Big Smo’s style a blend of influences
Country, hip-hop collide in ‘smoothie of good music’
Country and rap are two of the most quintessentially American musical styles still popular today, and Tennessee-based artist Big Smo has combined them in an unexpected subgenre cleverly known as “hick-hop.”
It was only natural that Smo, real name John Lee Smith, would synthesize the two styles of music he most enjoyed growing up, applying lyrics about big trucks, blue collar fatigue and backwoods parties to traditional hip-hop beats.
“This style of music is basically the result of how I was raised, where I was raised, what I was raised on,” Smo said. “I’m very much a product of my surroundings. My dad listened to outlaw country music, and my older brother turned me on to hip-hop back in the early ’80s. I got hooked on both genres, and it’s really no surprise that I’ve culminated into a blend of both things.
“It’s about taking the most extreme part of county and the most extreme part of hip-hop and smashing them together.”
Those two styles have always been a part of Big Smo’s music – there’s a little bit of Southern-fried rock in there, too – but that doesn’t mean he’s been making the same songs over again since he started writing his own material in 1999.
“When I started, I wasn’t a father, I wasn’t a husband,” Smo said. “I hadn’t lost my father to cancer. I’ve definitely changed. … If you listen to the CD I put out in 2002 and you listen to my new album, you can totally see evolution there. It’s like from monkey to man.”
Smo, who will perform in Spokane at the Palomino Club this weekend, is also the star of an eponymous reality series on the cable network A&E, which follows Smo, his wife, Whitney, his kids and his various musical collaborators. (He says the show’s second season will premiere in April.)
But Smo is still an independently produced artist: He’s very much in control of his own music and image – he’s even produced and directed some of his own music videos – and he’s developed a following that’s so tight-knit and devoted that Smo calls them “Kinfoke.”
“They’re way more than a fan base – they’re family,” Smo said. “That’s what separates us from other artists. … It’s the most enjoyable part of my job. It’s the ultimate reward.”
And when asked to describe his appropriately raucous live shows, Smo offers up a particularly detailed metaphor: “It’s like a smoothie of good music. You’re gonna get a lot of country, a couple scoops of Southern rock, a big helping of hip-hop, a sprinkle of pop, a dash of salt. Blend that all up, funnel it at 190 proof, rip your shirt off, throw it up in the air and yell ‘yee haw.’ … It’s a really interesting experience.”