Hick-hop music has been around for a few years in the mainstream and goes by several different names. Some have also called it country rap, southern rap, or even kuntry. Hick-hop is a blend of Hip-hop music in the style and the beats but with lyrics that more reflect a country song.

Tennessee Shine's "Hick Hop Thang" does a good job describing how a hick-hop song is formed.The Start Of Hick-Hop 1950's - 1980's
The start of hick-hop can be quite perplexing. Some early artists that fit the mold were artists like Jerry Reed with songs like "She Got The Gold Mine (I Got The Shaft)" and "The Ballad Of Gator McKlusky" as well as Johnny Cash with songs like "A Boy Named Sue" and "Folsom Prison Blues." Theses artists and their songs respectively follow a much different format than traditional music of their genre in their time. The use of vocalization verses traditional singing can be evident in each artist, much like it is in modern day hick-hop.Hick-Hop In The 1980's To Early 2000's
In 1987 coming in at #31 on the Billboard's Country Singles Charts was The Bellamy Brothers "Country Rap." The song was one of the first songs in the modern music sense that blended country music with a hip-hop beat to it. Following the Bellamy Brothers was Neal McCoy's "Hillbilly Rap." "Hillbilly Rap" actually interpolated lyrics from Sugarhill Gang's "Rappers Delight," the song that many credit the term hip-hop to.

The late 1990's saw the formation of the band Rehab whose hit song Sittin' At A Bar was released in 2000. The song had a mixture of a country melody and story but also featured a rap verse. Rehab's lead singer Danny Boone would later venture into hick-hop working along with Colt Ford and Average Joe's Entertainment.

In the early 2000's artists like Bubba Sparxxx and Big Smo emerged in the underground scene. Bubba Sparxxx's "Bubba Talk" pokes fun of a rapper who speaks with a southern accent. Big Smo's Kuntry Kitchen is one of the first true sole hick-hop style album. The album cover alone was taken at his great grandfathers country store that he turned into a studio. Big Smo would walk the streets of Nashville and give these CD's away for free to anyone who would listen which helped in starting the brand.Hick-Hop From 2008 To The Present
One of the biggest advancements for hick-hop was the launch of Average Joe's Entertainment. The label was founded by fellow hick-hop star Colt Ford along with Shannon Houchins in 2008. Signed with Average Joe's are some of the biggest names in hick-hop today such as The Lacs, Moonshine Bandits, Montgomery Gentry, and Lenny Cooper. Other's that also had worked with Average Joe's include the likes of Bubba Sparxxx, Moccasin Creek, Twang and Round, and JJ Lawhorn. The company also has a successful album series in Mud Digger having released 12 albums featuring many different hick-hop artists in the last 8 years.
Around the same time that Colt Ford was creating Average Joe's entertainment Derek Thrasher (D. Thrash) and the Jawga Boyz were becoming popular. D. Thrash can be related as the Dr. Dre of the hick-hop industry with his popularity in producing big named artists while also appearing on their tracks. D. Thrash has produced hits for artists such as Porch Matthews, Tennessee Shine, Boondock Kingz, as well as many others.

Ryan Upchurch, better known as just Upchurch, brought the genre to even new heights. Upchurch has a YouTube following of over 1 million and has released albums in several different genres including rap, rock, and country. Unlike other musicians Upchurch refuses to sign with a label, something he talks about through different songs and through his YouTube channel.