Kidd G

Kidd G is the stage name of American songwriter Jonathan Gabriel Horne, who turned to the internet to build a promising career as a rapper before shifting to country music. Born on April 23, 2003, in Columbia, Georgia, he begin writing his own emo-rap songs at 16 years old, turning to social media to build a wide audience. While those early releases were heavily influenced by hip-hop artists like Juice WRLD, Kidd G's sound changed in 2020, when he unexpectedly reached Number 40 on the Hot Country Songs chart with "Dirt Road." The song's commercial success was driven entirely by digital streams, a rarity in a genre still reliant on radio airplay. Still 17 years old at the time, Kidd G began merging his rap and country interests into a singular sound on his debut EP, Teenage Dream, which hit Number 3 on Billboard’s Heatseekers Albums chart upon its release in late 2020. The EP's title track reached Number 37 on Hot Country Songs in 2021, and another full-length album, Down Home Boy, was released that same year. Kidd G returned to the Billboard charts one year later, when "People Talk" reached Number 39 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs, marking his third Top 40 hit in the country format.