Lil Nas And Billy Ray Cyrus Are A Pair Of Bandits In The Amazing ‘Old Town Road’ Music Video

Particularly in our troubled times, something like ‘Old Town Road’ is an unmixed blessing; a force for good in a world torn asunder by hate and division.

The song, the brainchild of rising rapper Lil Nas, mashes up country western stylings and hip hop beats into a stew of cross-cultural pollination that shouldn’t work but absolutely does. Add Billy Ray Cyrus, father of Miley and hooting and hollering country champ into the mix and you have a bona fide sensation — a song that has sat on the top of bestseller lists around the world for weeks now.

Well, looks like the ‘Old Town Road’ train isn’t stopping any time soon either: Lil Nas and co. have just dropped a music video for the song, and it’s as impressively anachronistic and creative as the track it’s been designed to promote.

Watch it and then we’ll reconvene below.

First things first, because it must be said: that’s one helluva video. Simple without being simplistic; united by a central theme and visual motif without being derivative. It’s a keeper.

Second, hard not to mention the incredible slew of cameos going on throughout the thing. Sure, that’s Cyrus and Lil Nas looking fine dressed head to toe in yeehaw gear, but the video also afford us glimpses of a wild west Chris Rock (that’s him at the beginning of the vid, presumably taking a break from his new career as the dude rebooting Saw for some reason), not to mention a brief, incredibly welcome Vince Staples cameo as a man foolish enough to bet against Lil Nas’ equine prowess.

Basically, the video is a certified banger, designed to cement the ascendency of ‘Old Town Road’ and to prove, once and for all, that the song isn’t just some novelty track; it’s a genuine cultural movement in itself.