Singer-songwriter and small-town Georgia native RVSHVD didn’t initially got down to make nation music. Then he heard Keith City’s 2009 hit “Candy Factor.”
“I used to be like, ‘Okay, that ain’t dangerous.’ My dad would take heed to all types of music — Marvin Gaye, Luther Vandross, gospel. He did all types of jobs, and had me out working with him, washing automobiles and hauling scraps. He would take heed to nation whereas he labored,” RVSHVD (born Clint Rashad Johnson) remembers to Billboard. “He tried to get me to take heed to nation and I didn’t prefer it at first.”
Moreover, RVSHVD’s mom labored in a faculty cafeteria, and he and his sister would watch tv there within the mornings. Sooner or later, the tv was tuned to CMT and he was launched to artists like Florida Georgia Line, Luke Bryan and Darius Rucker. The combo had him hooked.
Quick ahead simply over a decade, and RVSHVD (pronounced Ra-shad) has fastidiously curated his personal genre-melding sound, one he describes in his music “Filth Highway” as “a bit of nation and a bit of road,” and in “Hit Completely different” as “Alpines bumping soiled south hip hop/ Combine in some nation boy Rick Ross, throw in a bit of Lil Wayne with a bit of little bit of Travis Tritt.” His sound is consequential, given ever-growing presence of hip-hop’s affect on the music of Colt Ford, Jason Aldean, Sam Hunt, Kane Brown and Florida Georgia Line over the previous 15 years, in addition to the style barrier-breaking success of Lil Nas X’s “Outdated City Highway” and David Morris’s viral nation/hip-hop hybrid “Carrying Your Love,” which includes George Strait’s 1997 basic “Carrying Your Love With Me.”
RVSHVD enrolled within the music program at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural School in Tifton, Georgia, earlier than switching his main to music journalism. In 2019, the identical 12 months “Outdated City Highway” grew to become a large hit, RVSHVD self-released the EP Reminiscences, weaving nation lyrics with hip-hop beats. In 2020, he broke by way of together with his nation model of Roddy Ricch’s “Ballin’,” which married his wealthy, Southern drawl vocal with acoustic guitars and bass and has amassed greater than 21 million streams on Spotify alone. The next 12 months, he collaborated with Cooper Alan on “Colt 45 (Nation Remix),” which earned over 34 million Spotify streams, and teamed with Trey Lewis on a model of Lewis’ viral hit “D–ked Down in Dallas.
Final 12 months, he partnered with Ice 9 Kills’ Spencer Charnas on “Cottonmouth” — however this 12 months, he’s been largely targeted on releasing solo music, together with “Hit Completely different,” “For the Streets,” and his newest, the extra historically country-leaning “Small City Discuss.”
Written by RVSHVD, Jason Afable, Josh Tangney, Willie Jones and Matty S. Gibbons at a writers camp at The Penthouse LA, the music’s uplifting lyrics about valuing household and laborious work mirror his rural upbringing in Willacoochee, Georgia (inhabitants: 1,200).
“They got here up with the idea of the music and confirmed it to me. I cherished it and tweaked a few strains,” he says. “I bear in mind chopping the demo and my spouse Angel was there with me. Whereas I’m making the demo, I’m sitting there tearing up. I cherished the music as quickly as I heard it.”
RVSHVD, who’s managed by Jonnie Forster and Empire Publishing, Nashville’s vp, A&R Eric Damage, is signed to The Penthouse South/Sumerian Data, with an upstreaming cope with Virgin Data for advertising and marketing and radio. He additionally has offers with Empire Publishing and CAA for reserving. He additionally made his Grand Ole Opry debut in September.
RVSHVD, Billboard’s December Nation Rookie of the Month, talks about creating his new music “Small City Discuss,” his profession journey and his musical aspirations.
You carried out throughout CMA Fest earlier this 12 months, at Nissan Stadium. What do you recall about that?
