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Brad Paisley’s ‘Accidental Racist’-Spawning, ‘SNL’-Mocked Album Will Chart

LL Cool J, Brad Paisley, "Accidental Racist," 'Wheelhouse,' 'Saturday Night Live'

Brad Paisley and LL Cool J’s “Accidental Racist” might not have sparked quite the conversation its creators intended, but the widely mocked country-rap song continues to draw attention.

The album that contains that clunky miscue, Wheelhouse, has “16 other rather good songs,” according to SPIN’s reviewer Jason Gubbels. And whether despite or because of the controversy, Paisley’s latest is poised to become the country singer’s eighth Top 10 album on the Billboard 200 chart. The album will probably move about 95,000 copies in its first week, sources told the industry magazine. Paramore will likely top the chart with their self-titled album, but Paisley shouldn’t be far behind.

Strong sales haven’t insulated Paisley and LL from continued criticism, though.& Saturday Night Live‘s “Weekend Update” skewered the pair on this past weekend’s Miguel-adorned episode. To be fair, Paisley and LL never came close to making the skit’s central statement — that they supposedly believe they’ve ended racism — but the show did a good job of sending up LL’s painfully misguided lyrical juxtapositions (“If you think that NCIS is good / Then I’ll forget the Aryan Brotherhood”). Still, the skit shows a lack of awareness of Paisley’s multifaceted career, and its reliance on straw men and easy stereotypes demonstrates what a fool’s errand Paisley and LL set for themselves in the first place.