MORGAN WALLEN

Jason Isbell Criticized Morgan Wallen’s Surprise Appearance On The Grand Ole Opry

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Morgan Wallen Opry
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Morgan Wallen had a strange 2021. He was very commercially successful as his second album Dangerous: The Double Album was the most popular album of the year. However, he was also caught on camera using the N word, a moment that evoked tons of backlash from mainstream critics. In one of his first interviews since the incident, Wallen called his use of the slur “playful,” but has also said a number of times that it was wrong for him to say it and apologized. Since Dangerous is the first album to stay at No. 1 on the Billboard charts for eight weeks in over a decade, it’s clear that Wallen still has plenty of listeners despite the misstep.

But others aren’t so quick to forgive him. When Wallen made a surprise appearance on the Grand Ole Opry this weekend, when an artist he’s collaborated and written with, Ernest, was performing. Ernest is a co-writer on Wallen’s “More Than My Hometown” hit, and the pair recently released the collaboration “Flower Shops,” so naturally, Ernest invited Wallen to perform that tune with him on the Opry stage. While the Opry itself seemed to welcome the surprise, others artists criticized the institution for tacitly co-signing Wallen. Jason Isbell, in particular, has spoken out about the situation. Early on, Wallen covered Isbell’s incredible song, “Cover Me Up,” so naturally Jason feels the need to speak out, and he even donated all the proceeds from Wallen’s version to the NAACP.

“Last night @opry you had a choice- either upset one guy and his ‘team,’ or break the hearts of a legion of aspiring Black country artists,” Isbell wrote. “You chose wrong and I’m real sad for a lot of my friends today. Not surprised though. Just sad. The thing that really upsets me is bigger than one person’s words. It’s the idea of a young Black artist walking into that venue and wondering if ANYBODY is on their side. What a lot of us consider to be a grand ole honor can be terrifying for some. Doesn’t have to be that way.”

Other artists like Joy Oladokun and Alison Russell, who performs as Outside Child, also shared their frustration and sadness over Wallen’s appearance:

A group called the Black Opry, founded by Holly G and described as “a home for Black artists and Black fans of country, blues, folk, and Americana music” also issued an open letter to the Opry about the incident. You can check that out in full below.

Lil Durk Vouches For His ‘Broadway Girls’ Collaborator Morgan Wallen: ‘He Ain’t No Racist’

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Country star Morgan Wallen’s recent controversy regarding a certain racial slur didn’t deter him from collaborating with one of Chicago’s biggest rappers, Lil Durk, for a song that quickly rose on the charts, “Broadway Girls.” Apparently, now that he’s gotten a taste of rap collab success, Wallen wants to expand his pool of coworkers to include Kendrick Lamar — a sentiment with which Durk agrees 100 percent.

TMZ caught up to the Windy City drill rap pioneer recently, asking him about the controversy surrounding Wallen. Durk vouched for his collaborator, saying, “Nah, he ain’t no racist. That’s my boy. We had a long talk—he had his public situation, we had [a talk] behind closed doors, and I’ll vouch for him and he good.” When asked whether Wallen should be “uncanceled,” Durk was adamant that he never was. “He ain’t canceled,” he asserted. He also agrees that Kendrick should collaborate with Wallen.

The numbers certainly seem to bear out that sentiment (remember, kids, no one is ever really canceled, that’s just a buzzword and a red herring). Wallen topped several Billboard year-end charts despite the kerfuffle, and his fans even rented billboards to request forgiveness for him. If Kendrick did decide to accept Wallen’s collaboration invitation, it would almost certainly result in some impressive sales figures, if nothing else.

Watch Durk’s interview with TMZ above.

Lil Durk’s Inexplicable Collaboration With Morgan Wallen Receives A Surprisingly Warm Reception From Fans

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Lil Durk has collaborated with a number of artists in the music industry, especially since widened his audience last year through well-performing projects and songs with Drake, Lil Baby, and more. He’s worked with both rappers and singers, but tonight marks a new first for him.

For the first time in his career, Durk finds himself in the country lane with quite the controversial artist: Morgan Wallen. Earlier this year, Wallen found himself in heavy controversy after he was caught on video using a racial slur while he was out with friends. Despite that, Wallen and Durk joined forces for their new song “Broadway Girls.”

Knowing what Wallen did earlier this year, one would believe that the song would stir up a bit of controversy, but most of the reactions it received on social media have been warm and in support of it. For what it’s worth, the artists’ demographics don’t have much obvious overlap and some may be unaware of what Wallen did (or unbothered), but in the end, it’s still a questionable collaboration.

Despite this, the song is here and altogether it amounts to a rap and country crossover record focused on women who only pay attention to Wallen and Durk because of their money and status in the music world.

You can view some of the reactions to the song below and press play on the track above.