Born in 1990 in Philadelphia, MS, Michael Hardy has evolved a lot since his early days as a Nashville songwriter, which included penning hits for the pop-country pair Florida Georgia Line and the then-fledgling Morgan Wallen. As HARDY, he proved himself interested in pushing Nashville’s boundaries with 2019’s HIXTAPE, Vol. 1, using hip-hop culture’s mixtape ideal to show off his songwriting skills and impressive Rolodex, which included Wallen as well as heavy hitters like Thomas Rhett and Keith Urban. His 2020 debut album, A ROCK, further showcased his “unapologetically country as hell” outlook, as did the second installment in the HIXTAPE series. In 2023 he released the mockingbird & THE CROW, which incorporated the heavier guitars of nu-metal while also having classic Nashville cuts like the murder ballad “wait in the truck.”