Describing himself as “funnier than a chili dog fart in a space suit” and “crazier than a soup sandwich,” Upchurch (aka Upchurch the Redneck) is the hick-hop alter ego of comic, rapper, and musician, Ryan Upchurch. A knowing parody of the idiosyncrasies and stereotypes of young men in the Deep South, the Upchurch character was born in a series of homemade videos posted online in 2014, and then expanded into a series of recordings that combined comedy, rap, and rock.
Upchurch was born in Pegram, Tennessee on May 24, 1991. He developed Upchurch the Redneck while goofing around with friends. Videos uploaded to YouTube gradually gained him an audience far beyond acquaintances. He issued his first single, “Raise Hell and Eat Cornbread,” in 2014, and it led to the independent 2015 EP Cheatham County, which reached Billboard’s rap and country album charts. A full-length, Heart of America, followed in January 2016, with elder kindred spirit Bubba Sparxxx as a guest on the track “Keep It Country.” Upchurch also capitalized on his growing fan base by starting a line of merchandise, RHEC (named for the tune “Raise Hell and Eat Cornbread”).
Released in December of that year, Bad Mutha Fucka would be his second full-length release of 2016. Upchurch had another busy year in 2017, issuing a straight-up country EP, Summer Love, under his full name in May, followed by a pair of long-players, Son of the South landr 5 of Dixie, under the Upchurch moniker. Both of the latter were released on his own Redneck Nation label. In April 2018, Upchurch released the album Creeker, which fused his rap stylings with hard rock guitars. In December of 2018, Upchurch returned with another full-length, River Rat. Parachute arrived quickly on its heels, appearing digitally in September of 2019, followed by Everlasting Country in 2020
Well if you haven’t ever heard of this guy before now, Then Now You Know, about this great artist. You should definitely check out YouTube and discover his music because he is good.
