We honestly did not have Flo Rida sampling George Strait on our 2025 Country Music bingo card. But now that this unusual genre-blending moment has arrived, we're considering building a time machine so we can prevent it from happening.
Videos by Wide Open Country
The new track, which debuted on streaming services on Aug. 15, is called "Carrying The Club." As any Strait fan can surmise by the song's title, it includes a sample of the hit single "Carrying Your Love With Me."
As the last few years have shown, the world is ready for collaborations between hip-hop artists and country singers. Nelly and Tim McGraw may have pioneered the trend with the song "Over And Over." But it was Lil Nas X who popularized it with "Old Town Road," which featured Billy Ray Cyrus. Even Beyoncé and Post Malone have ventured into country music.
But "Carrying The Club" is in a category by itself. And that's not a good thing.
Tell Us How You Really Feel About This George Strait / Flo Rida Mashup
At first blush, "Carrying The Club" is your typical Flo Rida track. It's about meeting up at the club and partying. It's not Shakespeare, but it's what we've come to expect from the rapper since his massive hit "Low" came out in 2007.
"I'm carrying the club with me
From Miami up to Tennessee
Turn the dive into a V.I.P.
I'm carrying the club with me
Down on Broadway where they do-si-do
Or out in Paris everybody knows
All night long, don't matter where I be
I'm carrying the club with me."
It's not the lyrics that bother us so much, but how they're delivered. He spits them out over the George Strait sample using auto-tune. It's another thing we've come to expect from the rapper. That's fine for hip-hop, but country has always been about authenticity. There's nothing genuine about disguising your voice behind an effect.
Using a sample from a truly great Strait song isn't even the worst musical crime Flo Rida commits with this song. He brought up-and-comers Cooper Alan and Shaylen along for the ride.
This Isn't the First Time Flo Rida Has Tried Country
Last year, Flo Rida partnered with Walker Hayes on the track "High Heels." He also sampled Tim McGraw for "Feels Right (I Love It)," a collaboration with Florida Georgia Line's Brian Kelley. Neither song has set the world on fire, but they definitely make our ears burn.
Strait must have been flying after becoming a Kennedy Center Honoree. Hearing this song will certainly bring him back down to Earth.
The video for "Carrying The Club" is below. Listen, if you dare.
Photo by Peggy Sirota
