# Old Town Road > Old Town Road is Lil Nas X's 2018 country-trap single that went viral through the Yee Haw Challenge and sparked a Billboard controversy before topping the Hot 100 with a Billy Ray Cyrus remix. "Old Town Road" is a country-trap song by rapper Lil Nas X, released in December 2018, that became one of the biggest viral music events of the 2010s. The track went viral on TikTok through the "Yee Haw Challenge" before sparking a national debate about race and genre when Billboard removed it from the country charts. A remix featuring Billy Ray Cyrus helped push it to 19 consecutive weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, breaking a record that had stood since 1995[11]. ## Origin Montero Lamar Hill, then 19 years old, was sleeping on his sister's floor in Atlanta after dropping out of the University of West Georgia[3]. He'd spent months making humorous viral content on Twitter and Facebook but needed a breakout moment. In October 2018, he found a beat made by YoungKio, a teenage producer from the Netherlands, who had sampled Nine Inch Nails' "34 Ghosts IV" after stumbling on it through YouTube's algorithm[5]. YoungKio had chopped the sample in FL Studio to sound like an old field recording, layered trap drums underneath, and listed it as a "Future Type Beat" in his online store[5]. He never intended it to sound country. Lil Nas X bought the beat for $30 and recorded "Old Town Road" on December 2, 2018, at CinCoYo Recording Studio in Atlanta, releasing it to SoundCloud the same day[3]. His sister had told him he needed to move out, and the frustration behind "can't nobody tell me nothing" came directly from his parents' and sister's exasperation with him[9]. He deliberately made the song short, funny, catchy, and both country and hip-hop at once[8]. YoungKio didn't even know Lil Nas X had purchased his beat until someone tagged him in an Instagram meme featuring the finished track in December 2018[9]. Nine Inch Nails founder Trent Reznor later received a call asking for sample clearance, which he granted, calling the song "undeniably hooky"[5]. - **Platform:** Internet/Reddit/Twitter - **Creator:** Lil Nas X (artist), YoungKio (producer), @nicemichael (TikTok popularizer) - **Date:** 2019-06 ## Overview "Old Town Road" is a sub-two-minute blend of banjo-driven country and trap-style 808 drums built on a sample of Nine Inch Nails' "34 Ghosts IV"[5]. The song's lyrics romanticize cowboy life with lines about horses, cowboy hats, Wrangler jeans, and riding down the "old town road," while mixing in hip-hop signifiers like Gucci hats and Maseratis[6]. Its brevity and loopability made it perfect fuel for short-form video memes, particularly the TikTok "Yee Haw Challenge" where users drank "yee yee juice" and transformed into cowboy outfits[9]. The track became far more than a novelty hit. Billboard's decision to remove it from the country charts turned it into a flashpoint for debates about genre policing and race in music. The subsequent Billy Ray Cyrus remix turned controversy into chart dominance, and Lil Nas X's savvy meme promotion kept it at the top of the Hot 100 for a record-breaking 19 weeks[5]. ## How It Spread Lil Nas X was no stranger to internet virality. He'd previously run a popular (now-banned) Twitter fan account for Nicki Minaj and understood how to engineer online buzz[9]. After releasing "Old Town Road," he created over 100 short promotional memes for Twitter and Instagram[3]. He also uploaded a YouTube video featuring footage from the video game Red Dead Redemption 2 set to the track[2]. On December 4, just two days after release, he tweeted that he wanted Billy Ray Cyrus on a remix[5]. The real explosion came through TikTok. Influencer Michael Pelchat (@nicemichael) asked Lil Nas X if he could use the song on TikTok, then posted a video using the song's drop to transform from normal clothes into full cowboy gear[8]. This spawned the "Yee Haw Challenge," where users drank fictional "yee yee juice" and morphed into cowboys. The clip was used in over 144,000 TikTok videos[4]. By February 2019, compilation videos were hitting YouTube, with the first uploaded by Blissful Minds on February 25 pulling 415,800 views in two weeks[4]. The song debuted on Billboard's Hot 100, Hot Country Songs, and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop