Jack White Counters Charley Crockett with a 1980s John Wayne‑Themed Novelty Rap

An Instagram post quoting ‘The Duke’ follows comments from Crockett in which he said he lost respect for White after the Twin Temple incident.

A day after Charley Crockett criticized Jack White over his decision to drop Twin Temple from his tour—more than a month prior—White responded with a humorous throwback: a 1984 novelty rap.

In July, Twin Temple told the press that Crockett had dismissed them because of their Satanic imagery, a move he should have anticipated given their act is billed as ‘Satanic Doo Wop’ and includes releases like God Is Dead and Twin Temple Summon the Sacred Whore … Babalon. The situation seemed absurd, prompting White to invite the duo to join his tour—a gesture Crockett interpreted as a political stunt, which struck him as odd since he didn’t associate the White Stripes with political commentary (despite their occasional engagement). Enter John Wayne.

In his Instagram reply to Crockett, which featured screenshots of Rolling Stone’s coverage of the singer’s remarks, Jack wrote (in character): ‘I never said anything about this young buck before, but since he’s trying to drag me into this rodeo again, here’s my official response to Cowboy Charley’s accusations.’ He then copied every line of Shawn Brown’s ‘Rappin’ Duke,’ a comedic diss track that mimics Wayne’s deadpan delivery. At one point he raps, ‘What I do on your grave won’t pass for flowers either,’ before taking aim at Run‑DMC and Kurtis Blow.

White’s choice of this track likely stems from a lesser‑known verse that lampoons former actor‑turned‑president Ronald Reagan’s entry into politics, implying Crockett is naïve to think entertainers would stay out of the political arena. The lyrics go: ‘Well, the first thing you know, Ron’s the President / The kinfolk said, “Ron, move away from there,” / Said, “In the White House is where you wanna be” / So he loaded up the Lincoln and headed to D.C. / Washington, that is.’ This mirrors the theme of the Beverly Hillbillies opening.

Crockett had accused White of leveraging the press cycle to boost ticket sales. ‘I lost a lot of respect for him,’ he said on Tuesday. ‘I wonder why he wasn’t so outspoken back when he was with the White Stripes two decades ago. They deliberately avoided political topics. Perhaps he feared losing fans when everything was on the line and he needed every bit of support.’ Now White is showing Crockett who truly has grit.

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