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William Curtis Harness Jr. (born May 31, 1980), professionally known as Struggle Jennings, is an American rapper from Nashville, Tennessee.[2] Jennings was one of the original members of Yelawolf's Slumerican label roster along with Bubba Sparxxx.
Struggle Jennings | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | William Curtis Harness, Jr.[1] |
| Also known as |
|
| Born | May 31, 1980 Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Genres | Country rap |
| Years active | 2002–present |
| Labels |
|
| Website | strugglejennings |
Career
editHarness was born to William Harness Sr and Jennifer Eddy, the daughter of Duane Eddy and Jessi Colter. Harness Sr. was murdered in 1990. Harness Jr. spent much of his childhood in the company of his grandmother's second husband, Waylon Jennings, whose surname he took as his stage name.[3] His uncle is country rock singer Shooter Jennings.
Harness was incarcerated on drug-related charges in 2011.[2] In 2013 he appeared on Yelawolf's mixtape Wyte Dawg and released his nine-track album I Am Struggle. After being released from prison in 2016, Harness released Return of the Outlaw EP via Slumerican.[2] From 2017 to 2018, he collaborated with longtime friend and rapper JellyRoll on a trilogy of Waylon & Willie albums, the title of which pays homage to Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson. Struggle and his mother, Jenni Eddy Jennings, created their Spiritual Warfare EP towards the end of 2018. On January 15, 2019, Struggle and his oldest daughter, singer Brianna Harness, released a collaborative EP entitled Sunny Days which snagged the #3 spot on Billboard Blues Albums charts. In February 2019, he also released his first solo studio album since 2011 via his own label called "Angels & Outlaws" formed that same year.
The LP titled The Widow's Son included guest appearances by Bubba Sparxxx, Jeremy Penick, Julie Roberts, Alexander King and Yelawolf.
On November 15, 2019, Jennings released the full-length album entitled Angels & Outlaws featuring 11 tracks in collaboration with his guitarist Trap DeVille and his daughter and music newcomer, Brianna Harness. The album peaked at #8 on iTunes Alternative charts.
In June 2020, Jennings teamed up with Adam Calhoun for the EP "Legends" and in December 2020, fans were surprised by the long anticipated release of "Waylon & Willie IV", the fourth record in the collaboration series between Struggle and his fellow Nashville native, Jelly Roll. On April 9, 2021, Jennings released a solo LP entitled "Troubadour of Troubled Souls" and on April 30, 2021, he released a second collaboration LP with Illinois rapper Adam Calhoun, entitled "Outlaw Shit" which gained notoriety through iTunes Rap Charts by claiming the #1 spot on release day. In 2021, Jennings can be found touring and working with artists Brianna Harness and Caitlynne Curtis to advance their independent careers via his label "Angels & Outlaws" based in Nashville.
In September 2021, Jennings and heavy metal vocalist Tommy Vext announced a co-headlining tour "The God Bless the Outlaws" across the United States.
In 2022, Jennings collaborated with independent rapper Tom MacDonald and Nova Rockafeller for a feature on "In God We Trust", off of Tom Macdonald's "The Brave" album.
The Song Monte Carlo was played in the last ever episode of The Grand Tour.
Discography
editStudio albums
edit| Title | Studio album details | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Indie [4] |
US Heat.[5] | ||
| I Am Struggle |
|
— | — |
| Waylon & Willie (with JellyRoll) |
|
28 | 4 |
| Waylon & Willie II (with JellyRoll) |
|
17 | 6 |
| Waylon & Willie III (with JellyRoll) |
|
25 | 4 |
| The Widow's Son |
|
43 | 20 |
| Legend (with Adam Calhoun) |
|
— | 18 |
| Waylon & Willie IV (with JellyRoll) |
|
— | — |
| Troubadour of Troubled Souls |
|
— | — |
| Outlaw Shxt (with Adam Calhoun) |
|
— | — |
| Monte Carlo |
|
— | — |
| El Camino |
|
— | — |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||
Mixtapes
edit| Title | Mixtape details |
|---|---|
| Strugglin' Til We Make It |
|
| Tryin 2 Eat (as Young Struggle) |
|
| Soundtrack To An Indictment |
|
Extended plays
edit| Title | EP details | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Blues [7] |
US Heat. [5] | ||
| Return of the Outlaw |
|
— | 18 |
| Spiritual Warfare (with Jenni Eddy Jennings) |
|
— | — |
| Sunny Days (with Brianna Harness) |
|
3 | — |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||
Certified songs
edit| Title | Year | Certification | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Fall In The Fall" (with Jelly Roll) |
2017 | Waylon & Willie II | |
| "God We Need You Now" (with Caitlynne Curtis) |
2020 |
|
Troubadour of Troubled Souls |
Guest appearances
edit| Title | Year | Other artist(s) | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Far Froma Bitch" | 2013 | Yelawolf, Rittz, Big Hud | Wyte Dawg |
| "Hourglass" | 2016 | Ryan Upchurch | Heart of America |
| "Left Behind" | Lil Wyte, JellyRoll | No Filter 2 | |
| "Born in Fire" | 2017 | Boondox, Jamie Madrox, Bubba Sparxxx | The Murder |
| "Struggle Speaks" | Yelawolf | Trial by Fire | |
| "The Tennessean" | 2018 | Ryan Upchurch | Supernatural |
| "West Side" | 2019 | Parachute | |
| "Staring at a Stranger" | 2020 | JellyRoll | A Beautiful Disaster |
| "Afraid of Me" | Self Medicated | ||
| "Forrest Bondurant" | BRODNAX | Brodnax | |
| "Alcohol & Weed" | 2021 | Riff Raff, Yelawolf | Turquoise Turnado |
| "Harvest" | Yelawolf, DJ Muggs | Mile Zero | |
| "Money" | Yelawolf, JellyRoll | Mud Mouth | |
| "In God We Trust" | 2022 | Tom MacDonald, Adam Calhoun, Nova Rockafeller | The Brave |
| "Behind Bars" | 2023 | JellyRoll, Brantley Gilbert | Whitsitt Chapel |
| "Me and My House" | 2023 | Brantley Gilbert, Demun Jones | Tattoos |
References
edit- ^ "BATTLEFIELD". ASCAP. American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
- ^ a b c Thomas, Fred. "Struggle Jennings | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
- ^ "Struggle Jennings on 'purpose over popularity,' growth in hip-hop-inspired country music". The Tennessean. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
- ^ "Struggle Jennings Chart History". Independent Albums. Archived from the original on April 26, 2019. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
- ^ a b "Struggle Jennings Chart History". Heatseekers Albums. Archived from the original on April 25, 2019. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
- ^ "Discogs – Young Sruggle – Tryin 2 Eat". Discogs. 2006.
- ^ "Struggle Jennings Chart History". Blues Albums. Archived from the original on April 27, 2019. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
- ^ a b "American certifications – Struggle Jennings". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved April 8, 2022.