It’s time to take the horses OUT of the steady for S. Dott!
Whereas TikTok teems with “yeehaw” edits and cowboy-core vogue developments dominate festivals and Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter tour, there’s a southern soul artist galloping forward and alluring girls to his trailride.
S.Dott, the Lawell, Louisiana native and Zydeco trailblazer behind the viral sensation “Cowgirl Trailride,” has been driving and bringing his signature Zydeco sound to the plenty. And for him, the jubilant mix of accordion-driven Creole rhythm, Southern soul, and down-home revelry is in his blood.
Raised in a household steeped in Zydeco custom, his brother Jody White and uncles Lee and Ricky Richard are all a part of the legendary Hotline Model. S.Dott’s musical roots stretch again to his childhood.
“I was within the band with Leon [Chavis] for about 12 years,” he advised BOSSIP. “My first single ‘Movement Line’ went viral in 2020, and I’ve been solo ever since then.”
He continued,
“After I was youthful, I used to be hooked up to my brother. I used to like to look at them arrange and simply present that I might get in,” he mentioned. “I grew up taking part in the drums… I discovered my love for music from following them and watching them. They had been those who I seemed as much as.”
And although his path began with sports activities—he initially pursued soccer—music turned the extra fruitful path. As he honed his craft as a producer, songwriter, and performer, S.Dott developed what he calls New Wave Zydeco: a genre-bending fashion that comes with rapping, singing, and the timeless groove of conventional Creole music.
“I rap typically in my tune,” mentioned S. Dott. “I’d sing one verse, rap one verse. I don’t assume that’s ever been performed in historical past. Simply totally different little parts I’m including in there to actually make it my very own.”
His strategy has birthed trendy Zydeco staples like “Gradual Wind”, a beloved sluggish groove that’s remained a competition favourite and social media mainstay for almost 5 years. However it’s “Cowgirl Trailride” that’s now charging full velocity into the mainstream.
1000’s of TikToks and dance movies later, the tune’s influence is unmistakable. It’s turn into a cultural marker for “Cowboy Summer time”—a southern-fried counterpart to “Sizzling Woman Summer time,” curated via sound, soul, and stage presence.
In the end, S. Dott says Zydeco is about motion, each bodily and religious.
“I at all times run into that query,” he mentioned when requested to outline the style for these unfamiliar. “I describe it as the principle instrument is the accordion… which is an instrument that they used to scrub garments on again within the day. It’s principally a cultural factor from southwest Louisiana… a mix of blues and R&B. Every little thing put collectively from good gumbo — after which you’ve got Zydeco.”
He could be introducing it to new audiences, however to him, Zydeco is simply life, even when it’s formally turn into a part of 2025’s “Cowboy Summer time.”
“What’s occurring proper now so far as the entire complete motion… You’ll be able to at all times discover anyone with the boots and a hat,” mentioned S.Dott to BOSSIP. “Generally I purposely don’t wish to put on no boots as a result of I’ve been sporting boots 20 years. It’s only a totally different factor whenever you actually grew up in that period.”
“You’ll be able to go to the nook the place I’m from, and also you’re gonna run into 5, six cowboys. That’s what they do,” he added. “We take pleasure in your cowboy hat and your look and all that, and I’ll be like, I’m so bored with that typically… however I respect all of it.”
For brand spanking new followers trying to dip their boots into the Zydeco waters, S.Dott suggests beginning with “Meet Me on the Path Experience”, a collaboration with Leon Chavis that balances custom with trendy aptitude.
“It’s not too quick,” he mentioned. “Zydeco could be overpowering for those who have by no means heard it earlier than with the accordion and all the devices occurring. Cowgirl Trailride has a pleasant mellow, a pleasant little groove… That may be one of many songs of mine for positive that I might have you ever try.”
Wanting forward, he’s staying centered and devoted to “simply staying on prime of the enterprise.”
“Not dashing something. The elevation with the tune on daily basis is simply loopy, soI I’m simply doing the perfect I can to capitalize on a motion that’s occurring proper now,” he mentioned.
And capitalize he has.
You’ll be able to trip together with S.Dott throughout Cowboy Summer time by following him on all platforms at @Real_SDott.
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