You don’t come across that many country-rap collaborations in the music world. But sometimes a cross-pollination yields an unqualified hit. Such is the case with the new single “End of the World,” a collaboration between indie rapper Tom MacDonald and country music star John Rich.
This week Rich celebrated “End of the World” hitting the No. 1 spot on iTunes’ all-genre download chart, surpassing singles by Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, and country music star Morgan Wallen.
Congrats to @IAMTOMMACDONALD sitting at #1 this morning all genres on iTunes download chart! It was great to collaborate with him on #EndOfTheWorld 🇺🇸 You can download it here👇https://t.co/YF6BirLs1y pic.twitter.com/iEkNDWn4Vy
— John Rich🇺🇸 (@johnrich) March 20, 2023
The song is anti-establishment to its core, warning about the evils posed by big corporations, big government, the military industrial complex, and the wokeness consuming the culture. As the title spells out, the song’s outlook is fundamentally pessimistic. Alternating voices in their respective music styles, MacDonald and Rich prophesy an apocalyptic scenario that feels inevitable but also avoidable, if only the right people take action soon enough.
Watch below:
True to its message, “End of the World” itself is an anti-establishment creation, written and released outside the mainstream music industry.
In a statement to Breitbart News, John Rich explained how the single came together.
“I’ve been a fan of Tom MacDonald for a while now. He’s one of the only artists out there with enough guts to speak the raw truth and do it at an extremely high artistic level,” he said.
“I was honored to collaborate with him on ‘End Of The World’ and it’s a proud moment for me to stand shoulder to shoulder with him as we find success with this song without bending the knee to the music industrial complex. We look very different, but we feel the same about our freedom and the future of our nation and our world. This is an important song.”
“End of the World” takes specific aim at the rotting institutions at the heart of the world’s problems — including the mainstream news media and omnipotent governments.
MacDonald raps:
Feel like the end is near, our freedoms disappearing
People playing God, call it genetic engineering
Media misleading us, and evil’s interfering
While the government we need became the power that we’re fearingThis is end time, humans got a deadline
Children were the future till we ruined them with headlines
Should be past their bedtime but everyone’s woke
They told us ‘chase a dollar” then made everyone broke
I feel like cryptocurrency is probably our last financial hopeIn his refrain, Rich provides the song’s sole source of hope, which is quickly overtaken by a sense of doom.
If it’s the end of the world, I will do better next time. Oh yeah, I know it…
We stood on top of mountains, we’ve been to space before…
Now that the sky is falling, what did we do it for?
“I’m honoured to have him as a collaborator on our song ‘End of The World,’” MacDonald told Breitbart News. “John is not only a fellow artist – he’s a fellow disruptor. He’s one of the few people I’ve ever met who share my willingness to stand up and scream the truth in-spite of the music industry – or anyone’s – approval. ‘End of The World’ is by two very different guys – who have one very loud message”
Last year, John Rich released the anti-woke anthem “Progress,” which went to the top of iTunes’ country chart after the singer promoted it on former President Donald Trump’s Truth Social platform.
Watch below:
Similar to “End of the World,” “Progress,” which was written by Rich, Nashville Songwriting Hall of Famer Jeffrey Steele, and Vicky McGehee, strikes a defiant stance against the left-wing, progressive policies that have led to the U.S.’s precipitous decline under President Joe Biden.
Follow David Ng on Twitter @HeyItsDavidNg. Have a tip? Contact me at dng@breitbart.com