Chase Rice Gives Update on Morgan Wallen Following Racial Slur Controversy (Exclusive)

Country music singer Chase Rice has kept busy throughout the pandemic, but now he’s gearing up to head back out on the road as concerts ramp up for the summer. With the third installment of his new album coming out on May 28 titled The Album, after previously releasing The Album Part I and Part II, the singer has had his hands full but is now ready for fans to hear all three installments. While he may be on the go, he has had a little downtime with fellow country stars, including Cole Swindell and Morgan Wallen.

Following Wallen’s scandal, when he was caught on camera using the “N-word,” the 28-year-old broke his silence in April and detailed his efforts in making a positive change, and Rice can vouch. In an exclusive interview with PopCulture.com, the “Drinkin’ Beer. Talkin’ God. Amen” singer revealed he has seen his friend put in a lot of work and seems to be in a really good place at the moment. “He’s good! Speaking of putting in work, he’s put in a lot of work himself,” the 35-year-old explained. “I’ve hung with him quite a few times now and he seems to be in a lot better place. I don’t know what exactly he did, those are the details that he can tell if he wants to, but he seems to be in a good place.”

Rice then explained that Wallen knows “what he did wrong” but confirms he’s made improvements. “Morgan absolutely knows what he did wrong […] he knows that, he’s not dumb. He put in the work and got it fixed. So I’m happy for where he is, I’m happy for what’s about to happen, I’m happy for the success he’s had.” Wallen announced that he’ll be back sooner rather than later, and Rice said when the young country artist starts performing again, “I want to be at one of those shows.” Although Wallen canceled all of his tour dates this summer, making the announcement on his Instagram post, he did take the stage at Kid Rock’s bar downtown Nashville according to Fox News.

Although Wallen doesn’t anticipate performing much this summer, Rice is ready to head back out. After previously releasing two separate installments to his The Album, he’s ready for fans to hear what he’s been creating in the studio, revealing most of his songs were actually written before the pandemic struck. “I think this is the tip of the iceberg of where it’s going to be going because I wrote all of these songs before [quarantine] — I only wrote one during COVID and quarantine, which is called “Bedroom” — the rest of them I wrote before.” Rice then teased his fans and used his song “The Nights” as an example of where his music is headed.

“You hear a song like nights and it’s just real, it’s personal, and that’s gonna go there fully on my album following this album,” he confessed. The emotional song talks about a past relationship of his and the depth of heartbreak, but while that may be an emotional piece of the album, Rice is just happy to be pushing outmusic. “I’m loving writing songs right now, I’m loving putting out music,” Rice gushed, saying that “it’s time to put out a lot of music,” and it’s probably safe to assume that fans agree. Fans will be able to listen to the third installment of The Album on May 28.