When that happened, Billy Ray Cyrus tweeted his support for the tune, which has classic country elements. Cyrus wrote, “I thought, it’s honest, humble, and has an infectious hook, and a banjo. What the hell more do ya need?” The country star then teamed up with the budding cross-genre musician, Lil Nas X, to produce a version of the song, and most recently starred in the new video.

Lil Nas X told Genius in April that he was miffed by the Billboard move. “I started to think about it, I was like, you know, why? After like listening to other songs that’s actually on that chart, it’s like, wait a minute, something’s not right,” he said, stopping short of articulating the complaint that others made that Billboard was being racist. Many interpreted the move to be more of a reflection on Lil Nas X’s race—he’s black—than a sense that song lacked country qualities. After all, it’s about horses, heartache, and perseverance, and sounded like it could have been written by a cowboy in 1889, if that cowboy could also rap.

The new video seems to be a response to the country charts flap, albeit a very good natured one. It shows Lil Nas X and his traveling companion, Cyrus, on horses, in 1889, with the rapper getting shot at despite Cyrus’s claim that the black man is safe with him. Magically, Lil Nas X escapes through a tunnel to a black neighborhood in the present, confounding all he encounters with his horse and cowboy outfit and beating a car in a race. He then joins Cyrus for a performance at a country music venue where the mostly-white crowd of old bingo players seems shocked.

But in the video as in real life, Lil Nas X sways hearts and minds with his song and charm, posing for photos with a little old white woman in cowboy gear and proving that the music can unite a divided nation, no matter what some may say.

📬 Sign up for the Daily Brief

Our free, fast, and fun briefing on the global economy, delivered every weekday morning.