Billboard-by Ken Tucker-August 4, 2009
Most country folks sing, but I couldn't so I'm rapping." So says Colt Ford on the title track from his album, "Ride Through the Country" (Average Joes Entertainment).
An intriguing amalgam of country lyrics laced with hip-hop beats, the album is No. 6 on Billboard's Heatseekers Albums chart and No. 1 on the South Central and South Atlantic regional Heatseekers lists. It has sold 54,000 copies since its October release and is No. 24 on Top Country Albums. The project was part of Wal-Mart's Country Picks program for July.
The sales ostensibly come thanks to heavy touring-Ford will do 200-plus dates this year-and not because of scattered radio airplay for the title cut/single, which features country star John Michael Montgomery. "For whatever reason, America loves the funny, fat white dude and I'm in that category," Ford says in his Georgia drawl. "I'm just a 300-pound country boy who shops at Wal-Mart. I'm not singing a three-minute love song, but people like what I do."