Who is Ryan Upchurch?
Born at 24e May 1991, in Nashville, Tennessee, USA, Ryan Upchurch is a comedian and singer-songwriter, known for his diverse fusions of musical genres. At 1.75m tall and weighing about 75kg, the country rapper is also known for coining the phrase “Raise hell and eat cornbread”.
Career Start
Ryan’s online career started with the creation of his YouTube channel in the early summer of 2014. It certainly didn’t take long for Ryan to use his platform as a way to broadcast his musical talents, as on 29e In July of the same year, he uploaded his first music video, “Upchurch the Redneck – OFFICIAL Raise Hell and Eat Cornbread,” which has been viewed nearly two million times to date.
Following the virtual success of his first single, Ryan took a few months off to focus on creating his second track, “Dead or Alive Remix”, which premiered online in April 2015. The following month, he came back in full swing with the release of “Country Way,” which went viral, racking up millions of views. Ryan’s down-to-earth nature and funny music videos earned him a loyal fan base, who didn’t fail to support his creative endeavor. “Cheatham County”, the rapper’s first EP to spawn a single of the same name, peaked at #29 on the US Country charts and #18 on the US Rap charts, and also enjoyed minor online success as Ryan pursued a niche at the time. .
2016 to 2018
Ryan’s debut album “Heart of America”, was released on 15′e January 2016 via Johnny Cashville reaching #5 on the US Heat charts and #24 on the US Rap charts. The album’s most popular single, “Can I Get an Outlaw”, has been viewed more than 85 million times, an impressive feat for an independent artist. Other singles from the 12 songs include “Sh*t Bubba” and “Hell Yeah”. Ryan wasted no time on his second project, dropping “Chicken Willie” in August 2016 via RHEC Entertainment, who also distributed his third album, “Bad Mutha F*cka”. The former sold 3,500 copies and was Ryan’s most popular album to date, while the latter peaked at No. 1 on the US Heat charts, with Ryan releasing four songs as singles – “Hillbilly”, “Old Days”, “Rollin Stoned” , and the number of the same name.
Singles from “Chicken Willie” include “Dirty Boys” and “Come and get it”, which have been viewed 32 million and 2 million times respectively to date. For the same project, Ryan also collaborated with indie artist Justin Adams on “Bulletproof”. Ryan kicked off 2017 on the right foot, signing with Redneck Nation and getting started on a highly anticipated album and EP. It was around the same time that the rapper started selling his own merchandise, much to the delight of his fans. “Son of the South” and “Summer Love” were both released on 5e May 2017, with the last sold 400,000 copies in the US and becoming Ryan’s best-selling project to date. Singles from the projects included “Quit Lyin”, “How I Shine” and “Ghost”.
Ryan also changed his stage name to Upchurch and his music videos took on a more professional look thanks to a new artistic direction. “King of Dixie” and “Creeker” were the next two albums Ryan released through Redneck Nation, selling 14,800 and 15,800 copies respectively. The rapper also released a collaborative mixtape, “Project X. Vol. 1”, featuring independent musician Bottleneck.
2019 to present
Ryan’s partnership with Redneck Nation came to an end in 2019, the year the rapper released his last three albums – “Paracute”, “River Rat” and “Creeker II” – with the label. In November, the musician released a collaborative album, “Hooligan,” with online country star Adam Calhoun.
In 2020 Ryan signed a distribution agreement with Stonebaby Sounds / RHEC, and released “Everlasting Country”, which peaked at #6 on both the US Country and US Indie charts. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the rapper then focused on his family and took a break from making music until his next album, “Hideas: The Album”. Ryan surprised fans by teaming up with Redneck Nation again, releasing “Mud to Gold” in March 2021. The same label distributed his next project, “Same Ol Same Ol”. It is not known whether the musician will release music in 2022, but he is actively uploading videos of his daily life on YouTube, to keep the fans happy in the meantime.
controversies
Ryan has been accused of racism in the past for displaying the flag of the confederation in several music videos. In February 2018, YouTuber JustJayJayyy uploaded a video titled “RYAN UPCHURCH RACIST?! History Lesson of the Confederate Flag”. At the time, the rapper was at the height of his fame, and some thought the video would be a messy reveal; however, JustJayJayyy defended Ryan, claiming that the musician was not a racist and that the majority of the confederate soldiers did not own slaves. In 2021, Ryan and his ex-girlfriend, the comedian Nicole Arborogot caught up in an internet back and forth that led to fans of both sides taking sides.
Apparently the breakup was amiable until the blonde took Ryan’s wallet – which contained a credit card and ID – and refused to return it unless they got back together. The exes ended on a bitter note, with Nicole insulting Ryan’s mother for not helping her get in touch with the musician.
Personal life and net worth
Before his roller coaster relationship with Nicole Arbor, Ryan was in a relationship with his child’s mother, Taylor Smith. They started dating in 2020 and surprised the world by getting married in September 2020 after just two months of engagement; however, fans were quick to point out that Ryan and Taylor had been in each other’s lives before the birth of their daughter in 2019.
Somewhere along the line, the relationship went south, with both parties unfollowing each other online and refusing to comment on the situation. In February 2021, Taylor uploaded a video of her daughter with the caption: “Please don’t ask me if Ryan and I are still together. This post is about my child”, giving the impression that the couple have gone their separate ways. Ryan’s net worth is estimated at $900,000 as of early 2022. The independent musician has amassed his six-figure fortune through merchandise sales, tours and online streaming.
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