This week, LL Cool J and country star country singer Brad Paisley released the song “Accidental Racist,” a collaboration that was meant to start a conversation on race between a baggy jeans-wearing Black hip hop lover and Southern country musician. Nice idea, right? And it was really all good until Uncle L said: “If you don’t judge my do-rag / I won’t judge your red flag… If you don’t judge my gold chains, I’ll forget the iron chains.”
Paisley adds: “We’re still siftin’ through the rubble after a 150 years/ I try to put myself in your shoes and that’s a good place to begin.”
While both artists claim to have written the song to start a dialogue on race, some are accusing them of being out of touch with the subject of slavery and racism. In an appearance on The Tonight Show, LL said the song is “not perfect, but it is honest, and it comes from a good place.”
“I would never, ever, ever suggest to anyone that we should just forget slavery and act like that didn’t happen, I understand the systemic racism that exists, I get that,” added LL.
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