The third and final night of Rolling Stone’s Future of Music event at this year’s SXSW doubled as a showcase for Texas itself: Just about everyone who appeared onstage had roots in the Lone Star State, regional pride was everywhere, and “Texas Hold ‘Em” even made an appearance.
In his recent Rolling Stone cover story, BigXthaPlug documented his rise from solitary confinement to rap fame and then the country charts. He hit it big with booming hits like “The Largest,” before swerving and releasing a full-on country-rap album last year, I Hope You’re Happy. And it wasn’t just a half-measure: BigX has multiple country hits, including the Bailey Zimmerman-assisted “All the Way,” which became the first song ever to top both Billboard’s Hot Country Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts.
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But BigX has never forgotten where he came from, and he’s kept his mind on family — both blood relatives and the rappers who make up 600 Entertainment, the independent Texas-based collective he founded in 2023. The 600 crew — who are releasing a mixtape this Friday, 6WA — include fellow Texas rappers Ro$ama, Yung Hood, Murdagang PB, KevanGotBandz, and KaineMusic, all of whom made boisterous appearances on Saturday night at ACL Live at the Moody Theater. KevanGotBandz came out first, spitting intense triplet-inflected bars on the tracks “I’m Serious,” “Ain’t Never Slowing Down,” and “Shine.”
Next, KaineMusic, 600’s lone female MC, appeared, sporting blonde hair and abundant swagger. Her brief set showed off brash, Lone Star attitude — “I’m a Texas bitch!” she proclaimed — and ended on “Do it,” a dark, sexy single on which she broadcasts a single-minded intent: “I ain’t come here to love, I just came here to hit.” The 600 showcase closed with Murdagang PB and Yung Hood, who displayed dextrous flows on “24 Hours” and “Too Player,” respectively.
The night took a turn with INK, the Atlanta-raised singer-songwriter with some deeply impressive songwriting credits: She’s all over Beyonce’s Renaissance and Cowboy Carter — co-writing “Texas Hold ‘Em,” “Sixteen Carriages,” and “American Requiem” for the latter — and she co-wrote “Luther,” the Grammy-winning Kendrick Lamar/SZA duet. But despite brief performances of a couple of those songs, tonight was about INK the solo artist, as she barreled through songs from her 2025 album Big Buskin. The title is a reference to a past life — or, as she put it onstage, “about my journey from being a street performer to some of the biggest studios around the world.” Dressed in a beige rhinestone suit, INK showed off her big pipes as she offered her take on country, with songs steeped in roots music that also seamlessly incorporated soul and hip-hop. “Turquoise Cowboy” was a sweeping, twang-filled statement of purpose about her artistry: “I’m a turquoise mine in a wild wild West.”
INK played to the moment and the place, reminiscing on playing SXSW 12 years ago and shouting out Texas: “They told me y’all was a vibe, but I didn’t know y’all was comin’ like this!” She closed with the soul-inflected country stomper “Hoedown,” a party jam with big ears and an open spirit. “I am the future of music and my name is INK,” she noted. And then it was time for the biggest, largest headliner.
BigX only started releasing songs in 2019, but he’s done a lot of swaggering in a short amount of time. His 20-plus song set on Saturday showed off some of the traits that allowed him to blow up — namely, his abundant bangers, charisma, and ambition. Tracks like 2023’s “Back On My BS” leaned on his booming, ear-grabbing baritone, while he did a smooth, serpentine dance for the 2021 single “Big Stepper.”
Flanked by DJ Bubba, BigX stalked the stage dressed in black, with a giant 600 Entertainment pendant bouncing around his chest. He brought out some more 600 family — including Ro$ama, whom we hadn’t seen earlier. (Ro$ama was a high school friend in Dallas, and BigX credits Ro$ama for encouraging him to rap.) The 600 friends performed tracks including 2024’s excellent posse cut “Meet the 6ixers.”
Halfway through the set, Bubba asked a question: “You think they know some of your country music, BigX?” The crowd, of course, knew, responding enthusiastically to the Ella Langley collab “Hell At Night” and “All the Way.” For BigX, dipping into country music was about branching out (“You can’t be one of the best artists in the world and have only done one genre,” he told writer Eric Diep in his cover story) and about expressing heartache following a breakup. His country songs manage to combine forlorn roots vibes with the in-your-face presence of BigX’s voice — which is one reason that, while rap-country crossovers have become a big trend in recent years, BigX has had particular success with them.
To close out his set, though, BigX went back to his hip-hop roots. He barreled through slightly older songs like the burbling “Whip It” and “Mmhmm.” The vibes were immaculate: Bubba pointed out, apropos not too much, “BigX, you rich as hell.”
Everyone in the building knew where things were headed — to “Texas,” BigX’s smash 2023 anthem. Only something unexpected happened with this version: BigX pulled up a boy named Braxton from San Antonio, a fan who appeared to be about 10. Bubba outfitted the wide-eyed kid with his chain, and BigX handed him a mic and invited him to rap along — only, in a nod to the kid’s youth, suggested he not perform every line. (“I am gonna curse and we don’t condone that,” BigX told him.) The unlikely pair blasted through the song, with Braxton keeping up on the mic, to the delight of the crowd.
BigX closed with his theme song: “The Largest.” As smoke flares popped off, BigX bellowed “Safe to say I’m the biggest, the largest/Been steppin’ on shit since my mama stayed in them apartments, regardless.” (The apartments, we learned in BigX’s cover story, are a nod to the particular units he lived in as a kid, during a tumultuous youth.) The song felt like a statement of purpose that showed off both his appeal and how far he’s come. The one-time Austin resident ended with one more invocation of his home state and the moment: “Austin, Texas, I fuckin’ love y’all.”
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