STRAIGHT OUTTA NASHVILLE

It was Hegel who first identified the process by which things change: Thesis, Antithesis, Synthesis. It’s a simple matter of one idea bumping into an opposing idea and melding into a combination, or Synthesis, of the two.

So it is with Country newcomers Southern Rap Commission and Nashville traditionalist Tracy Byrd (RCA). The two are butting heads like nobody’s business, and, well, we can’t wait to see the result.

Some time ago, Byrd, with partner Mark Chesnutt, attempted to put the kaibosh on the burgeoning country-rap genre by expressing their disapproval of "boy bands" and saying things like, "There oughta be a law against cowboy rap" (from Bryd/Chesnutt single, "That’s a Good Way to Get on My Bad Side"). The Southern Rap Comission has recorded a debut album, Banned From Nashville in the so-called "cowboy rap" vein, thus earning Bryd and Chesnutt’s ire.

"The best way to handle this is to let the people decide," said SRC’s MC Wild Turkey. "The Southern Rap Commission challenges Tracy Byrd and Mark Chesnutt to a showdown at high noon. They tell us when and where, and we'll be there. The future of country music is the prize. I'll predict now that Tracy Byrd will be changing the name of his album from 'Ten Rounds' to 'First Round KO'd'."

In addition to facing criticism from Nashville’s proud traditionalists on principle alone, many Country stalwarts have also taken exception to the SRC fraternizing with MTV's Carson Daly, who does a guest rap on "Banned from Nashville."

SRC is having none of that, however. "Carson is a friend of ours, and those who have anything negative to say about him should stay out of dark alley ways and lighted rodeos alike because we'll be waiting for them," said MC Wild Turkey’s partner Gangsta Tea.

For his part, Byrd says, "What me and Chesnutt say is a ‘good way to get on our bad side’ is by being fake or an impostor in country music, and the cowboy rap we’ve herard so far doesn’t sound too sincere. I withhold any type of judgment of their music until we hear it for ourselves. If I like it, "I’m man enough to step up to the plate and tip my cowboy hat to these guys."

"Our music fills a big gap in the music industry," Gangsta Tea counters. "Pull over any kid in a pickup truck down South and he/she will have either a Snoop Dogg or Dr. Dre CD and a Tim McGraw CD. If I'm wrong, I'll eat my Stetson."

Stay tuned for more as this story develops.