Morgan Wallen Almost Changed His Songs to Make His Label Happy

Morgan Wallen says he faced “all kinds of pushback” from his label when he first began incorporating hip hop and trap beats into his music.

So much so that he once dialed back that production on an unreleased album, replacing it with a more classically country sound. But then, versions of the songs began making their ways to fans’ ears — and Wallen started realizing that a genre-blending approach was working for his listeners.

What Pushback Did Morgan Wallen Face Over Recording Hip-Hop Inspired Music?

According to Holler, Wallen shared this story in the official zine he released to go along with his I’m the Problem album.

Read More: Fans Pick the Best (And Worst) of Morgan Wallen’s I’m the Problem Album

That project came out in 2025. But it’s not clear whether the story dates from when he was making I’m the Problem or one of its predecessors — such as 2023’s One Thing at a Time, which was the album that most clearly established Wallen’s hip-hop influences.

“At first, there was all kinds of pushback from the label, and we changed the songs with beats on them to make them sound more country,” the singer explains. “But a few versions of the original songs got out. People would notice, and I could see that people were gravitating toward it.”

That gave him the push he needed to embrace a more genre-bending sound on his studio material.

“I thought, ‘I love it. These people love it, and I can try this again on the next record.’ It started working,” he notes.

What Songs On I’m the Problem Pull From Hip-Hop Influences?

Most prominent of those is “Miami,” a reinterpretation of Keith Whitley‘s “Miami, My Amy” that expands the song into a remix featuring Lil Wayne and Rick Ross.

Elsewhere in his zine, Wallen says that he’ll always keep a more traditional country sound on his albums, but he appreciates being able to incorporate genre variety.

“There aren’t really two songs in my set that sound alike,” the singer details. “I’m super thankful that I don’t have to get up there and just sing all straight, down the middle country songs every single time that I start a chord.”