Daviess County native Logan Braden has always been passionate about music. It was his “escape” growing up, but it wasn’t until recently that he realized he might have a future in the industry.
It was an instant hit when Oliver Anthony, an amateur artist from Virginia, released “Rich Men North of Richmond” earlier this year. The song debuted on YouTube in August, then TikTok, and gained over 5 million views in 3 days.
Braden created a remix of the song, adding his own country rap twist, which also went “viral.”
“When he made that song that went super viral, it was everywhere I looked,” Braden said. “I was in the studio with my buddy, and he said, ‘I think you need to cover this and do a little remix and see what it does.’ I was iffy, but I added some hip-hop to it and let it go.”
Braden was relatively well-known on social media platforms before the hit, with one video tallying a quarter million views earlier in the year. But the remix drastically increased his Spotify streams and launched him to a new-found fame.
“I put what I knew into the song. I’ve never done anything political before,” he said. “I went to the woods and shot a music video with Taylor Graves. He took 10 to 15 minutes to edit it, sent it back, and I posted it at 10 p.m. The next thing you know, it had exceeded over 10 million views.”
Braden said the song received its fair share of critics, scrutinizing him for riding Anthony’s coattails, but he never saw it like that.
“I had never done a remix or a cover, ever,” he said. “The response was overwhelming, and I wasn’t prepared for it. (Anthony) opened the doors for a lot of artists. I liked the song, and I wanted to put my take on it. If you would’ve told me it would have gotten this much attention, I would’ve said you’re lying.”
Braden began his musical journey as a teenager, occasionally writing songs and, as he puts it, “having fun with it.” Hesitant to start the trip alone, he leaned on a friend to show him how to record, starting with only a laptop and a “decent” microphone.
When he was 22, he started making music until some tribulations slowed him down — but he used those times to serve as motivation for eventual triumphs. He settled down with his girlfriend, found a stable home, and began putting more time into his craft.
“I was taking it more seriously. We started a group called Lowklass, and things were looking great,” he said. “We were working, having fun, and started doing shows in Owensboro. We realized we were starting to draw a crowd and took to social media.”
Braden and the group began working with Taylor Graves and Fall Back Films, and from there things kept looking up.
“He took us to another level,” Braden said. “We saw success from working with him, and we knew we really had something, and hometown folks started to know who we were.”
That afforded them opportunities to open for more prominent underground artists in metropolitan areas including Nashville, Louisville, and Indianapolis.
As the group matured, they began working on themselves as individual artists, remaining friends.
Braden began to focus on the country rap genre. He performs as Lowklass Lowkey, and his songs are available everywhere music is streamed.
“I like rap, but I’m from the country,” he said. “I grew up with a dad who hunted and fished. I’ve always wanted to stick to my roots while bringing in my love for hip-hop.”
