This study is a semiotic ethnography and ethnomusicological comparison of the rhetoric of violence found in two increasingly popular musical forms, rap and country. Based on the production‐of‐culture perspective, musical genres are considered socially constructed organizing principles and lyrics, the primary data, are viewed as ensembles of texts. The strategy is to address rap and country songs as they present claims concerning the focal concerns of trouble and toughness. First, analysis is framed in terms of three violent crimes–murder, manslaughter, and assault. Second, dimensions of toughness are specified–physical prowess and masculinity. This study illustrates the hidden resemblances between rap and country and highlights parallels between these essentially incompatible musical