Charley Crockett speaks. Over the last week, country music fans have been wondering if Charley Crockett would address Gavin Adcock after unintentionally (or intentionally) starting an online fight with the “Actin’ Up Again” singer. The back and forth between the two artists began when Charley took to social media and unleashed an epic rant on the state of country music, targeting “bro country,” while more or less defending Beyoncé against critics who accused the pop star of invading country music. Crockett pointed out that the biggest star in country music, Morgan Wallen, makes pop music too, and Morgan also admitted that he doesn’t listen to much country music. Charley credited him for at least being honest about it: “Hey country folks. Beyoncé ain’t the source of your discontent. It was 25 years of bro country. The number one country artist on Earth listens to nothing but rap. Openly says he doesn’t really know any country music. Gotta respect his honesty. The machine points to a black woman who’s making a statement about marginalized people being removed from the conversation altogether, and somehow we all act like the entire pop industry didn’t just ambush roots music. These ‘country boys’ been singing over trap beats for years. So what’s different now? Authenticity. Many of those business folks called me early on. They had whole albums pre-written and recorded ready to just plug me in. I have receipts. It’s harder than ever to keep the public’s attention. They said and I quote, ‘We wanna get into country music where you have audience loyalty.’ Hot today, forgot tomorrow. I don’t need to put down a black woman to advance my music. That’s just embarrassing to the idea of America and I got no respect for it.” Many country listeners interpreted the last part of Crockett’s rant as a shot toward Gavin Adcock, who recently spoke about his distaste surrounding Beyoncé’s crossover into country music. At a show earlier this summer, Adcock shared with his audience his thoughts that the Cowboy Carter album should not be considered “country.” “There are only three people in front of me on the Apple Music country charts. And one of ’em is Beyoncé. You can tell her we’re coming for her f***ing a**. That s**t ain’t country music and it’s never ever been country music and it will never be country music.” @creightonmarsh1 Does this don’t need a caption@GavinAdcockMusic @Beyoncé ♬ original sound – Of course, Adcock has never been one to not speak his mind about anything, and his comments about Beyoncé were no different. Adcock doubled down on his opinion and trolled fans who were telling him he needed to apologize or think more carefully before speaking. @gavinadcockmusicI guess I’m just a hogmog♬ original sound – GavinAdcockMusic After Gavin caught wind of the shot from Charley Crockett, he took to social media to respond, calling Crockett a “cosplay cowboy.” “Somebody needs to tell the “act” that has let out (the cover) of James town ferry 6 times he should just work on letting out quality original music. I got more cowsh-t under my pinky than you have seen your whole f—in life. Hank sr called and asked about the cosplay cowboy.” Somebody needs to tell the “act” that has let out (the cover) of James town ferry 6 times he should just work on letting out quality original music I got more cowshit under my pinky then you have seen your whole fuckin life. Hank sr called and asked about the cosplay cowboy — Gavin Adcock Music (@GavinAdcock) August 20, 2025 But it didn’t stop there. Over on Instagram, Gavin called Charley his “dipsh-t of the week,” while also comparing him to the Ghoul from the Fallout television series. Which, obviously, was not a compliment to the “$10 Cowboy” singer. It appeared that the two might be on a path to finding peace after Charley Crockett left Gavin Adcock a gift at a Kansas venue. The night before Gavin Adcock was set to play WAVE in Wichita, Kansas, Charley Crockett was there the night before almost seeming like destiny for their paths to lightly cross. Although the two did not meet face-to-face, their shows, being back-to-back nights, allowed Crockett to leave a peace offering. 60 roses and a vinyl copy of his latest record, Dollar A Day. @gavinadcockmusicWhatcha say buddy ♬ original sound – GavinAdcockMusic But Gavin was still throwing a little bit of shade at Crockett in the video, but it was a classy move on Crockett’s part for these two men to co-exist peacefully. Well, that was until Gavin Adcock took to Twitter/X after his show and threw more shade Crockett’s way. “Praising a guy that said Beyoncé is country proves we live in a broke world.” Praising a guy that said Beyoncé is country proves we live in a broke world — Gavin Adcock Music (@GavinAdcock) August 22, 2025 After what seemed like a genuine olive branch from Crockett’s part, I was shocked to see Adcock still throwing dirt on his name after the kind gift. I was interested in seeing if Crockett would respond to this last post, but I could envision a scenario where he wouldn’t. Crockett does not seem like one to entertain online drama. And then Gavin followed up again, sharing a video about Charley’s days busking in New York City, a far cry from the country stylings that you see from Charley today. “Let me expose the cosplay cowboy for the last time. Nobody’s putting on a bigger act than this guy. Idk what you wanna call this but legends would roll over in their grave if you called this country.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Gavin Adcock (@gavinadcockmusic) Of course, a number of Charley Crockett haters (hard to believe there were some before this beef started), like to point out that he was rapping in his younger days as a way to discredit his catalog now, but he was very transparent about it on a recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience podcast. Arguing that Charley is some kind of phony industry plant has always been a WILD stretch to me. However, just like Adcock does not apologize for his opinions, neither does Charley Crockett, and we got a response from the “Just Like Honey” singer. On Sunday, August 24, Crockett posted a short yet unapologetic message on Instagram, which serves as a fitting closing statement to this argument. “Black music made me. I will not apologize. Raised by a single mama. I am not ashamed. Many men have tried to destroy me. I will not lose.” Standing on business. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Charley Crockett (@charleycrockett) Charley Crockett has been through a lot more than a country music newcomer calling him names, and he’s letting Adcock know that’s not how to get at him. I respect Crockett for addressing the situation while still maintaining class, once again not calling out Adcock by name and focusing more on why he believes what he believes, rather than seeing it as a personal attack. I’m not sure how much more these two can go back and forth with each other, and given that both men are standing by their opinions, I feel like it’s safe to say you won’t find these two in the same room together anytime soon. That being said, the whole thing feels silly. Charley was right about a few things and wrong about a few things in his initial statement, and while Gavin may have been right to address some of it, challenging Charley’s authenticity seems like a fool’s errand. Charley has worked harder than most in the business, and certainly takes a lot of inspiration from soul music, R&B music, blues influence, and yet, is one of the most authentically country dudes in the game.The post “Black Music Made Me, I Will Not Apologize” – Charley Crockett Doubles Down After “Cosplay Cowboy” Comments From Gavin Adcock first appeared on Whiskey Riff.