Once they advised me I used to be going to be taking part in CMA Fest, I assumed it might be a bit of stage exterior within the entrance of the stadium, and my spouse Angel stored telling me, “No, it’s within the stadium.” I couldn’t consider it, and after we began strolling on the market, I used to be like, “Oh, man, that is taking part in within the stadium.” To be taking part in in entrance of that quantity of individuals and have that type of publicity was loopy.
What was the primary music you heard that you simply cherished?
The primary artist to get me into music was Lil’ Bow Wow. I had the Like Mike VHS tape and I might play the music video for his music “Basketball.” I used to be like, ‘That’s cool. I believe I can try this.” I initially began rapping for some time. However then, once I switched to nation, I wrote a complete EP [2019’s Memories] within the first week, as a result of it simply flowed out of me. I didn’t really feel like I needed to placed on any persona.
When did you first begin making your individual music?
My first entry level was most likely round center college. I wished to document myself, however there weren’t many individuals the place I lived that do music like that. We didn’t even have web, so I might take a clean CD, go to the library, obtain some instrumentals and beats and stuff, put it on the CD, come again house and put the CD within the participant. [I would] take my earphones and sit in entrance of 1 speaker and rap into the opposite one.
How did the nation model of “Ballin’” come collectively?
I had accomplished covers of nation songs and R&B songs, however I had by no means accomplished a rustic model of a rap music. I shot a video for Rascal Flatts’ “Bless the Damaged Highway.” Whereas I used to be filming the video, I used to be like, I would as effectively document this one for “Balling.” I went to put up ‘Damaged Highway’ and [got] copyright blocked… So I used to be like, “Properly, I’m glad I’ve this different one filmed.” And I posted it, after which that was the one which took off.
How did you join with Spencer for the rock model of “Cottonmouth”?
I met with Michael Whitworth [Jelly Roll’s “Dead Man Walkin’”] and Michael Lotten [Morgan Wallen’s “Last Drive Down Main,” Willie Jones’ “Back Porch”], and wrote the music. Spencer bought on it as a result of for my first CMA Fest, I wore some Air Johns, as a result of David Morris had that shoe out. I had an Ice 9 Kills shirt that matched it. We bought the duvet artwork [for “Hit Different”] made and Eric [Hurt] was within the group chat and he was like, ‘Oh, we’d run into points having one other band’s title on the shirt.” However we reached out to Spencer and he was cool with it.
Then Jonnie requested, “What do you consider getting Ice 9 Kills on the characteristic on the remix?” I used to be already listening to their stuff, so that they bought on the music and killed it.
You filmed the video for “Small City Discuss” in your hometown in Georgia. How did it really feel going again to movie the video there?
It was dope. After we went again, what’s loopy is, it didn’t really feel completely different. It simply felt like I used to be again house and I bought to go see all my outdated academics and bought to see the brand new band college students.
You might be engaged on an album. How is it shaping up at this level?
I’ve a few collabs I’m engaged on, however the album is mainly my life story, what I’ve been by way of and stuff I really feel like individuals can relate to. That’s one factor I at all times cherished about rap albums, particularly an artist’s debut album, was it was at all times their story. I wished to do this with my first album, too. We’d have about 15 songs on it, however we’re nonetheless type of deciding at this level.
“Small City Discuss” tells a part of your story, however what different components of your story will followers be capable of hear for the primary time?
I bought a few of that on the album speaking about coping with despair, anxiousness, probably not having so much rising up and stuff like that, issues I haven’t mentioned but.
What do you bear in mind about your first-ever efficiency?
I bear in mind being super-nervous. My first efficiency was in a bar in Pearson, [Georgia] known as Poole’s Pub. I bear in mind there weren’t many individuals there, however one man was like, ‘You sound actual good. It is best to attempt doing a little Conway Twitty.” I did a canopy of “Tennessee Whiskey” and “Ingesting ‘Bout You.”
What’s your dream collaboration?
Most likely J. Cole. I listened to him so much rising up and nonetheless do. I at all times like how simply actual and sincere his music was — and I at all times associated to it, the way in which he talks about developing and stuff.