charts all at once in March 2019[6]. Radio DJs were so desperate for it that some literally ripped MP3s from YouTube because no official radio copy existed yet[6]. Columbia Records signed Lil Nas X in late March amid a bidding war[2]. Then Billboard pulled the song from the country charts, stating it "does not embrace enough elements of today's country music to chart in its current version"[6]. The decision kicked off a fierce debate about race and genre policing, especially given that white country artists like Florida Georgia Line had been incorporating hip-hop elements without penalty[3]. Country singer Meghan Linsey called it "some BS," and singer Moses Sumney said the removal was "discriminatory"[3]. Billy Ray Cyrus entered the picture on April 5, 2019, releasing his remix verse that leaned hard into country signifiers like "Marlboro man swagger"[1]. The remix dropped after Cyrus tweeted his support, comparing Lil Nas X to great outlaws like Waylon Jennings[1]. On April 9, "Old Town Road" hit number one on the Hot 100, jumping from number 15 in a single week[4]. ## How to Use The "Old Town Road" meme format is primarily the TikTok "Yee Haw Challenge" transformation video: 1. Film yourself in normal, everyday clothes 2. Take a sip of "yee yee juice" (any drink will do) 3. At the song's bass drop ("I got the horses in the back"), cut to yourself in full cowboy regalia: hat, boots, plaid shirt, belt buckle 4. Optional: add dancing, mugging for the camera, or exaggerated cowboy swagger ## Cultural Impact "Old Town Road" forced a mainstream reckoning with genre boundaries in the streaming era. When Billboard enforced its country chart rules, it exposed how the music industry's genre categories still mapped onto racial lines drawn decades earlier[6]. The incident sparked coverage from Rolling Stone, the Smithsonian, Vogue, and dozens of other outlets, turning a meme song into a genuine cultural debate. The song's success proved TikTok's power as a hitmaking platform. Radio programmers were playing ripped YouTube audio before any label was involved, a scenario unthinkable even a few years earlier[6]. Lil Nas X's self-promotion strategy, creating over 100 memes, gaming platform algorithms, and planting searchable Reddit posts, became a blueprint for aspiring artists[3]. Lil Nas X came out as gay during Pride Month 2019, making him one of the most visible LGBTQ artists in hip-hop and country. Columbia Records and Sony won a SAG-AFTRA Music & Sound Recordings Award for "work that exemplifies equal access" to LGBTQ individuals[5]. The Smithsonian Magazine profiled Lil Nas X as an exemplar of the "American story of the self-made artist-entrepreneur, updated with instantaneous global fame"[3]. He launched a clothing line with Wrangler (a nod to the song's lyrics), appeared on Genius' "Verified" series (8.1 million views in five days), and released the EP *7* featuring Cardi B, Travis Barker, and Ryan Tedder[3]. ## Fun Facts - Lil Nas X planted a Reddit post asking "What's the name of the song that says 'take my horse to the old town road'?" to make the track easier to find via Google search[8]. - YoungKio had never heard of Nine Inch Nails before randomly finding "34 Ghosts IV" through YouTube's suggested videos[5]. - Some radio stations played MP3s ripped directly from YouTube because no official radio version existed yet[6]. - Lil Nas X's six-year-old fan base was so fervent that one writer's child misheard the lyrics as "My life is a movie, your life is a boobie"[10]. - The song Lil Nas X defeated to claim number one was Ariana Grande's "7 Rings," and the one that finally dethroned him (Billie Eilish's "Bad Guy") was also a meme-driven hit[10]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is "Old Town Road"? "Old Town Road" is a country-trap song by Lil Nas X released in December 2018, blending banjo samples from Nine Inch Nails' "34 Ghosts IV" with trap drums and cowboy lyrics. It went viral on TikTok and spent 19 weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100[5]. ### Where did "Old Town Road" come from? Lil Nas X recorded it on December 2, 2018, at CinCoYo studio in Atlanta using a $30 beat purchased from Dutch producer YoungKio. He released it on SoundCloud the same day[3]. ### What does "Old Town