I Hope You're Happy is the third studio album by American rapper BigXthaPlug, released on August 22, 2025, via UnitedMasters. The follow-up to his second album Take Care (2024), its production was primarily handled by BandPlay, alongside Tony Coles, Charley Cooks, Dave Cohen, and BigXthaPlug himself (under his real name, Xavier Landum), among others.
At the start of 2025, BigXthaPlug hinted in a Billboard interview that a country music project was in the works, despite not having begun it at the time.[3][1] "I go and do a Billboard interview and I straight up say, 'I got a country project on the way,'" he later admitted. "And I never had a country project on the way...After I was like, 'Damn.'"[3][1] His team encouraged him to commit, and soon after, country artists such as Jelly Roll expressed interest in collaborating.[3][1]
The project, originally titled Not Just Country, was developed over the course of eight months and became BigXthaPlug's longest recording process yet.[3][1] It follows his 2024 album Take Care, which debuted at number eight on the Billboard 200 and contained the hits "Mmhmm" and "The Largest".[3][4][5]
The album was officially announced in June 2025 during CMA Fest, where BigXthaPlug confirmed the track list and August 22 release date.[4] He revealed the collaborations in July at Apple Music's Los Angeles studio.[5][6]
Thematically, the album centers on the emotional fallout of a failed relationship, with BigXthaPlug alternating between bitterness, regret, and gratitude.[3][1][2] Collaborations with country artists bring distinct flavors: Darius Rucker lends a bluesy tone to the title track, Jelly Roll provides mournful vocals on "Box Me Up", Luke Combs delivers a booming chorus on "Pray Hard", and Ella Langley joins for the scathing break-up anthem "Hell at Night".[1][2][4][5][6]
Musically, the record blends trap percussion with country guitar riffs and stadium-ready choruses.[1][2]Rolling Stone described it as "a temperature check for where country is in the back half of 2025," citing the mix of brooding male vocalists and genre-bending production.[2]
Hope You're Happy received generally positive reviews from critics. Michael Saponara of Billboard praised BigXthaPlug's ability to merge hip-hop with country authenticity and highlighted tracks like "Pray Hard" and "Box Me Up" as standouts.[1] Maura Johnston of Rolling Stone gave the album three out of five stars, noting its appeal to country listeners while commending the emotional nuance in songs such as "24/7" and "Hell at Night".[2]
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