Rapper Riff Raff Releases ‘Husky,’ a Country Song Tribute to His Dogs [Listen]
Has Riff Raff gone country?
Surprisingly, the rapper takes an unlikely left turn into modern country music with his latest single, "Husky," a twangy, Christmastime tribute to his dogs that leans heavily on faith and self-assurance. Watch the video above and read the song's lyrics down toward the bottom of this post.
The sweet ode to the entertainer's trio of Siberian Huskies (Jody Husky, Holly Husky and Frosty Husky) emerged Wednesday (Dec. 11) after Riff Raff posted about it on Instagram a day earlier, calling it his first "real country song." (The photo and video-sharing service also gets a mention in the tune.)
But hasn't the rapper tried the genre before? A few years ago, Pitchfork shared a clip from a Riff Raff country song called "Take U Away." Since that time, the entertainer's traded his signature braids for a plentiful mullet.
Riff Raff's debut hip-hop album arrived in 2014, but moviegoers might have first been exposed to his likeness in 2012's Spring Breakers, the film in which James Franco portrays a character based on Riff Raff.
"Husky" also isn't the first time the rapper — variously known as Jody Highroller and Dale Dan Tony — has gone outside his lane. He dropped electro-pop ballad "Dreamland" under the latter alter ego earlier this year.
Read the lyrics to Riff Raff's "Husky" below.
CHORUS:
When everybody's looking down on me / I hope God's looking down on me, too / Watching me hug my huskies / Making sure that they still love me / 'Cause when the world comes tumbling down / And everybody's walkin' around with their hand out / 'Cause I'm the man now / I hope God's looking down on me, too
I didn't ask for this, I begged for it / I got down on my knees and I prayed for it / Wishin' I could have everything on my wish list / Even when it's not Christmas
Last December 25, I ain't come downstairs / I already knew that nothing was there / But I hold Mr. Husky hand / The Lord answered my prayers
REPEAT CHORUS
When the show comes to an end / Takin' pictures for their Instagram / I had enough of the whiskey and gin / These hotel walls keep closin' in
I could see the Four Horsemen / Ridin' in with their hair in the wind / I prayed to God last night / As I held my huskies tight under the moonlight
REPEAT CHORUS
See Pictures of Country Singers and Their Dogs: