Shaboozey Shrugs Off Producer’s “Kickin Shaboozey” Remark At CMA’s

Shaboozey is keeping his cool, despite a shady moment at the 2024 CMA Awards on Wednesday night (Nov. 20).

During country artist Cody Johnson’s acceptance speech for Album of The Year, his producer, Trent Willmon, made a remark about Shaboozey that was assumed to be negative. As Johnson took the stage to accept the honor, Willmon told the audience, “It takes an army of people to make a great record, but I gotta tell ya, this is for this cowboy who’s been kicking Shaboozey for a lot of years, y’all.”

The comment quickly spread like wildfire online, causing much confusion about if his comment was sarcastic or a dig at the country crooner. However, Shaboozey responded online, simply saying: “Ain’t nobody kicking me!”

While Shaboozey may not have taken home a CMA trophy this year, he’s got his eyes on even bigger award: a Grammy. The rapper is already a front-runner for the 2025 Grammy Awards, where he’s up for five nominations.

The 29-year-old is nominated in the categories of: Best Country Song, Best Country Solo Performance, Song of the Year (“A Bar Song (Tipsy)”), Best New Artist and Best Melodic Rap Performance.

At the CMAs, Shaboozey was nominated for New Artist of the Year and Single of the Year for the aforementioned track, which dominated the Billboard Hot 100 for 18 non-consecutive weeks. Shaboozey even performed at the ceremony, proving once again that he deserves to be in that space and recognized.

With his Grammy nominations and chart-topping hits, it’s safe to say that Willmon’s “kicking Shaboozey” comment will only be a feather in the wind on Shaboozey’s rise to stardom.

Revisit Shaboozey’s CMA performance below.