “average monthly cut would total $500, which is more than what the average retired household spends on groceries each month.”

That would be a huge blow to the budgets of many older Americans. Social Security is a major source of income for most retirees, and roughly 40% of beneficiaries over the age of 65 rely on it for most of their income. And it would mark the destabilization of the sole source of retirement security for most Americans that is supposed to be insulated from ups and downs — unlike 401K plans. As the CBPP has pointed outSocial Security is “most workers’ only source of guaranteed retirement income that is not subject to investment risk or financial market fluctuations.”

Trump’s acceleration of the program’s insolvency comes atop his assaults on the program’s administrative capacities. His cuts to the Social Security Administration have left offices understaffedincreased wait timesand reduced quality of customer service.

Ultimately, Trump is exacerbating a colossal social safety net problem that predates him, and the trust fund will hit dire straits after he has left office. Democrats need to have clear plans for shoring up the program and making it robust for the future — which will require not being sheepish about taxes as a tool for renewing the social contract. And when Republicans try to claim that they, too, are champions of Social Security, all Democrats need to do is point to the truth.

Zeeshan Aleem is a writer and editor for MS NOW. He primarily writes about politics and foreign policy.

The Dictatorship

Wednesday’s Mini-Report, 6.10.26

Published

9 hours ago

June 11, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Today’s edition of quick hits.

* The latest from Northern Ireland: “The family of a man who lost an eye in a knife attack appealed for calm on Wednesday after the incident triggered a wave of anti-immigrant violence in Belfast overnight, with masked men burning families out of their homes and torching vehicles. The appeal ‌came as a Sudanese man appeared in court charged with attempted murder and as British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and politicians in Northern Ireland condemned the violence by ‘masked thugs’ that had targeted ethnic minorities.”

* In related news: “The British government hit out at X owner Elon Musk Wednesday, accusing him of whipping up tensions online ahead of disorder in Belfast.”

* The tenuous state of a dubious ceasefire: “Trump said the U.S. is going to hit Iran ‘hard’ today when pressed by reporters in the Oval Office about his statement earlier that Tehran will ‘pay the price’ for taking ‘too long’ to reach a peace agreement. ‘Well, we’re going to be attacking them and attacking them very hard, resuming bombing,’ he said.”

* The latest casualty figures from Lebanon: “Israel’s military offensive in Lebanon has killed at least 3,666 people, including 131 healthcare workers, and injured more than 11,300 since the U.S. and Israel began their war with Iran in late February, the Lebanese health ministry reported yesterday.”

* The changing nature of modern warfare: “Ukraine is wreaking havoc on unarmored trucks and trains in the battlefield’s rear, using drones with upgraded engines and batteries, integrated Starlink communication systems and new artificial-intelligence capabilities. The ramped-up attacks are causing fuel shortages, complicating troop rotations and reducing Russian military activity on the front.”

* This seems like a reasonable request: “Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee demanded Wednesday that Bill Pulte, President Donald Trump’s controversial pick for acting director of national intelligence, submit to a full security check before assuming the post, including an examination of his financial holdings and foreign contacts.”

* Some market trends can’t be stopped despite the White House’s best efforts: “Even as President Donald Trump boosts coal over clean energy, solar power is hitting new milestones in the U.S. and remains the leading source of new power. Data released Wednesday by global energy think tank Ember, along with a report by the Solar Energy Industries Association and analytics firm Wood Mackenzie, show the continued growth of solar and decline of coal in the United States despite federal policy. In May, for the first time, solar supplied more of the nation’s electricity than coal, or 12.8%, Ember said.”

* A bizarre schedule for a nonemergency vanity project: “Federal officials are laying more groundwork to begin construction on President Donald Trump’s planned 250-foot-tall triumphal arch, sharing additional documents that detail the project’s scope and an aggressive timetable for potentially completing work before Trump’s term ends. According to National Park Service documents posted this month, the administration envisions 20 hours per day of construction on the arch, year-round, in hopes of completing the project within two to three years.”

See you tomorrow.

Steve Benen is a producer for “The Rachel Maddow Show,” the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He’s also the bestselling author of “Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans’ War on the Recent Past.”