'Accidental Racist' Song Infuriates The Internet
This is why country-rap crossovers are never a good idea. American country crooner Brad Paisley has released a new song with a guest verse by LL Cool J titled "Accidental Racist."
The controversial song is basically about being a white dude from West Virginia who is confused on why he can't wear the symbol of the oppressive slave economy that his home state's founders helped destroy. And the lyrics are just as shocking:
The controversial song is basically about being a white dude from West Virginia who is confused on why he can't wear the symbol of the oppressive slave economy that his home state's founders helped destroy. And the lyrics are just as shocking:
I'm just a white man comin' to you from the south land tryin' to understand what it's like not to be.
I'm proud of where I'm from but not everything we've done. It ain't like you and me can rewrite history.
Our generation didn't start this nation. We're still pickin' up the pieces, walkin' on eggshells, fightin' over yesterday.
Caught between southern pride and southern blame.
Not surprisingly, the song was soon declared the worst thing they've ever heard. But according to Brad, the song was interpreted wrong. Here's what he explained to Entertainment Weekly:I'm proud of where I'm from but not everything we've done. It ain't like you and me can rewrite history.
Our generation didn't start this nation. We're still pickin' up the pieces, walkin' on eggshells, fightin' over yesterday.
Caught between southern pride and southern blame.
I just think art has a responsibility to lead the way, and I don’t know the answers, but I feel like asking the question is the first step, and we’re asking the question in a big way. How do I show my Southern pride? What is offensive to you? And he kind of replies, and his summation is really that whole let’s bygones be bygones and ‘If you don’t judge my do rag, I won’t judge your red flag.’ We don’t solve anything, but it’s two guys that believe in who they are and where they’re from very honestly having a conversation and trying to reconcile.
“I’m with my audience 100 percent in the Southern pride thing, in the same way that a Yankees fan is very proud of where he’s from — that’s LL. We’ve got pictures of him in a New York Yankees cap doing his vocal, which is so appropriate.
“But, you know, it’s such a complicated issue — I’m reading up on it now, [since] I felt I needed to be well-armed for any discussion – and here he is in a Yankees cap, and you think to yourself, ‘Well here is the antithesis of what was the problem.’ But it’s not. New York City was all for slavery. They actually voted 60 percent against — or maybe 70 against — Abraham Lincoln because they didn’t like the idea of slavery going away because there goes cotton and there goes tobacco trade, you know what I mean? It’s very hypocritical to feel like it’s just the South’s fault.
“But, at the same time, symbols mean things, and I know one thing: It just doesn’t do any good to blatantly do things and be like, ‘Just get over it.’ That’s not what we’re saying. This is a very sensitive subject, and we’re trying to have the discussion in a way that it can help.”
No word yet on how LL feels about the controversy. All we can say is that he probably wishes he collaborated with Taylor Swift instead.“I’m with my audience 100 percent in the Southern pride thing, in the same way that a Yankees fan is very proud of where he’s from — that’s LL. We’ve got pictures of him in a New York Yankees cap doing his vocal, which is so appropriate.
“But, you know, it’s such a complicated issue — I’m reading up on it now, [since] I felt I needed to be well-armed for any discussion – and here he is in a Yankees cap, and you think to yourself, ‘Well here is the antithesis of what was the problem.’ But it’s not. New York City was all for slavery. They actually voted 60 percent against — or maybe 70 against — Abraham Lincoln because they didn’t like the idea of slavery going away because there goes cotton and there goes tobacco trade, you know what I mean? It’s very hypocritical to feel like it’s just the South’s fault.
“But, at the same time, symbols mean things, and I know one thing: It just doesn’t do any good to blatantly do things and be like, ‘Just get over it.’ That’s not what we’re saying. This is a very sensitive subject, and we’re trying to have the discussion in a way that it can help.”