Road" mean? The "old town road" is a metaphor for escape and success. Lil Nas X wrote it while living on his sister's floor after dropping out of college, and the chorus "can't nobody tell me nothing" came from his frustration with family pressure[9]. ### How do you use the "Old Town Road" meme? The main format is the TikTok "Yee Haw Challenge": film yourself in normal clothes, drink "yee yee juice," then cut to a cowboy transformation at the song's bass drop[4]. ### Is "Old Town Road" still popular? The song peaked in mid-2019 and its active meme cycle has wound down, though it broke chart records and earned Diamond certification from the RIAA in October 2019[5]. It's recognized as a defining song of the late 2010s. ### Why was "Old Town Road" removed from the Billboard country charts? Billboard said the song "does not embrace enough elements of today's country music to chart in its current version." Critics argued the decision was racially motivated, noting that white country artists had been incorporating hip-hop production without similar pushback[6]. ### Who is YoungKio? YoungKio is the Dutch teenage producer (real name Kiowa Roukema) who created the beat by sampling Nine Inch Nails' "34 Ghosts IV." He sold it for $30 on his beat store and didn't know Lil Nas X bought it until he saw it in an Instagram meme[5]. ### How long was "Old Town Road" number one? The song spent 19 consecutive weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 from April to August 2019, breaking the previous record of 16 weeks held by "One Sweet Day" and "Despacito"[11]. ### What role did Billy Ray Cyrus play in the song's success? After Billboard's country chart removal, Cyrus tweeted his support and recorded a remix verse released April 5, 2019. His involvement gave the song country credibility and turned the controversy into a media event[1]. ### How did TikTok help "Old Town Road" go viral? TikTok influencer Michael Pelchat (@nicemichael) created a transformation video using the song's drop, spawning the "Yee Haw Challenge." The clip was used in over 144,000 TikTok videos, and over 3 million total TikTok videos eventually used the track[8]. ### Did "Old Town Road" win any Grammys? The Billy Ray Cyrus remix won Best Pop Duo/Group Performance and Best Music Video at the 62nd Grammy Awards, and was nominated for Record of the Year[5]. ### How did Lil Nas X promote "Old Town Road" using memes? He created over 100 short promotional videos for Twitter and Instagram, strategically listed the song as "country" on SoundCloud and iTunes to game algorithms, and even planted a Reddit post to improve search discoverability[3]. ### What is the "Yee Haw Challenge"? A TikTok trend where users drink "yee yee juice" and transform from everyday clothes into full cowboy outfits at the song's bass drop. The term "yee yee" comes from hunter/country slang defined on Urban Dictionary in 2012[4]. ### How many remixes of "Old Town Road" exist? Four official remixes were released: the Billy Ray Cyrus version, a Diplo remix, a Young Thug and Mason Ramsey version, and the "Seoul Town Road" remix with BTS member RM[4]. ## References 1. [Billy Ray Cyrus Remixes Lil Nas X’s ‘Old Town Road’]() 2. [Lil Nas X And Billy Ray Cyrus Collaborated On A Remix Of "Old Town Road" And Now Everyone Is A Country Music Fan]() 3. [How Lil Nas X and 'Old Town Road' Defy Categorization]() 4. [Old Town Road - Know Your Meme]() 5. [Old Town Road]() 6. [Old Town Road - Urban Dictionary]() 7. [Urban Dictionary: Yee Yee]() 8. [How Lil Nas X's 'Old Town Road' Got So Popular]() 9. [Lil Nas X tamed a meme with “Old Town Road,” but virality remains a wild animal]() 10. [These "Old Town Road" Memes Will Make You Take Your Horse & Ride 'Til You Can't No More]() 11. [Guy Fieri and Sammy Hagar Want "Old Town Road" Remix | Music News]() 12. [La historia de 'Old Town Road': de TikTok a batir todos los récords | Vogue España]() 13. [Lil Nas X's Old Town Road, Explained: Meme Leads to Billboard Charts Record - Thrillist]() 14. ["Old Town Road" Will Never Die, But You Will]() 15. [Billboard Hot 100™]() 16. [Lil Nas X's 'Old Town Road' Breaks All-Time No. 1 Record With 17th Week Atop Billboard Hot 100 | Billboard]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/old-town-road Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library