Dallas Artist BigXthaPlug and Luke Combs Take Off With Genre-Mixing Hit ‘Pray Hard’ on Billboard Charts

BigXthaPlug, the Dallas-born artist who turned to music during a jail stint at age 20, is gaining recognition for blending rap with country influences. His third studio album, I Hope You're Happy, features high-profile collaborators such as Luke Combs, Jelly Roll, Darius Rucker, Thomas Rhett, Bailey Zimmerman, Ella Langley, Shaboozey, Ink, and Tucker Wetmore. The project fuses trap beats with country instrumentation while keeping BigXthaPlug's rap identity intact.

In a breakthrough collaboration, his track with Luke Combs, "Pray Hard," debuted at No. 5 on the Rap Digital Song Sales chart and No. 15 on the Hot Rap Songs chart — marking Combs' first entry into rap-specific rankings. The song has also reached No. 30 on Hot Country Songs and sits at No. 1 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100, signaling strong crossover appeal.

Despite not being released as an official single, "Pray Hard" continues to climb the charts, while Combs' other recent tracks — such as "Back in the Saddle" and "Backup Plan" with Bailey Zimmerman — are gaining traction on radio and country airplay charts. "Backup Plan" recently debuted at No. 30 on the Hot 100. Additionally, Combs has seen rising chart action with collaborations like "Ordinary (Live From Lollapalooza)" alongside Alex Warren.

BigXthaPlug has also enjoyed success with "All The Way," featuring Bailey Zimmerman, which not only topped country airplay charts but also cracked the Top 5 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album I Hope You're Happy debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard 200 and No. 2 on the Top Country Albums chart.

Before his music career took off, BigXthaPlug spent time in solitary confinement during his incarceration. "It took a toll on me," BigX recalls, "and made me very emotional. So they [jail officials] had to confine me by myself. And in that confinement, I felt like I was losing myself mentally."

After completing the jail term, he says, "I wasn't planning to be a rapper." But in pledging to his autistic son Amar that "you'll never not be with me ever again," he began thinking about what he could do "to still be here for your child and still provide."

BigXthaPlug's journey from writing poetry in jail to releasing a genre-blurring country-rap album demonstrates his belief that genre boundaries shouldn't confine true artists.