Chase Rice, I fucking love you. If you’re reading this, your fucking country, I know you know that, but you’re an absolute badass. Why am I saying this? Well, on the most recent episode of “Bussin’ with the Boys,” Chase Rice proved that he really doesn’t give a shit what you think. On the podcast, he discussed everything from getting shit from fellow artists about playing a show way too early to being compared to Johnny Cash to admitting to releasing shitty songs in the past. I highly suggest listening to this episode, I’ve always liked Chase Rice, but I fucking love him now.
Chase Rice has had one of the most interesting lives of any artist in the industry right now. First off, he worked on a pit crew in NASCAR. That’s pretty sick, as you have to be extremely athletic and precise to be a good pit crew guy. Then he got bored of that, so he took on Survivor in 2010. He got runner-up on the show, and as a big survivor guy myself, it’s pretty hard to do better, as only a handful of people have won the show. However, after that, he decided to solely focus on music, and it wasn’t long before that started popping off for him.
I’m not about to go through Chase’s entire discography, but I will say this. His first album “Dirt Road Communion: is fucking solid. The songs “Dirt Road Communion,” “You Ain’t Livin’ Yet,” and “Only a Country Girl” speaks to people who have had a rowdy Friday night in the middle of bum fuck nowhere. “Livin’” especially has a cool meaning, as Rice explains how his town is much more different than the eye sees and how you need to become country to see the world in a country way.
The album “Ignite the Night” is more pop-country than anything, but that being said, it has some bangers, including “Ready Set Roll” and “Do it Like This.” It also features “Ride,” which is an excellent song if you want to get a lady in the mood (and I know this works from experience.) Rice released a few singles that didn’t hit on radio following that album, but “Everybody We Know Does” is a fucking jam. “Lambs & Lions” produced some solid music, including “Lions” and “On Tonight.” His latest album was split into three parts, “The Album,” parts 1-3. I haven’t been as big of a fan of the songs on this album until the single “Drinkin’ Beer. Talkin’ God. Amen.” Was released. I love this song, and I think that this song might be the next #1 hit in Rice’s career. I also think that Chase Rice might have a few jams on the final installment of “The Album.”
The real reason that I think Rice is a badass is because of his farm. His farm, called “Twin Eagles Creek Farm,” is just another in a long line of farms owned by country artists, including “Ozara Farms” and Luke Bryan’s farm. However, this one might be the baddest of the lot, as it has bison. That’s right, BISON!!! Can you name another country artists who own bison? I can’t. That’s fucking badass; I don’t care what you say; Chase Rice is country. He could release a cover of a Drake song tomorrow, and I would say this man is country. I don’t know where or when so I can’t completely give credit or even confirm this story, but I heard that he used to work on the farm, and then when he got a little bit of money, bought half of the farm, and then when he got more money bought the other half. That hits the feels for me, as I worked on a farm, and I wish more than anything when it went up for sale, I could’ve bought it. Sadly that wasn’t the case, and it was sold to someone else. Despite knowing the property better than probably anyone in the world, I am not allowed on it anymore.
The other thing that makes Chase such a badass is how he handled his critics of his concert last year. If you don’t know, Rice performed an “extremely reckless” concert last year in June where apparently thousands of people packed into a tiny venue to watch Rice perform, not giving a fuck about CDC guidelines. Rice never apologized or acknowledged this; however, that changed on the “Boys” podcast. He said that the concert followed all CDC guidelines at the time, and under 1,000 people were at the concert, which had a capacity of at least a few thousand. Artists such as Kelsea Ballerini and Maren Morris took to social media to talk shit about Rice for the concert. However, Rice had a simple response, basically saying they have his number, and if they have an issue with it, they should hit him up directly instead of going to social media.
It’s true; going to social media is bullshit and a weak move. It’s safe; when you have a million followers, you can expect eighty percent of them to be on your side. It creates a void in country music that just isn’t necessary; if you have a problem with something, address it, person, to person. Maybe if Kelsea and Maren had just hit him up, he would’ve talked to his team and decided that concerts weren’t a good idea. It would’ve said face and drama for all involved. One quote really stuck with me, though, when he said that he would still be open to talking to them despite how they handled the situation, he didn’t hate them, and they make badass music. I thought that was absolutely standup. Barstool basically gave him a platform bigger than Ballerini and Morris, and he took the high road.
Are you not convinced? Chase Rice is the real deal. He isn’t Sam Hunt, or Breland, or Dan and Shay. He wants to be Eric Church, Johnny Cash like over those artists. He wants to make music that is timeless over music that is good today but shitty tomorrow. I respect the hell out of that. I think we need to give Rice more respect, and for anyone who listens to “Bussin’ with the Boys,” they would agree. Also its worth noting that Rice was able to pay his band throughout the pandemic. Chase Rice, if you’re reading this, please let me come visit your bison farm.