Loco Motive (Warner, 2005)

Cowboy Troy just might be the most ambitious man in music. He is determined to see the two forms of music he loves - rap and country - put aside their differences and become one, even though there is a great deal of resistance to this union on both sides of the aisle.

Whether that motive is loco or not, Troy's not backing down at all on his first major label CD. It is a rap album; all the self-aggrandizement of that genre is here in "Beast on the Mic" and "I Play Chicken With The Train" albeit with more of a sense of humor than most hip-hoppers.

But it is definitely a country album too. Listen to the fiddles and Dobros; listen to Tim McGraw singing back-up on "Somebody's Smilin' On Me." If that doesn't convince you, just listen to Larry the Cable Guy introduce one of the songs with a Barbra Streisand joke. (Larry doesn't get 'er done on rap records.)

Not surprisingly, the easiest tracks to embrace are the ones that cover situations rappers and rednecks both face like not having enough money ("Ain't Broke Yet") or looking for love ("If You Don't Wanna Love Me.") But that's how Cowboy Troy tricks you into putting aside your prejudice and joining him in a world where young and old, blacks and whites, urbanites and rural folks, all get together and "Wrap Around the World." And what's wrong with that?