The video has gone viral across all social media platforms by now: Shaboozey, an emerging country-rap artist known for his chart-topping hit “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”, presenting alongside Megan Moroney at the 2025 American Music Awards. They were presenting the award for the Favorite Country Duo or Group category, which eventually went to Dan + Shay, but before declaring the winner, though, Moroney made a casual statement claiming that the Carter Family essentially “invented country music.”
And while Shaboozey didn’t verbally respond, his furrowed brow and slight chuckle did all of the talking.
Shaboozey’s side eye sent social media into a frenzy with various people making comments, TikToks, and tweets about the moment, praising Shaboozey and creating dialogue around a longstanding issue in the country music space, the minimization and erasure of Black influence.
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The Story Behind the Side-Eye
Shaboozey’s side eye at the AMA’s created discourse around country music that requires a deeper exploration of its roots and the names that have been overlooked. Early country music was influenced by members of the Carter Family, including A.P., Sara, and Maybelle, who recorded iconic country hits like “Keep on the Sunny Side” and “Wildwood Flower”. However, the Carter Family did not create country music alone. Lesley Riddle, a Black musician who accompanied A.P. Carter to learn songs from the South, was crucial in the family’s development as artists and the genre as a whole. Riddle helped define the group’s repertoire and taught Maybelle Carter the “Carter Scratch,” a technique that inspired country legends like Chet Atkins. However, despite his contributions, Riddle never recorded with the Carters or appeared publicly due to Jim Crow laws.
Why It Mattered
Many people believed Megan Moroney’s comment that the Carter Family originated country music was controversial, as it highlighted the erasure of Black artists in the genre. Shaboozey, an artist who has advocated for amplifying Black voices in country music, responded after the AMA’s via X that “the genuine past of country music is deeply ingrained in the genre” and that the “real history of country music is about people coming together despite their differences, celebrating the characteristics that unite us”.
The Bigger Picture
This is not to say that the Carter Family should not be honored for the many contributions they have made to country music. However, it is crucial to also recognize and appreciate the contributions of Black musicians like Lesley Riddle, Linda Martell, and Charley Pride that helped to shape the genre into what it is today.
Shaboozey’s side eye was not shade.
His reaction was a silent moment used to highlight the contributions of Black artists and the potential for country (as well as other genres) to give them their flowers and acknowledge how their innovation shaped those genres today.