“Make America cowboy again.”
Recently, I saw this sticker on the back of a Toyota hatchback whilst ponying along Poinsettia Avenue in Vista, California.
Pulls the reins there, Kiwi cowboy; tap those breaks!
The Toyota sped off before I could take a picture of the sticker, but its message had already opened the great plains of my imagination...Personally, I think a Mustang—metallic blue 1964½ Ford Mustang Coupe—would have been a more suitable vehicle to affix such messaging, but that’s just me.
A tip of the black Jacaru to the sentiment, but I say we raise the stakes: Let’s give America a singing cowboy again!
I know what you’re thinking (with your imaginary Duke impression): “Whoa, take 'er easy there, pilgrim! What’s wrong with Ken Maynard, Gene Autry, Tex Ritter, Herb Jeffries, and Roy Rogers?"
Nothing. High-five to those legends; love and listen to them all. But we need to add a new stable to the Pantheon of singing cowboys, and I have just the man to get “back in the saddle again.”
Who?
Collins Obinna Chibueze. Born in Woodbridge, Virginia to Nigerian parents.
Say that three times. Chibueze, Shabueze, Shaboozey (a stage name that stemmed from his high school football coach mispronouncing his Nigerian last name) whilst enjoying libations with your posse.
Our trails crossed for the very first time on Thursday, October 23, 2025. The first Week 8 game of the NFL Season on Thursday Night Football on Prime Video had the Los Angeles Chargers pitted against the Minnesota Vikings (the Chargers savaged the Vikings 37-10; tip of the Jacaru to Coach Harbaugh, Herbert, McConkey, Allen, and the lads). The post-game performer for the Amazon Music Live series was Shaboozey!
If anyone is ready for Prime Time, it’s this singing cowboy!
Dressed in a brown leather vest, chaps, fringe, boots, cowboy hat, with a concho belt, Shaboozey looked and sang the part. But this was no act: Shaboozey is an authentic artist who combines e pluribus unum-style country, Americana, and hip-hop music into a sound that is his own. Ironically, the opening number of the Amazon Music Live concert was “Last of My Kind.” Nah, sir, one of a kind!
Or as you gave voice/song to: “You won't never find another like me, I'm the last of my kind.”
As Shaboozey opened the concert, his unique voice captured the country music vibe that’s hard to epitomize in words. But to paraphrase Justice Potter Stewart’s famous opinion, “I know it when I hear it.” There’s a sincerity, a grit, an expression of the wistfulness of the heart.
But “Debbie Downer” is not in the setlist. Each song is its own musical ode that invites one’s inner Wayne's World characters Wayne or Garth (your choice) to groove and sway along with the song (please no beat-up Pacer; 1964 ½ Ford Mustang Coupe).
The effect of Shaboozey’s music on me was immediate. Up from the couch, this human spud transformed into a curly fry, springing up and down to the music. The studio audience at the live event was equally appreciative. Considering it took place after an NFL game, all that was missing was NFL quarterback Russell Wilson, dressed to the threes as his Denver Bronco incarnation, shout out, “Let’s ride.”
As I was getting on my country two-step—quick, quick, slow, slow—my wife entered the living room.
"Ever seen this artist before?" I asked, keeping my groove going.
"No," she replied, "but he sure does break the stereotype."
Indeed. Great talent does that and its part of the DNA and genius of America. Each generation reinvents and revitalizes its version of the American dream—including the singing cowboy.
During the concert Shaboozey asked the audience, “Are y’all ready for the greatest show in America?”
My final answer: Again and again and again.
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