"Accidental Racist" by Brad Paisley & LL Cool J
I'd like to begin by espousing the fact that I believe that I am a realist at heart. I like to see the facts of any situation and attempt to be hopeful. Therefore, as a person who is musically eclectic, I am fine with the idea of bringing together rap and country. While they come from very different places and cultures, they have similar topics such as women, cars, money and hanging out with your people. It's something that can be done properly if done by the right people; my favorite example of this would be the Nelly and Tim McGraw crossover hit "Over and Over" - it wasn't all that bad.
However, "Accidental Racist" by Brad Paisley and LL Cool J off of his Wheelhouse album, inspired me to create a brand-new type of article in which I point out the worst in Hip-Hop, which I like to call Rap Regrets. It really is that bad.
Sonically, it isn't that bad: it incorporates a lot of country elements such as guitar, a slight banjo and even some violin as well as hip-hop snares with a twinge of an 808 drum pattern and respectable bridge work. To be honest, Brad Paisley sings at his best on this track and it is so beautifully melodic. LL Cool J, who serves as the essential rap guest for this track is the worst musical aspect of the song as he tries to rap in an off kilter, hyper-cadenced, manner that doesn't suit his naturally soothing voice in any way.What kills me are the words. The messaging. It's cringe inducing.
If the title "Accidental Racist" doesn't clue you in on the messaging, allow me to elaborate: Paisley is trying to explain that he isn't trying to be racist as he brands the confederate flag as iconography in "the New South". He goes on to explain that he's just a white man from the south land and that his generation isn't racist and has to pay for the racism of their forefathers.Can you hear my anger seething and my jaw dropping?This song is a bucket of ignorance if I've ever heard it. Their attempt to bring awareness of racism and southern iconography is laughable. It's asinine to believe that this could be a good idea in any reality. The messaging is the ultimate slap in the face to anyone who truly believes that racism is a problem in today's society. The best way to explain this song is to put this beside a song such as "Freaky Friday" in which the song is musically great, but when you analyze it, you realize that this is a Pro-Chris Brown song in a #MeToo society. It doesn't fit in today's world.
This type of thing cannot be summarized in a six-minute song.
But to get back to the Hip-Hop aspect of this song, LL Cool J proves why he is neither the best technical rapper nor the best socially conscious rapper. The song stinks of Common hearing about it and passing on it, when we know that he would hop on any socially conscious song in the past six years. His flow is cringe worthy and his word play makes little to no sense. Not to long after the release of the song, the MC went onto Ellen to explain his stance and beliefs on the song that he jokingly said "solved racism."
"... The song isn't perfect, but what the song, what we were talking about is love and not judging people by symbols, or skin color, or where they're from or their background but actually just judging people based on who they are as individuals. So, Some people didn't connect the dots. But it's, I think, ultimately for the best because it raises awareness about a subject that needs to be talked about."
Mr. Cool J, I applaud your stance on social consciousness, but can you please do it better? Make it clearer and more precise. Tupac Shakur never needed intricate word play to point out the inequalities between blacks and whites in our society, neither does Common. So why are you trying to add symbolism and wild attempts at multi-syllabic rhymes for simple things?
I give the song a 3 out of 10, a sub-par showing for both and a really bad example of bringing Hip-Hop and Country music together (Go look for "Superman" by Willie Nelson and Snoop Dogg, any Nelly song, Florida Georgia Line's "Cruise (Remix)" featuring Nelly to find much better). As for the social commentary, any major Common song from the past three years (ex: Black America Again project, "Glory" feat. John Legend or "Letter to the Free"). Any of those songs are better than this. A lot of things are better than this.