SCANDIA, Minn. — Minneapolis-based music artist, Lil Crush, doesn't belong in a box.
"I've been into country for as long as I can remember," he told KARE 11. "That was one of the first genres. It was rap, country and rock."
In October, the multi-genre artist dropped Burrrbon, and now there's a music video for the song.
"It's been becoming a big trend lately, the merge of hip hop with country," he said. "I wanted to do something like that but not necessarily on the hip-hop side … We called it like pop country, country pop."
Most of the video was shot at Poplar Hill, Minnesota's oldest dairy goat farm. After all, Lil Crush also goes by Baby Goat. Not only because he's "always loved animals, specifically goats," but because he and producer Sunny Sota have collaborated on 5 inspired-by-Lil-Wayne mixtapes called Baby Goat, and the term has evolved over time.
"G.O.A.T. means greatest of all time, right? We've been trying to change that. The goal is to teach the youth the competition is not with others, it's between you and yourself," Lil Crush said.
And yet the purpose of the Burrrbon video isn't all about himself.
"It's really showing everything you can do in Minnesota," Lil Crush explained. "Hopefully to bring more visitors into this state."
That's why the video also includes shots of the Minnesota State Fair, the Suni Lee mural and other destinations.
"We shot on the steps of the capitol," Lil Crush said. "The rotunda at the Mall of America. In front of First Avenue, Town Hall Tap."
Lil Crush says he wanted to help businesses bounce back from COVID-19. At Poplar Hill, Sarah Johnson says the pandemic didn't greatly impact their family farm, but the recent closure of Hastings Creamery did.
"We were one of the casualties of that, and we've been unable to find another plant to process fluid milk for us," Johnson said.
For the first time in 40 years, they're selling some of their milking dairy goat does, focusing more on their longstanding agri-tourism part of the business instead.
Tours are still open for the season, you'll just need to make an appointment. Johnson says March is also a great time to come because that's when many baby goats are born.
"We have all kinds of visitors that come," Johnson said. "We've had dates, we've had proposals, we've had birthday parties."
And they have music video shoots. Johnson says she's seen Burrrbon and says it helps.
"We have a marketing budget of $0," she said, adding that the farm typically relies on word-of-mouth and Internet reviews. "The more exposure we get the better."
The song was produced by Samantha Olson aka BRIZO, and Lil Crush says it took about a month to make and perfect it. The video was shot in 7 days over about 3 weeks at a cost of just $500.
"Everybody just kind of chipped in how they could and it turned out amazing," Lil Crush said.
Back in Minneapolis, Lil Crush is set to perform at First Avenue's 7th St Entry on Tuesday, Dec. 26 at 7 p.m. Hosted by Tarxan, the show also features DJ Kessel, EB Marie, Enzyrose, Jack Bentley, Jae Zole, K4RI, Komari Cloud, Mac Turner, Prince Riley and Swavo. Tickets cost $12 in advance and $15 at the door.
Lil Crush is also set to release his sixth Baby Goat tape in January.
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