Shaboozey Rides Again: Inside His Ambitious New Album | Rolling Stone Nashville Now

Why It Matters

Shaboozey’s crossover success and genre‑defying album illustrate a growing market appetite for diverse, narrative‑driven country music, reshaping industry expectations and expanding audience demographics.

Key Takeaways

• Shaboozey’s “Tipsy” topped Hot 100 for 19 weeks.
• New album “The Outlaw, Sherry Lee & Western Tales” releases July 31.
• Collaboration with Beyoncé on “Cowboy Carter” boosted his mainstream profile.
• Shaboozey defines “modern cowboy” as resilient, genre‑blending identity.
• Album explores revisionist Western archetypes, blending country, hip‑hop influences.

Summary

Rolling Stone’s Nashville Now podcast featured Grammy‑winning artist Shaboozey in a Las Vegas‑styled interview, unveiling his upcoming concept record “The Outlaw, Sherry Lee & Western Tales” and reflecting on a breakout year that included a historic 19‑week Hot 100 run with the bar anthem “Tipsy.”

The conversation highlighted a rapid succession of milestones: a feature on Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter,” a Grammy for Best Country Duo/Group Performance, and the imminent July 31 album drop. Shaboozey described how the Beyoncé co‑sign acted as a catalyst, while “Tipsy” amassed millions of streams within hours, cementing his status as a crossover star.

He elaborated on his “modern cowboy” ethos—resilience, self‑reliance, and genre fluidity—rooted in a multicultural upbringing in Northern Virginia. The outlaw theme, he explained, draws from revisionist Western narratives that blur black‑and‑white morality, merging country storytelling with hip‑hop sensibilities.

The album’s cinematic scope signals a broader shift toward genre‑blending in country music, expanding representation for Black artists and offering a fresh commercial hook for streaming platforms and radio alike.

Original Description

In his first-ever podcast interview, @Shaboozey — who gave the decade one of its biggest crossover hits with "A Bar Song (Tipsy)" — joins Rolling Stone’s Nashville Now for a very special live podcast taping in Las Vegas. The episode arrives as part of a multimedia package with Shaboozey, including a digital cover story on RollingStone.com. Nashville Now host Joseph Hudak, who authored the cover story, captures Shaboozey at his most vulnerable. He gets tearful recounting his historic Grammy win, recounts growing up in Northern Virginia as the song of Nigerian immigrants, and shares the various inspirations — from Quentin Tarantino movies to Old West video games — for his ambitious forthcoming album, The Outlaw Cherie Lee & Other Western tales. It’s a deeply personal interview with one of music’s most fascinating new stars, only on Nashville Now.

#country is here. #nashville is now. #countrymusic

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