Benjamin Tod Goes Scorched Earth On Pop Country, Takes Aim At Morgan Wallen – “I Will Not Convene With These Spoiled Little Boys Playing Pop Music With Southern Drawls”

Though it seems like there’s never a dull moment in the industry, the past week has been nothing short of a whirlwind. In the midst of receiving a deluxe album from Lainey Wilson, another collaboration from Zach Bryan and Kings of Leon on “We’re Onto Something” and stellar singles from the likes of Kashus Culpepper and Leon Majcen, there’s been one topic that’s been dominating the discourse in country music — Gavin Adcock vs. Charley Crockett.

This, of course, has all stemmed from Charley Crockett’s Instagram post last Tuesday, where he sounded off on the current state of country music, penning:

“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.”

This, of course, led to Adcock lashing out at Crockett, sending a flurry of different insults his way.

Not only did the “Need To” singer call Crockett a “cosplay cowboy” on X, he’d also call him “dipsh*t of the week” on his Instagram story. Adcock would also attempt to “expose” the “Jamestown Ferry” singer by sharing a video of Crockett busking on New York subways, something he has touched on multiple times before, notably on The Joe Rogan Experience.

With the beef growing seemingly by the hour, none other than Benjamin Tod decided to give his two cents on the whole situation.

In case you’re unfamiliar with Tod, he’s undoubtedly one of the most underrated artists in today’s flourishing independent country scene. Releasing music independently as well as with the Lost Dog Street Band, Tod has a long history of penning some of the most authentic songs in the genre today, writing about everything from his battle with addiction to his days of train-hopping and busking across the country. In other words, Tod is the real deal when it comes to authenticity in the genre.

Last week, the “Using Again” singer took to Instagram to publish a two-part video on the growing drama surrounding Adcock and Crockett. In the videos, Tod voiced his concerns about artists like Adcock exploiting drama for more attention, calling it “not good for our industry.”

“I just want to talk about the precedent being set in our industry of people’s bad behavior and getting rewarded. It seems like nowadays, particular entities in the industry have realized that if they get online and trash people and tradition and anything they possibly can, they will be rewarded with free publicity. 
The issue I see with that is artist development and the younger field and people taking that up a as an easy way to get attention. It’s not good for our industry overall.” 

And he’s right… it’s certainly an easy way to make headlines in the digital media age.

He’d then go on to note how he believes there needs to be a certain reverence for artists like Charley who have carried traditional country for decades upon decades, citing his time going to Roberts on lower Broadway and his time busking across the country:

“I believe there should be special reverence for the people that carry on the traditional side of country music, like Charley is a veteran in this industry. I don’t feel it appropriate to lambast and name-call someone who has dedicated themselves the way that Charley has. It’s beyond the pale of disrespect. 
It’s not knowing what room you’re in.”

The Tennessee native would give Adcock his flowers, praising him for his continued ability to speak his mind no matter the consequences. For Tod, however, the “Deep End” singer crossed the line going after someone as steeped in the traditional spirit as Crockett:

“Arguing ideas is one thing. I have no issue whatsoever with that… Just lambasting and attacking someone as revered as Charley over a difference of opinion is outrageous. Outrageous. This argument and lashing out is the line, period. Charley is 15 years older than you. He’s been dedicated to the troubadour tradition for two decades. It’s beyond the pale [of disrespect], especially for just giving an opinion about something that you rightfully gave an opinion about. I don’t agree with it.”

Tod would then go on to note how he sees Adcock’s argument of country being commodified and commercialized since Garth Brooks’ rise to fame in the 1990s. He’d then turn his argument back on Adcock, saying that he hasn’t released a song that would have made the country charts before 1995. Tod would end his video by saying:

“Regardless, we’ve got to stop glorifying aggression and conflict. There are people who have earned authority in this community, and we must hold reverence for them. So, that’s my position. Take it or leave it. Cheers.”

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A post shared by Benjamin Tod (@benjamintodmusic)

Though he’d said his peace on the Crockett-Adcock controversy, Tod wasn’t done taking aim at the state of country music. After taking to Instagram over the weekend and posting a reel with the caption, “PISS ON BRO COUNTRY,” he came out firing today with another post using the same title.

In the caption of the video, Tod took aim at “spoiled little boys playing pop music with southern drawls,” clearly a shot at Morgan Wallen, before name-dropping the “Last Night” singer later in the caption:

“It’s been a few years of peace between the roots movement and the commercialized side of the industry. I myself can say this has been a moment of reflection for my purpose here. I will not yield the culture of country music to people who don’t listen to it and don’t know it’s history. I will not convene with these spoiled little boys playing pop music with southern drawls. There is a lot more at stake here than anything money can buy you. It’s time to separate the wheat from the chaff. Waylon wouldn’t piss on you or your girlfriend, Morgan, if you were on fire. He’d probably piss on bro country, though.”

In response to a comment simply reading, “Morgan Wallen,” Tod didn’t mince his words, replying back:

“…is an embarrassment. “

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A post shared by Benjamin Tod (@benjamintodmusic)

I don’t think it’s too hard to understand the frustration regarding Wallen from traditional veterans in the genre. From his continued domination of the charts to his incessant need to push the boundaries between country, pop and trap, he’s become the poster child for everything wrong with modern country to many.

With that being said, however, it’s a bit surreal to see someone like Tod simply go scorched earth on him and all the other pop country acts out there today, especially over a beef between Gavin Adcock and Charley Crockett, two acts who aren’t even really involved in the mainstream pop country world for the most part. Sure, Gavin is on a Nashville label, but his “bad boy” persona and country rock style is more akin to Koe Wetzel than it is to some of the pretty boys singing over trap beats coming out of Music Row.

Tod is certainly correct in the fact that there’s been a certain level of “peace” between the mainstream and the indie artists in recent years and that’s probably because so many of the more traditional and/or alt. country artists have exploded in recent years. Tyler Childers, Cody Jinks, Whiskey Myers, Red Clay Strays, Turnpike Troubadours, Zach Bryan, even Charley Crockett, to name a few… all completely different in their sound, but for the most part, get zero radio play, zero awards consideration, zero support from the corporate music machine in Nashville. And now, they’re playing BIG venues and  pumping out Platinum records. It’s actually been really cool to see.

So all that being said… is this the start of another wave of animosity between the factions? Is there another uprising on the way? Or is this all just a one-off rant that was sparked by another one-off beef?

I guess we’ll see…

Oh yeah, and listen to Benjamin Tod while you’re here… he’s LEGIT:

The post Benjamin Tod Goes Scorched Earth On Pop Country, Takes Aim At Morgan Wallen – “I Will Not Convene With These Spoiled Little Boys Playing Pop Music With Southern Drawls” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.