doc_holliday wrote:Outlaw Country? is that like gangster rap, but in country form?
It's a whole sub-genre of country- and more or less consists of the artists that existed outside of "the establishment" in Nashville. Willie Nelson, Hank Williams, Jr., and David Allan Coe helped define the music.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outlaw_Country
Outlaw country has been around since the '60s, which was way before rap ever existed. Blues, rock, and even Southern Rock have all been a part of the style, in addition to more traditional 'honky-tonk' and roadhouse style country.
Here's a song that defined the genre very well-
Hank Willams, Jr. - Family Tradition
http://youtu.be/IHjaW9sXl7s
The lyrics are pretty autobiographical, since the Nashville "establishment" (record company executives, and top producers such as the famous guitarist Chet Atkins) never really liked Hank Jr., despite the fact that his father Hank Sr. was the godfather of country music.
The wiki article also lists newer artists, such as Steve Earle, as also being included in the genre-
Steve Earle- "Copperhead Road"
http://youtu.be/xvaEJzoaYZk
It's a song about the author's father and grandfather running moonshine stills (and running from the law) in the Tennessee backwoods. The son grows up, goes to serve in Vietnam, and comes back to begin growing weed in the same hills that his dad and granddad brewed moonshine in.
It's not exactly the type of content that would that powers-that-be in Nashville would be eager to promote.