Is Santa Ana's Zay27 the first country rapper out of Orange County?

Orange County hip-hop has a cowboy hat now. On April 26, 2025, Juice Unlocked posted a reaction to Santa Ana artist Zay27's (@zay27._) Juice Unlocked Mic Drop, calling him the first country rapper to come out of Orange County.

The graphic over the clip put it as a question, "The 1st Country Rapper to come out of Orange County?", and left it to fans to decide.

The Mic Drop

Zay27 performed on a Western-themed Mic Drop set: a green "Welcome to Santa Ana, California" road sign, a potted cactus and a cow skull in front of the Juice Unlocked backdrop. He wore a blue cowboy hat, a black leather jacket and black gloves, rapping into a hanging vintage-style mic.

Before playing it, the Juice Unlocked host passed along the comparison people were making. "They saying this, man, is the country version of Future," he said.

“They saying this, man, is the country version of Future.”

The reaction

Partway through, the host stopped the playback to put on a black cowboy hat of his own, then kept listening with a grin.

He closed by challenging anyone to name another Orange County rapper on the same wave: "Zay started it."

The post drew 116 likes and 34 comments. Is Zay27 OC's first country rapper? Let Juice Unlocked know.

“Zay started it.”