Let’s talk about it!
We all love sparking conversation – whether in person or via social media – but one conversation that seems to elude even the most silver of silver tongues nowadays is the one that deals with race, or the racial tension that can sometimes be as prominent in the air as the pollution caused by those gasoline-powered vehicles we drive.
Yesterday was one of the most beautiful days of spring thus far, but if you found yourself indoors for a bit, and felt the need to watch some news, you would’ve seen – aside from Justin Bieber‘s new Rihanna/Miley Cyrus/Skrillex type of haircut being a trending topic – that country singer Brad Paisley‘s new song “Accidental Racist” featuring LL Cool J was “accidently” causing some unwarranted controversy.
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Paisley sings:
“I’m just a white man comin’ to you from the southland/ 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.”
LL Cool J raps:
“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/ You should try to get to know me, I really wish you would/ Now my chains are gold but I’m still misunderstood/ I wasn’t there when Sherman’s March turned the south into firewood/ I want you to get paid but be a slave I never could/ Feel like a new fangled Django, dodgin’ invisible white hoods/ So when I see that white cowboy hat, I’m thinkin’ it’s not all good/ I guess we’re both guilty of judgin’ the cover not the book.”
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Just from seeing some of the lyrical content, it’s obvious that the reaction Brad Paisley intended with his song was meant to be positive, but you know what they say! No good deed goes unpunished. And the country star has been scorched with a firestorm of punishment.
The song was even deemed “The Worst Song Ever” by the Gawker Media blog Jezebel.
But I think the reason it’s being called “The Worst Song Ever” has to do with the discomfort the word “race” raises among us and our very diverse diaspora of peers in today’s society.
Because in a world where interracial couples are becoming more and more the norm and seemingly everyone interacts with each other, you wonder sometimes if such a cringe-worthy subject is a subject matter worth discussing.
Yes! It’s not something that’s disappeared. Simply something that’s not seen as much.
And music has always been privy to that fact: From songs like “Ebony And Ivory” by Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder, to War‘s “Why Can’t We Be Friends” to Michael Jackson‘s “Black Or White” – Just to name a few.
That being said, we at GlobalGrind decided to compile a list of those songs and a few others that address the topic of race.
Check out “Accidental Racist” and these songs below!
Brad Paisley Feat. LL Cool J “Accidental Racist”
Lyrics: I’m a white man livin’ in the southland/ Just like you I’m more than what you see/ 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/ And we’re still paying for mistakes/ That a bunch of folks made long before we came.
Paul McCartney & Stevie Wonder “Ebony And Ivory”
Lyrics: We all know that people are the same wherever we go/ There is good and bad in everyone/ We learn to live/ We learn to give each other what we need to survive together alive.
War “Why Can’t We Be Friends”
Lyrics: The color of your skin don’t matter to me/ As long as we can live in harmony/ Why can’t we be friends/ Why can’t we be friends, Why can’t we be friends, Why can’t we be friends.
Michael Jackson “Black Or White”
Lyrics: If you’re thinking about my baby, it don’t matter if you’re black or white/ I said if you’re thinking of being my baby it don’t matter if you’re black or white/ I said if you’re thinking of being my brother it don’t matter if you’re black or white.
Tupac “Changes”
Lyrics: I see no changes/ All I see is racist faces/ Misplaced hate makes disgrace to races we under/ I wonder what it takes to make this one better place/ Let’s erase the wasted/ Take the evil out the people, they’ll be acting right.
Kool Moe Dee “Pump Your Fist”
Lyrics: Can you feel it, tension in the air/ Racism, violence everywhere/ Davis Howard, beach bumpers and Brawley/ It appalls me/ Now is there really racial justice?
Creed “One”
Lyrics: Society blind by color/ Why hold down one to raise another/ Discrimination now on both sides/ Seeds of hate blossom further/ The world is heading for mutiny/ When all we want is unity.
Hootie And The Blowfish “Drowning”
Lyrics: Time to make the world a better place/ Why must we hate one another/ Well no matter what we gotta live together/ Just that you don’t look like me, tell me what do you see/ When we pass on the street what do you wanna see.
Billie Holiday “Strangest Fruit”
Lyrics: Southern trees bear a strange fruit/ Blood on the leaves and blood at the root/ Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze/ Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.
Lenny Kravitz “Mr. Cab Driver”
Lyrics: Mr. Cab Driver won’t you stop to let me in/ Mr. Cab Driver don’t you like my kind of skin/ Mr. Cab Driver you’re never gonna win.
Kool G Rap, DJ Polo, Big Daddy Kane & Biz Markie “Erase Racism”
Lyrics: Let’s make our Earth Day a story of people that walk through the same territories/ Color or creed, is no need for a man to bleed/ I believe we all breathe the same seed/ Unless it’s diluted, for somethin to intrude it. (Kool G Rap)
