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A college athlete who was invited to try out for the Kansas City Chiefs, Hunt grew up outside of Atlanta with his ears attuned to both Southern rap and country.

The former lightly infused his debut with his hip-hop influences crossing over to other artists, including Lil Nas X. “I think it brings more people to the genre,” Hunt says, reflecting on the new musical landscape he helped start. “It allows us to appeal to a broader audience than just the traditional country music fans.”

As he strolled through the woods near his place, Hunt spoke about why he pressed pause after Montevallo, what he’s been binging while under lockdown and the one song title he couldn’t let go of from Southside.

Did the global pandemic make you think about delaying Southside?

No, the music was finished, so delaying the release was never an option. I know the coronavirus is a huge cause for concern and when something big is happening in the world, entertainment is one of those things that gets put on the back burner. But during this time, we’re all at home, we’re all connected and we can still stay in touch, so it’s seems like a good time to put out a record. I never thought twice about putting it out.

We first spoke to you back in 2014 shortly after the release of Montevallo. After its success, it seemed like you were positioned for something bigger. Why did you choose to stay away for so long?

I think doubling down on the success of Montevallo would have meant doubling down on the lifestyle that went with it. That requires a whole lot of your time and you have to be willing to sacrifice some things. When it came to the stuff I had going on behind the scenes — like getting married and being away from my family for months and months at a time — that was just a choice I wasn’t willing to make. So I circled back and gave my time to developing the relationship with the girl, who became my wife. I wanted to get my feet back on the ground, I guess you could say.