ToC Critic’s Pick: Chase Rice (Feat. Macy Maloy), ‘Ride’ [Listen]

No disrespect to Jason Aldean, but with “Ride,” Chase Rice is truly defining “baby-making music.”

The collaboration with Macy Maloy is barely a country song — in fact, one could make a convincing argument that it’s more progressive than anything Sam Hunt has released. The “Ready Set Roll” singer is firmly planted in the genre now, so we’ll give him the benefit of the doubt.

“Take off those heels, lay on my bed / Whisper dirty secrets while I'm pulling on your hair / Poison in our veins but we don't even care / Candles dripping on your body, baby, this ain't truth or dare,” Rice sings to begin the song as Maloy moans in the background. “Ride” is right in Rice’s wheelhouse. The 28-year-old is an artist who works best at the format’s edges. He’s a dominating presence in any room, including the bedroom, apparently:

“I'm gonna ride, I'm gonna ride, I'm gonna ride / I'm gonna ride on you baby, on you lady all night, all night / I'm a take care of your body, I'll be gentle, don't you scream / It's getting hotter, make it softer, feel your chest on top of me.”

At best this is a PG-13 rated song, which is probably why it hasn’t been (and likely won’t be) released to terrestrial country radio. Satellite radio has picked it up (Sirius was the first to take a chance on “Ready Set Roll,” as well) and it stands out every time that beat starts pumping.

“Lay on your back, like you right there / Don't have to say it twice, love, there's nothing here to fear / Taking it back, back to where it's clear / Rolling on and on, sounds of loving in the air,” Rice sings to begin the second verse.

Maloy never really steps forward to sing on her own. Her role is more or less to soften and normalize Rice’s wanton desires. Together, they turn up the heat with lyrics like “Everybody wonders where we run off to / My body on your body baby sticking like some glue.”

Last year Rice told Taste of Country he wants people to either love or hate his music. If he’s making songs that don’t elicit strong opinions, he says, he’s not making the music he wants to make. There’s little doubt fans and haters will be sharply decided on “Ride.” But if in a few years you notice a lot of toddlers running around named Chase or Macy, you know who to thank.

Key Lyrics: "I'm gonna make you feel that loving, getting weak all in your knees / Kiss your body from the tip top all the way down to your feet"

Did You Know?: "Ride" was written and first recorded R&B artist SoMo. His version went platinum.

Listen to Chase Rice (Feat. Macy Maloy), "Ride"

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