You may have never heard of Blanco Brown before. But once you hit play on this “The Git Up” video, you’ll never forget him.
The singer/songwriter/producer has been working for years behind the scenes with artists like Chris Brown, Pitbull, Fergie and more. But this time, it’s all him. And it is legit country. Honestly, with its mentions of the two-step, the cowboy boogie, the hoedown and other staples of line-dancing choreography, it may be more 90s country than modern country.
CMT.com caught up with Brown when he was in Nashville ahead of the premiere of his official “The Git Up” video, and we found out about his fascination with line-dancing and his high hopes for the bigger picture message of the song. (We also learned that when Brown asks you to dance, you dance.)
CMT.com: When did you first start to appreciate the lost art of line-dancing?
Brown: I grew up watching people line dancing, and I was fascinated with the way they danced, and how it was so uniform. In the ’hood where I’m from, it was big on freestyle. But to see people do organized dance steps? Man, it is amazing to see the footwork. I tried it, and I fell in love with it. I knew some of the traditional steps, so I implemented those in the song, and then added some that were like God’s gift to me.
I read somewhere that to you, this song is about joy, encouraging people to git up and be joyful. Is that why you think the song danced its way into the hearts of country fans?
People listen to it, and they can’t help but smile. For real. Because music is a gateway to finding perfect happiness. It’s a soundtrack to our world and life. Songs have the power to alter your emotions and change your moment as soon as you press play. And I just feel so blessed that so many people heard it and posted their own videos, and that’s what spread it. I need that in my life. We all do.
Where did you shoot the video, and who directed it for you?
We shot it in a small town called Watertown, Tennessee. I love everything about small towns, just like I loved spending time as a kid in Butler (Georgia). And Peter Zavadil worked his magic through the whole thing.
What do you remember most about the day you were shooting this video?
There were so many moments. I loved them all. I love all the moments when the older people, the firefighters, the kids, my friends from Parmalee, and from King Calloway were there. My dad is in the video, too. My mother, who has been supportive of this whole thing, could not make it to the shoot. So in the beginning of video, we show my Modear texting me to “git up and be great, son.”
(That’s our favorite moment, because after he gets the text from his mother, Brown buckles spur straps around his sneakers.)
It sounds like you’ve been influenced by so many different genres of music. But we all start somewhere, right? So what was the very first record you remember buying with your own money?
TLC’s FanMail.
One last question: what is the very first thing you do when you wake up every morning?
As soon as I open my eyes, I pray. I thank God for that day. Because I don’t know how the day is gonna go, so I pray for positivity that day.
Brown’s “The Git Up” is currently the top-selling digital country song in the United States this week for its 11th week, and it has been in the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs Chart for nine weeks.
