A viral country-rap song has taken the world by storm. “Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X, a country rap song–one of the first of its kind– has made waves on the internet and has quickly become one of the most popular and recognizable songs so far in 2019.

The 19-year-old country rapper was hardly that prior to the release of his hit. Lil Nas X, also known as Montero Hill, was just a typical college kid. He was in college, expecting to go through four years just like every other student when he struck gold in the music industry.

“Old Town Road” has a very country-esque beat. It’s got country acoustics that are accompanied by a trap beat aside it. Lil Nas X supplements this country feel with a southern accent and the country related lyrics.

Hill promoted his song through his semi-popular Twitter account that he posts memes on. Hill even said that some of the lines that he wrote were made in as a joke in order to get some laughs from his followers. The song caught fire once he shared it with his followers, and is still burning.

“Old Town Road” caught a lot of controversy as it made its way up the Billboard charts, topping at number 19 before it was ultimately removed from the country category and moved into the rap category. Many believe it is unfair and that Hill’s song was in fact country, and deserved to be in that category.

Lil Nas X’s song wasn’t country enough, so he invited Billy Ray Cyrus to remix his hit single. With Billy Ray’s help, Lil Nas X topped at number one on the Billboard country music charts. The remixed song includes Cyrus opening the song with the original chorus, in addition to adding a half country half rap verse from Cyrus as well.

What was made as a joke, and is widely recognized as a joke of a song, has become wildly popular and intriguing to many.