Fresh off of the success of his platinum single, Wild as Her, Corey Kent is back with his sophomore record, Blacktop. The album serves as a follow up to his 2021 debut album, ’21, which made a splash in the country scene, eventually scoring Kent a record deal with Sony Music Nashville in Mar. 2022.
Kent announced Blacktop’s release back in April.
The rollout of Blacktop was a steady one for Kent, releasing the smash hit, Wild as Her, and Hood of That Car in 2022 as well as Something’s Gonna Kill Me and Man of the House throughout 2023. These pre-released tracks account for a majority of the tight, 10-track record.
It’s very apparent that he is wearing his heart on his sleeve with this record, penning deeply personal tracks throughout the album. Songs such as BiC Flame, Man of the House and How You Know You Made It are all reflective songs touching various aspects of Kent’s life from his old school personality, to growing up with a single mother, to finding the love of his life.
That being said, Kent does not lose his edge at all. Wild as Her, Something’s Gonna Kill Me and Hood of That Car all showcase his wild, reckless side. In fact, Kent described Something’s Gonna Kill Me as “probably the most excited I’ve ever been about a new song…” when he released the track back in April.
For Kent, Blacktop is a tribute to his days of blue-collar work and a reflection on where he came from.
“I went to work for a pavement company when the world shut down. I even recorded a few of the songs on ‘Blacktop’ while I was still working there. So what better way to pay tribute to that industry and the folks that gave me an opportunity to provide for my family. I also called it Blacktop because that’s where we’ve spent the most time over the last few years pounding the pavement and playing club after club every weekend since Jan 2021. ‘Blacktop’ pays tribute to where I’ve been, what we’ve been up to, and through, and where we are headed.”
The album contains a plethora of songs from well-known Nashville songwriters throughout, inlcuding songs written from Kent himself, Morgan Wallen (Wild as Her), Ryan Hurd (Call It a Night) and Kelly Archer (Wild as Her).
Listen to Wild as Her, Long Story Short and BiC Flame here: