Brad Paisley, Accidental Racist | Controversial Tunes 😈🎶

On the 14^th edition of Controversial Tunes, we explore the controversy behind the song, “Accidental Racist” by country musician Brad Paisley. 

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ring on the controversy, won’t you? Controversial Tunes 😈🎶 is a column that provides background information and insight into songs that raised eyebrows and totally stirred the pot.  The records that grace Controversial Tunes are old and new alike, with all genres of music welcome.  On the 14^th edition of Controversial Tunes, we explore the controversy behind the song, 🎵 “Accidental Racist” by 🎙 Brad Paisley.  Bringing this one back from the Brent Music Reviews archives, folks (my first, now extinct music blog).

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Theme & Lyrics ✍

So, sometimes, you have the best intentions in mind, but you still mess things up.  That’s what happened to country musician 🎙 Brad Paisley.  Mr. Paisley has been massively successful over the years for good reason.  His songs can be humorous, and his guitar skills are awesome. Unfortunately, he stumbled on “Accidental Racist” from his 2013 album, Wheelhouse.  Also, worth noting, Brad brought a friend along for this controversial shortcoming, iconic rapper LL Cool J.

Paisley had his heart in the right place, seeking to atone for racism.  Racism, regardless of whether people want to admit it or not, is a huge problem in America.  It was in 2013 when I first wrote about this song, and it is to this day. The execution is where “Accidental Racist” misses. Paisley plays up those divisive stereotypes to prove his point, which ends up being, well, problematic:  

“I’m just a white man
Coming to you from a 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
And it ain’t like you and me can re-write history
Our generation didn’t start this nation
We’re still pickin’ up the pieces, walkin’ on eggshells, fightin’ over yesterday
And caught between southern pride and southern blame.”  

Ugh… it’s cringe just reading those lyrics, right? He’s quick to point out race, minding what you say and how you act, and the infamy of the south. Yes, there’s truth there, but still, it doesn’t resonate as it was intended.  Any way you look at it though, LL Cool J is an odd match for Paisley.  Furthermore, he makes things more awkward, posing as a ‘Black Yankee’: 

“Dear Mr. White Man, I wish you understood
What the world is really like when you’re livin’ in the hood
Just because my pants are saggin’ doesn’t mean I’m up to no good...
Now my chains are gold but I’m still misunderstood
I wasn’t there when Sherman’s March turned the south into firewood…”

Pardon my French but Holy Shit – add an f-bomb between “holy” and “shit” for more emphasis! It’s a ‘yikes’ moment. Making things go further down ‘the shitter’ is Paisley continuing to sing after LL’s verse, chanting random things in relation to racial differences: “If you don’t judge my doo rag, I won’t judge your red flag…” #Facepalm 🤦🤦🤦

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Final Thoughts 💭 

The controversy of “Accidental Racist” speaks for itself.  A white man with good intentions (we assume) tackles racism tastelessly.  Then, he makes it worse by tapping an unlikely collaborator, a black rapper, embracing his northern roots, to provide the ‘woke’ perspective that bridges the gap. God, this is a train wreck the more and more I analyze it. 

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🎙 Brad Paisley • 💿 Wheelhouse • 🏷 Sony Music Entertainment • 🗓 2013

Brad Paisley, “Accidental Racist”: Controversial Tunes 😈🎶 No. 14 [📷: Aidan Feddersen on Unsplash, Brent Faulkner, The Musical Hype, Sony Music Entertainment]

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