Growing up in Buffalo, Wyoming, once called the most lawless town in America, and harboring a love of all things Western and rap music, it was inevitable Ryan Charles Kinzer would become the Jiggy Buckaroo cowboy rapper.
He also goes by Jiggy Buckaroo or just Ryan Charles on stage and has made the move to Nashville, where country music dreams are made and killed. For the past five years, he’s been performing and growing an audience for his unique style of cowboy rapping.
His music career, he said, all began in his rural hometown.
When Kinzer first heard Lil Wayne on one of his big brother’s CDs, he was hooked. He loved the rapping genre and growing up in Buffalo gave him the perfect opportunity to try it himself.
Believe it or not, Buffalo has a budding underground rap scene.
“I don't think every little town in Wyoming was doing this, but we just had freestyles at parties or on the bus going to sporting events,” Kinzer said. “We just had little groups of everyone freestyling and passing a bead around. I don't really know why.”
The local tradition of rapping had been going on for at least eight years before Kinzer was a high school freshman and joined the scene. Looking back, he said it’s a rather unexpected tradition of music to find in the rural landscape.
“Rapping had been passed down through the generations in Buffalo,” he said. “It is kind of crazy to think of it in a little town like that.”
Kinzer enjoys telling the stories of Wyoming in his music. He is influenced heavily by the country songs that were also beloved in his hometown and the old Westerns, especially “Gunsmoke.”
His single “Gettin’ Western” is a tribute to Wyoming and the cowboy way.
“I'll let Ian Munsick tell the stories through his country songs, and I'll rap them,” he said.
Ryan Charles is a cowboy rapper headlining in shows across the country. He grew up in Buffalo, Wyoming, and honors that heritage in his satirical rap in Nashville. (Courtesy Ryan Charles) 
Ryan Charles is a cowboy rapper headlining in shows across the country. He grew up in Buffalo, Wyoming, and honors that heritage in his satirical rap in Nashville. (Courtesy Ryan Charles) 
Ryan Charles Kinzer and his older brother grew up in Buffalo, Wyoming, before Kinzer went on to start a career as a cowboy rapper in Nashville. (Courtesy Ryan Charles) 
Before leaving home to become a cowboy rapper known as Ryan Charles and Jiggy Buckaroo in Nashville, Ryan Charles Kinzer grew up in Wyoming hunting and watching old Westerns with his dad. (Courtesy Ryan Charles) 
Ryan Charles Kinzer grew up in rural Buffalo, Wyoming, before becoming a cowboy rapper in Nashville. He is releasing his first album this year under the stage name Ryan Charles. His name is a nod to his grandfather, Charles, who he was named after. (Courtesy Ryan Charles) 
Growing up in Buffalo, Wyoming, once called the most lawless town in America, with a love of all things Western and rap music, it was inevitable Ryan Charles Kinzer would become the Jiggy Buckaroo cowboy rapper. (Courtesy Ryan Charles Kinzer via Facebook)
The Journey To Rap
Kinzer had his family’s support as he navigated the path to rapping as a career. He said that coming from a small country town it is not a career that most people think they're going to do.
“It’s a different path than a lot of kids take, especially coming from Wyoming,” he said. “My parents were open to it and they've always supported me. They went to shows before shows were even really shows.”
On a whim, Kinzer moved to Seattle to try out the city and see what opportunities he could find. He ended up getting a degree in music and started to take his rapping more seriously.
He met his current DJ and producer while in Seattle and started recording his music in a studio rather than just on his phone. He did public performances whenever he could and gradually his reputation started to grow.
Cowboy Rap
His inspiration for his music is all about Wyoming and having fun.
“It took me a little time to be away from Wyoming to realize how much I loved being from Wyoming and what it meant to be from there,” he said. “That's when my passion became this cowboy rap. It's my story from where I came from.”
While cowboy rap is still unique, the artform is increasing in popularity. Since moving to Nashville, Kinzer has met other country rappers such as Struggle Jennings, Colt Ford and Bubba Sparxxx.
Kinzer just released his latest video which features Ten Sleep and is a satirical rap about his adventures growing up in rural Wyoming. He wrote the song in one day about going back home to the place you love. He had filmed it one year ago on location in the Bighorns.
“We used to stay up in the Bighorn Mountains above Buffalo to camp,” Kinzer said, explaining his inspiration behind the video. “We'd take drives down to Ten Sleep to eat or have a drink. It makes me feel at home.”
The goal was to capture some of the real visuals of Wyoming and add some fun to it, Kinzer said. The scene of him hanging out the side by side is the actual road that his family would take to camp. He was also able to have his cousins, aunts and uncles in the videos which made the project even more nostalgic for Kinzer.
It was his family that also inspired Kinzer’s stage name. He goes by his first and middle names of Ryan Charles which is a nod to his grandfather, Charles, who he was named after. His family nickname growing up was Jiggy Buckaroo which is another name he raps under.
“I want people to get a little sense of where I'm from and what I like to do, but also make it fun,” he said. “Making the music videos is my favorite part because it paints the picture for people listening to the song.”
Kinzer grew up hunting in the Bighorns and watching Gunsmoke with his Dad. His rapping brings to life some of these favorite memories from growing up in Wyoming.
Wyoming’s Nashville Scene
The Wyoming group in Nashville is pretty tight according to Kinzer. Most of those from the Cowboy State know each other and are always there to help.
In fact, Kinzer ended up moving to Nashville and getting a boost for his career from Ian and Caroline Munsick.
“They talked me into coming here and helped me get my record deal,” he said.
Kinzer was invited to perform a song during Ian’s set in Nashville and the Riverhouse label representative was there. They liked what they saw and, with Caroline acting as his manager, Kinzer signed on to the label.
“Caroline helped me through the whole thing,” he said. “I had an easier move to Nashville than a lot of artists have because I had some help. That's kind of that Wyoming thing, too, of just looking out for each other.”
Kinzer said he is seeing more artists come out of Wyoming every year which is exciting for such a small state. The Wyoming lifestyle and stories are being shared through various forms of music for a bigger audience and continue to grow in popularity.
“We are from a real place with real stories that haven't been told,” he said. “I love throwing things into certain songs that only people from Wyoming will understand like referencing Nate Champion.”
The Record Label
Kinzer’s first album is coming out sometime this year and he is excited to share the songs that are all inspired by his Wyoming roots. He is starting to release the songs now and said the next one will come out on April 11.
He is also excited because he is returning to Wyoming for a show in Casper at the Gaslight Social on April 5.
“I love coming back home and doing shows in Wyoming, so, I'm pumped for that one,” he said. “We have a lot of shows coming up this year but anytime I can come back to Wyoming and do one, it's the highlight of the year for me.”
As he prepares for the release of his first album, Kinzer said that it is meaningful to be able to share Wyoming and the cowboy culture through rap.
“It’s been cool for me to bring that to life and see a lot of younger and older generations start to love it and relate to it,” he said. “I love the support from Wyoming.”
Jackie Dorothy can be reached at jackie@cowboystatedaily.com.
