The Singles Jukebox

And Lil by… ordinary size?

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[5.50]

Brad Shoup: In a pop punk era, Lil Nas is modern rock: flat intonation, stately guitars, gloomy vibe. He continues his plug-and-play ways, swapping out Cardi B’s unthematic verse for one from a reasonably game Nas. X’s stay the same, which is fine. I can’t imagine him delivering a funnier line than “we might go and have some sex”.
[6]

Alfred Soto: Like Billy Ray Cyrus’, Nas’ appearance signifies more than the contributions: a good sport, he understood the importance of genre-busting even in an era in which genre-busting serves the cross-streaming Spotify ethos. Certainly the star power carries “Rodeo” on its shoulders. 
[6]

Thomas Inskeep: “Rodeo” is a slightly dull, Western-themed record with “boomin’ system”-level bass (yay) and some pretty dull verses from LNX (sad emoji). Cardi B’s guest spot on the original, meanwhile, is better than “Big” Nas’s on this new version.
[4]

Wayne Weizhen Zhang: Better than Lil Baby feat. DaBaby, and not as transcendant as Charli feat. Charli, but pretty close. Lil Nas X feat. Nas is a surprisingly potent pairing: Nas X’s chill and circular flow contrasting with big Nas’s crisp and brisk one to make for a generational bop. 
[8]

Katie Gill: Lil Nas X hasn’t yet proved to the music world that he is more than a one hit wonder — which is a bummer, as “Panini” has grown on me over time. But this song won’t be the smash hit follow-up. It feels like a computer spat out a list of things that made “Old Town Road” popular (the country/trap hybrid, silly yet fun lyrics, an easy to sing along chorus, guest verses from previously established talent) and then shoved them all together in formulaic fashion to create “Rodeo.”
[5]

Will Adams: Maybe it’s recently released anecdotes about Nas that are souring this for me, but I struggle to find what’s necessary about this. Or maybe it’s the decision to replace Cardi B with a “Lil Nas + Big Nas! OMG!” gag whose excitement lasts about five seconds.
[4]