Global Courant 2023-04-18 14:00:45
John Rich is not a politician, but he does have some thoughts on the state of the union.
The country star, best known for his work with the duo Big & Rich, has expressed his opinion through his music in recent years with songs like “Earth to God” and “Progress.”
One of his latest, “End of the World,” featuring rapper Tom MacDonald, sees the two artists from different genres come together to give a voice to those who wonder where the United States is headed.
“He’s got facial tattoos. I mean, he’s the furthest thing from what I look like,” Rich told Fox News Digital about his collaborator. “We’re pretty opposed on about every level, except he loves his freedom. He loves the United States, he appreciates hard work and all the people out there.”
John Rich told Fox News Digital that America “isn’t like the country we used to know, and everyone is very concerned about it.” (Jason Kempin)
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“End of the World” features lyrics from MacDonald, a Canadian-born wrestler turned rapper, including: “It feels like the end is near, our freedom is disappearing / People are playing God, calling it genetic engineering / Media misleading us and evil intervenes / While the government we need became the power we fear.
Rich sings in the song’s chorus, emphasizing the past and reflecting on the future.
“We stood on top of mountains, we’ve been to space before / We had our dogs and houses, we dug up dinosaurs / We built those bombs they drop, we’ve fought in all their wars / Now the heavens falls, what did we do it for?” he sings.
The “Shuttin Detroit Down” singer told Fox News Digital: “We’re watching our country being dismantled piece by piece right before our eyes. I mean, it’s nothing like the country we used to know, and everyone is very concerned about (it): ‘Man, what’s it like in another year or five years or, God forbid, 10 years? What’s it like?'”
When MacDonald approached him with the song, Rich was happy to participate because he felt it encapsulated his feeling about America’s changing landscape.
“I said, ‘I gotta tell you, that’s kind of how I feel about it,'” Rich recalled. “Is this it? Like, is this how it ends? Is this how America, you know, rides into the sunset? I hope not. But he asked me to come and sing the song, and I did. I guess it was a pretty incredible mashup. It actually went to the No. 1 spot on the sales chart for about a week.”
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Rich is no stranger to musical success. As part of the country duo Big & Rich, the Amarillo, Texas-born musician has released two albums, “Horse of a Different Color” and “Comin’ to Your City”, which have gone platinum in the US, as well as a No. 1 country hit, “Look at You.”
The duo have been on hiatus from time to time and last released an album together in 2017 titled “Did It for the Party”.
In the meantime, Rich has also written hits for other artists, including Gretchen Wilson’s “Redneck Woman,” Jason Aldean’s “Why,” and co-wrote the Taylor Swift song “The Way I Loved You.”
Rich has always been devoted to his fan base and the people he believes need representation, whether through music, political activism or television appearances.
In 2014 he started the lifestyle brand Redneck Riviera, inspired by the stretch of the Gulf Coast from Florida to Alabama.
The brand offers clothing, a boat line, snacks, whiskey and a bar in the heart of Nashville, where it recently made a statement by pulling Bud Light off its shelves following the beer company’s controversial partnership with trans activist Dylan Mulvaney.
Singer-songwriter John Rich poses with bottles of Redneck Riviera Whiskey and Redneck Riviera Granny Rich Reserve Whiskey at the 2020 PHS Philadelphia Flower Show. (Gilbert Carrasquillo)
But Rich also remains focused on making statements with his music.
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In February, he teased some of his upcoming music on his Twitter account, posting a video of him playing a new song titled “I’m Offend!”
“It might be the funniest song I’ve ever read,” he said. “It’s absolutely hilarious. It’s hysterical, from start to finish. I shot the music video last week, so we’re working on that, to get that done, and it’s really about the culture that we’re in. Everyone is offended about everything all the time.”
“You know, remember when I was growing up you had shows (or characters like) Archie Bunker (on ‘All in the Family’) and ‘The Jeffersons’ and ‘Married with Children.’ I mean, there was all sorts of things going on on those shows that those shows shouldn’t exist today. Cancel the culture would wipe that out,” the 49-year-old added.
The musician also said he wanted to “have some fun with it” when it came to tackling cancellation culture.
The song’s chorus echoes that idea with lyrics like, “I’m offended/You’re offended/Let’s all be offended tonight/I’ll buy us a beer, we can sit here/and yell and yell and swear and fuss and fight.”
John Rich is releasing a new song soon titled “I’m Offended!” joke about cancel culture. (Jason Kempin)
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Rich’s latest album will be out in late May or early June, according to the star.
And while the country remains deeply divided on numerous issues, Rich still believes in the principles upon which America is founded, which is the right to pursue happiness.
“America does not guarantee the right to be happy, but guarantees you the right to pursue happiness, which means America gives you the guarantee to fulfill your potential,” he said.
“It’s up to you to exhaust your potential — how hard you want to work, how big you want to think. You know, people who come to our country from other countries don’t come here because they think they’re getting something.” rich or popular or famous. They come here because they know they can achieve more than they were capable of, no matter where they came from.’
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That concept inspires him every day.
“That’s why it wakes me up in the morning, that’s why I’m thankful to be an American,” he said.
He added: “How lucky are we to have been born in this country where every day you wake up you have the right to pursue happiness? And it’s not even a right given to you by the government. It’s an inalienable right right, meaning this is a right given by God, He created humans to go after it and exhaust their potential as His creation, to me it’s one of the greatest things about our country. ‘
