Nobody saw it coming. Not the Nashville suits in their air-conditioned Broadway offices, and definitely not the traditionalists who thought country music ended with George Jones. It was the early 2000s, and the air was thick with the smell of stale beer and revolution. At the center of it all stood a six-foot-five Black man in a cowboy hat, spitting rhymes over a fiddle.
Big & Rich and Cowboy Troy didn't just walk through the door of country music; they kicked it off the hinges.
Honestly, the story of how they met is about as "un-corporate" as it gets. Imagine a Dallas nightclub in 1993. John Rich, back when he was still in a band called Texassee (which would eventually become Lonestar), looks across the floor. He sees Troy Lee Coleman III—better known as Cowboy Troy—two-stepping his rear end off in starched Wranglers. They became fast friends. It wasn't some marketing scheme hatched by a record label. It was just two guys who loved music that didn't always "fit."
The MuzikMafia: Music Without Prejudice
Before the radio hits, there was the MuzikMafia. This wasn't a business; it was a movement. Led by Big Kenny and John Rich, this "loosely organized" group of misfits met every Tuesday night in Nashville. They had a simple motto: "Music Without Prejudice."
📖 Related: Gwendoline Butler Dead in a Row: Why This 1957 Mystery Still Packs a Punch
You'd have Gretchen Wilson singing "Redneck Woman," followed by a juggler, followed by Cowboy Troy rapping in Spanish. It was chaotic. It was loud. And it was exactly what the industry was afraid of.
- Big Kenny: The visionary with a top hat and a "Love Everybody" sticker.
- John Rich: The sharp-shooting songwriter with a knack for hooks.
- Cowboy Troy: The "Hick-Hop" innovator who graduated from the University of Texas with a psychology degree.
The industry basically ignored them until they couldn't. When Big & Rich released Horse of a Different Color in 2004, they insisted on including Troy. That's him on the intro to "Rollin' (The Ballad of Big & Rich)." That one song changed everything. Suddenly, the guy who used to manage a Foot Locker in Dallas was on CMT every twenty minutes.
Why "I Play Chicken With the Train" Still Matters
In 2005, Cowboy Troy dropped his solo debut, Loco Motive. The lead single, "I Play Chicken with the Train," featured Big & Rich and was a sonic car crash in the best way possible. It hit No. 48 on the Billboard Country charts. That doesn't sound high, but for a rap song on country radio in 2005? It was a miracle.
👉 See also: Why ASAP Rocky F kin Problems Still Runs the Club Over a Decade Later
People hated it. People loved it. But most importantly, everyone talked about it.
Troy wasn't just some guy they hired to rap. He was a core member of the team. He brought a "party starter" energy that made the Big & Rich live shows legendary. If you've ever seen them perform, you know the vibe. It’s high-octane, slightly ridiculous, and 100% authentic.
2024 and Beyond: The 20th Anniversary Reunion
Fast forward to 2024 and 2026. If you thought they were a "fad," you'd be wrong. In 2024, Big & Rich, Gretchen Wilson, and Cowboy Troy reunited for a massive 20th-anniversary tour. They hit the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo, Rock the Country festivals, and everything in between.
✨ Don't miss: Ashley My 600 Pound Life Now: What Really Happened to the Show’s Most Memorable Ashleys
Seeing them on stage together in 2026, it's clear the chemistry hasn't faded. Troy is still the bridge between genres. He’s recently been dropping new tracks like "Gettin' Started" (2025) and "Away From You," showing he can do the heartfelt Texas-country thing just as well as the rap-heavy bangers. He’s even done acting, showing up in the 2022 Western Desperate Riders.
The Real Legacy of Hick-Hop
A lot of people think "Country Rap" started with Lil Nas X or Florida Georgia Line. It didn't. Cowboy Troy was the architect. He was doing this when it was professional suicide. He took the heat so that today’s artists could mix trap beats with banjos without getting laughed out of the room.
What most people get wrong is thinking Troy was a "gimmick." Look at his history. The guy is smart. He worked a corporate HR job for nine years while grinding in the music scene. He’s a sole writer on many of his tracks. He’s an innovator who understood that the "tradition" of country music is actually about change.
What You Should Do Next
If you want to understand why Big & Rich and Cowboy Troy still command crowds in 2026, don't just listen to the radio edits.
- Go back to the beginning: Listen to the 2004 album Horse of a Different Color. It's a masterclass in genre-bending.
- Watch the live footage: Look for their 2025 "Live at The Song" performances. The energy is a specific kind of magic you don't see in modern, over-produced stadium tours.
- Check out Troy’s 2025-2026 singles: Songs like "Microphone Grippin'" show how he’s evolved his sound for a new era while staying true to that "Hick-Hop" soul.
The movement might be two decades old, but as long as people want to party without worrying about what "category" the music falls into, these guys aren't going anywhere.