After his collaboration with Lil Durk, ‘Broadway Girls’, made it to Number One on the Billboard R&B/hip-hop chart, Morgan Wallen has expressed an interest in linking up with Kendrick Lamar.

The prospect was raised in an interview on the “social audio” platform Clubhouse, where Black comedian Druski asked Wallen which other hip-hop artists he’d be down to collaborate with. Per Variety, the controversial country star shouted out his fellow Tennesseean Moneybagg Yo, who is “definitely at the top of the list”, before noting that “Kendrick Lamar would be pretty cool”.

Wallen pointed out that his personal listening habits sway mostly towards hip-hop, saying: “Moneybagg is probably my favourite. And I listened to a lot of Young Dolph – RIP. I listened to Drake’s new album [‘Certified Lover Boy’]. I listen to Kanye… I’ve been listening to a little bit of Gunna. I like him pretty good.”

As for his recent track with Durk, Wallen said the pairing came after the rapper commented on one of his Instagram posts. “Me and him had been talking a little bit throughout the year and kind of developed a friendship,” Wallen said, boasting that he was “really, really, really pumped on” the song.

According to Wallen, Durk showed an interest in ‘Broadway Girls’ – which landed as a standalone single under his own name last month – after hearing a preview of it on Instagram, which led Wallen to send him a message. 

“I was like, ‘I don’t know if you’re serious or not, but here’s a couple of versions.’ And he took the song,” Wallen said. “I said, ‘I’m not gonna put out an album for a while. If you just want to throw this on yours, go ahead.’ So he did and I’m super pumped about it.” 

Wallen sparked controversy last February, after a video of him using a racial slur surfaced. He was subsequently dropped by a number of radio stations, as well as his record label, Big Loud. Despite as much, sales for his recent album ‘Dangerous’ surged, and Wallen maintained the Number One spot on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart for a record-breaking ten weeks.

His return to the spotlight came in May when he performed for the first time since the incriminating video leaked, making an appearance at Kid Rock’s Big Honky Tonk & Steakhouse bar in his hometown of Nashville. He returned to country radio in June, and the following month, appeared on Good Morning America to pledge “somewhere around $500,000” to Black-led organisations.

Two months later, it was reported that Wallen had only committed a total of $165,000 (£121,000), which was given to a single group. He was also banned from attending the 2021 CMA Music Awards, despite being nominated for Album Of The Year at the event.

Meanwhile, Lamar has spent the past year teasing his forthcoming fifth album, with drop-fed updates to his public presence (such as when new song titles were registered on ASCAP, when his Spotify image was changed, and when he reportedly signed on a new business manager) fuelling repeated speculation that he could announce the record any moment.

The rapper made his hotly awaited return to the stage in November, performing his first set in over two years at the 2021 Day N Vegas festival. Among the career-spanning setlist were a number of choice cuts from his breakthrough debut LP, ‘Section.80’, including the live debut of ‘Chapter Ten’.