Event

COWBOY TROY

Biography
A six-foot five-inch, hick-hop artist is going to get a response, and Cowboy Troy is okay with the strong reactions and endless questions. "I have crazy intentions," he says with a grin. But anyone who thinks that the Cowboy Troy experience ends there, doubts his country credentials, or is inclined to dismiss him as a novelty, is in for quite a surprise. "People have different paths," Troy says. "I'm not going to apologize for my music, because this is who I am. I didn't just wake up one morning, put on a cowboy hat, and get a gig rapping on a country album. You don't do something for 15 years on a lark."

Cowboy Troy rapped his way into the country mainstream on the first cut of Big & Rich's 2004 debut Horse Of A Different Color. And while his admonition to "let go of all your preconceived notions" certainly wasn't the first time elements of rap had been incorporated into country, it was the boldest statement yet. Explaining the journey that placed Troy Coleman at this unlikely intersection is as complicated as explaining the evolution of American culture. At the same time it's as simple as the story of a kid from Texas who did what all kids do--he soaked up the world around him.