Jelly Roll is speaking out after Travis Tritt recently took a dig at music artists who “mix country [music] with rap.”
Tritt recently logged onto his personal Twitter account to share his opinion on the state of country music. The legendary country artist, who first rose to prominence in the early ‘90s is no stranger to airing his frustrations on social media regarding the subject. And, this time, he took aim at progressive singer/songwriters who merge together country and rap.
“Always remember that when you mix country with rap, you get crap!” Tritt – who leans heavily on the traditional side of country – tweeted out to his more than 300K Twitter followers.
Always remember that when you mix country with rap, you get crap!
— Travis Tritt (@Travistritt) November 22, 2022
Disappointed with the tweet, Jelly Roll shared a response.
“This is not a good look for you, Travis. You’re a legend. Don’t tweet on Ambien anymore please, sir,” he wrote. “Friendly reminder that [‘The Devil Went Down to Georgia’] was not practically a rap song. So was ‘A Boy Named Sue’ by Johnny Cash. I could name so many more. Love you, Travis, but this is WRONG.”
This is not a good look for you Travis. Your a legend , don’t tweet on ambien any more please sir. Friendly reminder that Devil went to Georgia was not practically a rap song. So was Boy Named Sue by Johnny Cash. I could name so many more. Love you Travis but this is WRONG. https://t.co/chZfY26cUF
— Jelly Roll (@JellyRoll615) November 22, 2022
Jelly Roll then followed up his tweet by sharing his appreciation for Tritt’s music – a move showcasing a high level of maturity and respect from the “Son of a Sinner” singer even though he felt hurt over Tritt’s comment.
“This song still bangs,” he tweeted, alongside a photo of Tritt and the title of his 1990 smash, “I’m Gonna Be Somebody.”
This song still bangs pic.twitter.com/QpMO7JtyQY
— Jelly Roll (@JellyRoll615) November 24, 2022
In a new interview with Music Mayhem, Jelly Roll opened up even more about Tritt’s remark and his response – both of which received countless comments with people taking sides on the topic. Jelly Roll said that while Tritt didn’t mention his name in his tweet, the message felt like a “personal attack” on him.
“I wanna be clear about this, too. I just took it personally because me and Brantley [Gilbert] had just dropped ‘Son Of The Dirty South‘ and Upchurch just dropped [a hip-hop remix of Reba McEntire’s] ‘The Lights Went Out In Georgia’ and it just felt personal,” Jelly Roll expressed. “It was like, ah, I just feel like, and I could be wrong, but I just feel like somebody was… you know, it just felt like a personal attack on me. And that might be the if the shoe fits where kind of thing, but I mean the shoe definitely fits. So I put it on.”
Jelly Roll went on to say that even though he called out Tritt’s Twitter diss. Neither artist has taken their conversation offline despite Jelly Roll’s attempt to reach out to Tritt.
“Unfortunately, we haven’t had a conversation, but I have reached out to his team and had my team reach out and say, ‘I’d like to create some dialogue,’” Jelly Roll said. “I’m a huge Travis Tritt fan. I could sing so many Travis Tritt songs. He’s an absolute legend, and if that is his subjective opinion about it, I totally understand. But you know, I just felt like it lacked taste, and especially to deny the influence that hip hop has had on country music over the years is just disrespectful.”
Jelly Roll added that despite their opposing sounds and opinions, he desires to work with Tritt through their differences in hopes that they can become supportive of each other’s music in the future – and, maybe even, someday work together.
“That would be the dream scenario. That’s what I want. I’d love to just sit down with him and go, ‘Hey man, you know…’,” Jelly Roll explained. “And I guess it’s also – I gotta quit being so defensive about stuff, but I’ve dealt with so many people that [have said], you know, he’s not country enough, so the last thing I need is an OG veteran of the ’90s [saying that]. You know what I mean? Yeah. I mean having that kinda spirit. [I’m fighting the same battle] that Merle [Haggard] fought and all these guys that were told they weren’t country.”
Additionally, Jelly Roll recently reflected on his historic Bridgestone Arena concert in Nashville, where he donated all the proceeds to Impact Youth Outreach.
