Beyoncé may have blazed a trail into the country genre, but multi-viral, genre-bending artist RVSHVD is throwing the doors wide open! In this Story From The 78, we visit RVSHVD’s studio in Nashville to dive into his journey in country music, his love for fishing, and his excitement about performing at Windy City Smokeout.

From Willacoochee, Georgia (population 1,200) hails 26-year-old singer-songwriter RVSHVD (pronounced “Rashad”). Ten years ago, he envisioned a career in hip-hop until he heard “Sweet Thing” by Keith Urban. That discovery opened the door to Florida Georgia Line, Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, George Strait, Alan Jackson, and Brooks & Dunn—artists he credits as his ultimate musical influences.

With his signature vocal tone and a bare-bones home studio, RVSHVD struck gold with his country rendition of Roddy Ricch’s “Ballin.” The track went viral, amassing over 25 million streams across Spotify, TikTok, Apple Music, and YouTube, while elevating his entire catalog to over 150 million streams. More recently, a preview of his single Shoebox Money sparked a national conversation, racking up 15 million plays, 1 million likes, and 450,000 shares on Instagram Reels—a testament to his unique position in the country music lexicon.

“At some point, something clicked in my head: ‘You listen to country music, but you’ve never tried to write or perform it,’” he shares. That transformative realization sparked a journey that’s earned him over 1.5 million TikTok followers, 400,000 Instagram fans, and an astonishing 135 million Spotify streams.

Now, RVSHVD is gearing up for the release of his rock-infused single, Proof, featuring the platinum-selling metalcore group All That Remains. With his unique sound and undeniable authenticity, RVSHVD is proving he’s not just crossing into country—he’s reshaping it.

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