There are lots of rappers with grills — chrome, gold or diamond-encrusted jewelry that fit over one’s normal teeth — but it’s unlikely anybody flashes a Western grill like Wyoming native and country rap artist Ryan Charles.
In true cowboy style, Charles has a grill made of turquoise stones, a popular marker within Western music culture and jewelry.
For the country rapper from Buffalo, it’s a perfect representation of the hybrid persona he carries in fusing country with hip-hop into what’s known as “country rap.”
The Country Rapper
Charles, who also goes by the alias Jiggy Buckaroo, has seen his stock as an artist grow exponentially in recent years. He now has a social media following of a few hundred thousand and receives an average of 391,388 monthly plays on the Spotify streaming platform.
Last December, he released his first album as a record label-signed artist, the self-titled “Jiggy Buckaroo.”
Charles views his Jiggy Buckaroo persona almost as his alter-ego: a high-energy, Western rascal with a twang in his voice and a constant readiness for a good time.
What really makes Charles stand out is ability to blend hip-hop with country, a pioneer within the growing country rap genre. Charles blends a style of lyricism more likely to be found in a classic country song yet raps his lyrics over a more traditional hip-hop-style beat.
“That’s the fun part. Some days it feels like we’re making more of a country song and some days it feels like we’re making more of a rap song,” Charles said.
Painting A Wyoming Picture
To get a picture of country rap, consider some of Charles’ lyrics in his song “Duffy’s Bluff,” the title a reference to a well-known, since-closed restaurant in Buffalo. The lines are dripping with Wyoming culture and soul, and a few hunting references.
Country rappers acting like some broads
Mind your beeswax
Really don't want it with the dawgs
Like some tree cats
Interior camouflage
I don’t know where my seat's at
750 on the stones
Partner this ain’t a cheap laugh
Snakes come with holes
Where I put my feet at
I’d rather be all alone
Somewhere in a tree stand
Than be around y'all
Wasting away another weekend
As much as he’s honed his stage presence over the years, Charles said he’s constantly tweaking his style and delivery to maximize his creative output.
In his song “Ten Sleep,” Jiggy Buckaroo raps about driving the scenic route between Buffalo and Ten Sleep over the Big Horn Mountains, spotting countless elk and big horn sheep along the way.
Later on in the song, still deep in his cowboy outlaw braggadocio, he raps about watching every episode of the hit TV show “Gunsmoke” while growing up.
A Different Kind of Outlaw
In the 1800s, Buffalo was a town of Wild West outlaws, home to the Johnson County War and not far from the notorious Hole-in-the-Wall hideout.
Charles said there were a few people he grew up with there who didn’t understand why he started pursuing rapping and a hip-hop career, a stark contrast from the country music culture they grew up in.
Now, those same people and their children play his music.
“It was kind of a full circle moment,” he said.
After high school, Charles received a formal audio engineering education in Seattle and started to lay the foundation for his music career. Upon graduating, he moved back to Wyoming to work in the oil fields, but the music bug wouldn’t stop biting.
Charles decided to follow in the footsteps of countless other aspiring country music artists by moving to Nashville to pursue his professional music career.
He draws a comparison between his decision to move to the southern city and making a career in an industry where no script exists for becoming successful beyond “going with the flow” and taking opportunities as they come, Charles said.
Even though the city isn’t a hotbed for hip-hop, Charles said Nashville has been the perfect home base for him.
Surrounded by an incredible amount of country music talent, Charles said it's helped him rekindle his love for the genre he had growing up and hone his own song writing pedigree.
It’s also where he landed his first record deal.
In 2022, Charles competed in the American Song Contest, which aired on NBC, reaching the semifinals.
It was there that he met and spent time with hip-hop legend Snoop Dogg, who hosted the TV show. The two built a relationship and Snoop invited Charles backstage when he came to Nashville to do a show.
Charles has also opened for hip-hop stars Nelly and Wiz Khalifa.
Wyoming True
Despite moving away and experiencing a little success, Charles is still a Wyoming boy through and through, hanging a large Wyoming flag from the wall of his home recording studio in Nashville.
He’s also good friends with Wyoming country music star Ian Munsick, who he considers a personal inspiration for his gift of storytelling and style of enunciation. The two have collaborated on a number of songs, and it was Munsick who brought Charles on his first tour, the rapper serving as Munsick’s opening act.
Now when he opens for Munsick, Charles jokes the country crooner is lucky Charles doesn’t have as good a singing voice as him, or Munsick would be opening up for him.
Munsick brought Charles on stage for his sold-out show at the historic Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado in 2024, where the duo performed their song “Cowboy Killer.”
Turquoise Grills And Cowboy Boots
Charles’ turquoise grill is another nod to his country rap hybrid persona.
Like many with a Western upbringing, Charles has long worn turquoise jewelry. When he looked into buying a grill, Charles decided he had to keep a link to his original heritage.
Charles, who also has a song called “New Boot Goofin’,” also has an affinity for cowboy boots and just launched his own company called Yalls Boots Co.
“I’ve been wanting to do a boot company for a long time now, boots are my thing,” Charles said in a Facebook post earlier this month.
What’s Next For the Jiggy Buckaroo?
The Jiggy Buckaroo was back in town for a short Wyoming tour last week, performing in Casper before hosting a Cheyenne Frontier Days after party show at The Lincoln Theater last weekend.
Now he’s off to Alaska for a fair and rodeo performance, followed by a personal fishing trip.
One of his favorite concert memories, he said, came last summer performing in his hometown of Buffalo. They set up a stage on a flatbed trailer outside Bond’s Brewing Co. and Jiggy Buckaroo did his thing for hundreds of screaming Wyoming fans.
“From the big things to the small things you kind of get those little moments,” Charles said. “One thing about this career, it can be tough and it can be challenging and mentally draining sometimes … those little moments, they make it worth it.”
