BigXThaPlug made waves with the release of his country rap album, I Hope You're Happy, in August. The project included collaborations with artists like Jelly Roll, Ella Langley, and Shaboozey. In October, the rapper performed at the Ryman, one of country music's most iconic venues. In an interview with Ebro Darden at Apple Music, the rapper revealed he didn't understand the significance of performing there. That was until his collaborator, Shaboozey, explained it to him.
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The "The Largest" singer shared that after seeing one of Shaboozey's shows at the Pinnacle in Nashville, he started explaining the historical significance of the venue.
"Shaboozey had a show last night. I went to it and after the show we was talking and he was like, 'Man, you performing at the Ryman, man. That's crazy.' I'm like, 'You didn't just see what you just performed here? THIS was crazy.'"
BigX continued, "He like, 'Nah, bro. It's like, it's historical. Do you know the history behind it?' I'm like, 'Nah.' He like, 'Man, it's this old church...' He just gave me the whole rundown. And by the end of it, I was like, man, I'm doing something that you can tell the greats do, you know what I'm saying, what?"
His performance at the Opry, titled "BigXthaPlug & Friends," included an appearance from Bailey Zimmerman. The rapper packed the house, filling the Apple Music Live event with over 2,500 seats.
BigX Turned to Music as an Outlet During Hard Times
Before he was topping the charts with mainstream country artists and filling seats at the Ryman, BigXthePlug, born Xavier Landum, was just a kid playing football in Dallas, Texas. He went on to play college ball at Crown College, only to be kicked out when police found marijuana in his dorm room. In 2022, after becoming a new father, he was incarcerated for burglary and aggravated robbery. During his time in jail, inspiration struck for the singer, who used writing raps as a way to cope with his boredom.
In February 2023, the singer released his debut album, Lamar, named after his son, who was two at the time. In 2025, he made his entry into country music with his single, "All The Way", featuring Bailey Zimmerman.
Of the country music he's been releasing, BigX shared with Music Row Magazine that his fans shouldn't expect a complete genre switch necessarily, just "more music that's true to whatever story [he's] living next."
He also revealed that the country community was a lot more welcoming than he had thought it would be. He told Whiskey Riff, "The fact that, like I said, I was chose to step on a stage that greats have been on and a place that's not my home, but that's accepting me. You know what I'm saying? So, it's just crazy."
Photo by: Chelsea Lauren/Shutterstock
