Ryan Upchurch

The more serious alter ego of comic hick-hop performer Upchurch the Redneck, Ryan Upchurch established a sideline career as a singer, performing songs significantly warmer and more personable than his purposefully rowdy rap material. Ryan Upchurch was born in Pegram, Tennessee on May 24, 1991. Upchurch created a humorous character, Upchurch the Redneck, who played on stereotypes of young men in the Deep South, for the amusement of his friends and himself. In 2014, Upchurch began making videos with his friends in which he portrayed the Upchurch the Redneck character, as well as showing off his skills as a rapper. After Upchurch started posting the videos online, word about his work began to spread, and as he developed a fan base for his "hick-hop" music, he released an EP, Cheatham County, in May 2015. The EP rose to number 29 on the country albums chart, and Upchurch the Redneck's recording career was on its way.