Colt Ford

Colt Ford, the Georgia-based singer, songwriter, and rapper, became the first artist ever to top both the Billboard Top Country Albums and Top Rap Albums charts. Since the late 2000s he has carved an independent path through Average Joes Entertainment, the label he helped establish, by fusing Southern rock, country, and rap into hook-driven tracks. Albums such as Ride Through the Country (2008), Declaration of Independence (2012), Love Hope Faith (2017), and Must Be the Country (2023) have collectively reached millions of listeners.

That seamless country-rap blend stems directly from Ford’s upbringing and career trajectory. Like fellow “hick-hop” artist Cowboy Troy, he absorbed country music early—his first live show featured Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton—while also gravitating toward R&B and hip-hop. As an adult he began writing songs and earned co-writing credits alongside Jamey Johnson, Jeremy Popoff, and the alternative rock band Lit. Montgomery Gentry soon enlisted him as well, and urban connections followed when Bone Crusher and Jermaine Dupri sought his input. Ford stepped into the spotlight in 2006 by penning “Buck ’Em,” the official theme for Professional Bull Riders, Inc. His debut full-length, Ride Through the Country, arrived in 2008, after which he joined Brantley Gilbert on tour. Chicken and Biscuits appeared in 2010, succeeded the next year by Every Chance I Get. By then Ford had cultivated a larger-than-life hillbilly-redneck persona, yet he remained a shrewd, multi-dimensional songwriter and entrepreneur who, as a former drummer, understood studio craft. Launching Average Joe’s Records allowed him to operate beyond Nashville’s commercial orbit while still collaborating with its songwriting elite—Jeffrey Steele, Craig Wiseman, Rodney Clawson, and David Lee Murphy—on Declaration of Independence, released in 2012. That project marked his biggest commercial success to date; its follow-up, Thanks for Listening, surfaced in summer 2014 and entered the Billboard 200 at number ten. Love Hope Faith, his sixth album, emerged in May 2017 and featured appearances by Brad Paisley, Toby Keith, Charles Kelley of Lady Antebellum, and ’90s rockers Lit.

We the People arrived in 2019, boasting guest spots from Jimmie Allen, Mitchell Tenpenny, and Dan Tyminski. A stretch of personal challenges that included a cancer diagnosis amid COVID-19 lockdowns preceded the 2023 release of Must Be the Country. The 24-track set mixes earlier hits with fresh material recorded alongside Vince Gill, Matt Stell, Brantley Gilbert, Tracy Lawrence, and Sam Grow.