Country singer Gavin Adcock became the title of his next album, “Own Worst Enemy,” after going on an unhinged rant about the legitimacy of Beyoncé's Grammy-winning and record-breaking Cowboy Carter in the country music genre.
Adcock, whose upcoming album is set for release next month, was filmed during a live performance last weekend, complaining that Beyoncé and her album are not “country music.”
In the TikTok video, a drunk and slurring Adcock is wearing a red long-sleeve shirt, jeans, and a white cowboy hat.
He can be seen telling the audience:
“You can tell her we’re coming for her f–king ass… That s–t ain’t country music, and it ain’t ever been country music, and it ain’t gonna be country music.”
The audience, with their camera phones out, appeared to cheer on the so-called country singer as he kept playing some “southern f–king rock.”
The video can be seen below:
Adcock, known for his drunken rants and wild stage antics, was born in Athens, Georgia. He is recognized for albums titled “Bonfire Blackout,” “A Cigarette,” and “Actin’ Up Again.”
Unlike Beyoncé, who was left out of this year’s American Country Music awards, Adcock was nominated (but lost) for the 60th ACM Awards’ New Artist of the Year. Notably, rapper and singer Post Malone earned his first-ever CMA nominations with Morgan Wallen for the song “I Had Some Help.”
This is not the first (or the last) time Beyoncé and her music have faced criticism from the country music crowd. During the 2016 Country Music Awards, Beyoncé described feeling unwelcome during her criticized performance of “Daddy Lessons” with the group formerly known as the Dixie Chicks.
That experience motivated her to create her Act II album, Cowboy Carter:
“It [Cowboy Carter] was born out of an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed…and it was very clear that I wasn’t. But, because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of Country music and studied our rich musical archive.”
Doubling down on the comments he made during his live performance, Adcock took to Instagram on Monday to “clear things up” by explaining why Beyoncé’s music shouldn’t be labeled “country.”
In the post, he said:
“But I really don’t believe her album should be labeled as country music. It doesn’t sound country, it doesn’t feel country, and I just don’t think that people that have dedicated their whole lives to this genre and this lifestyle should have to compete or watch that album just stay at the top just because she’s Beyoncé.”
You can watch the entire video below:
Adcock’s one-sided feud with Beyoncé comes as she begins the final leg of the historic Cowboy Carter and the Rodeo Chitlin' Circuit Tour, which has grossed over $305 million and sold 1.2 million tickets across 24 shows. The tour and the album’s success have surpassed Beyoncé’s own records, making it the highest-grossing single-venue engagement by a female artist in history.
Unlike Adcock’s albums, Cowboy Carter has topped the all-genre Billboard 200 chart, with her single “Texas Hold ‘Em” reaching number one on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. The single also makes Beyoncé the first Black woman to top the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, and the first Black artist to win Best Country Album at the 67th Grammy Awards ceremony.
No wonder Adcock sounds bitter…
Shortly after his rant went viral, fans took to social media to criticize Adcock’s entitlement to country music:
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@doubledeedsters/Instagram
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@dapstar/Instagram
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@ry_520_/Instagram
Adcock has yet to respond to the criticism of his double-downed Instagram post. His 24-song album “Own Worst Enemy” is set to release on August 15th.
Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter tour is set to headline in Washington, D.C., for July 4th at the Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland.
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