BigXthaPlug stole the highlight in Nashville as Billboard’s 2025 Nation Innovator, teasing his country-inspired album “I Hope You’re Glad.”

BigXthaPlug took middle stage Tuesday (June 5) in Nashville as he accepted Billboard’s 2025 Nation Innovator of the 12 months award on the Nation Energy Gamers occasion.

Hosted at Luke Combs’ Class 10 venue, the occasion marked a significant second in his genre-bending rise from Dallas Hip-Hop to nation crossover.

Introduced by Grammy-nominated nation artist and frequent collaborator Shaboozey, the award acknowledged BigXthaPlug’s rising affect in nation music, simply as he teased his upcoming challenge, I Hope You’re Glad, a country-inspired launch due later this yr.

The announcement got here in entrance of a packed room of trade leaders and tastemakers.

The celebration didn’t cease there. BigX capped the evening with a packed afterparty at Losers Bar & Grill, dubbed the “Losers Again Porch Kick Again,” the place Sam Hunt, Ella Langley, Chris Comstock, and others joined in to toast the milestone.

The occasion additionally served as an unofficial kickoff to CMA Fest weekend.

The award follows a string of high-profile performances by BigX, together with Coachella, Stagecoach, and Jimmy Kimmel Reside, the place he has continued to mix the grit of Southern Hip-Hop with the storytelling of nation music.

He’s additionally been spotlighted on the covers of GQ Hype and Billboard’s Style Now difficulty.

Past music, BigX has used his platform to help the Autism Society of America, honoring his son throughout Autism Acceptance Month.

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