Editors Blog
Kid Rock and Lil Wayne / Photo by Rick Diamond/WireImage.com
Despite Lil Wayne and Kid Rock, Is Country Music Still Racist?
Don't let the green grass fool you, says SPIN's Charles Aaron: The CMAs lack cultural change we can believe in.
By Charles Aaron 11.14.08 4:11 PM
Kid Rock and Lil Wayne / Photo by Rick Diamond/WireImage.com
6. I hate to ask so bluntly, at this glorious stage in our nation's journey toward racial equality, but is country music still just flat-out racist? I'd be more artful about it if I didn't still remember MCA Nashville exec Tony Brown's bizarrely damning admission in The New York Times in 1996? "Country basically is white music," Brown said. "Why would black people want to sing those straight notes...? To me black music is about feeling and white music is about no feeling." Then he complained about his own fruitless efforts to find a worthy African-American country singer: "It'd either be some black kid trying to sing like Charley Pride, only a really bad version of that. Or it'd be somebody who really sings like James Ingram, who decided he couldn't make it in pop music so he could make it in country." How fucked-up is it that one of the most prominent producers and tastemakers in a genre claims, on the record, that the vocal tradition in that genre is about "no feeling"? And has much of anything changed?
7. Could Warner Bros. please re-release the awesomely eye-opening 1998 compilation, From Where I Stand: The Black Experience in Country Music, so people don't have to buy it from random vendors online for $110 to $229? If nobody on a major label can sign and develop any new African-American country artists, the least they can do is recognize the few who existed in the past.
8. Does the Johnny Cash Remixed travesty, with Snoop Dogg butchering "I Walk the Line," increase or decrease the likelihood that we'll elect a black country star by 2012? I think you know the answer.
9. Percentage-wise in 2008, who used Auto-tune more -- Billboard Top 100 country or hip-hop artists? In the midst of the T-Pain Epoch, I would've initially said the latter, but after watching this year's CMAs, I'm not so sure.
10. When I interviewed Fred Durst in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1998, he passionately told me that his dearest dream was to record a rap song over the "breakbeat" from "Sweet Home Alabama," bringing together at last the two worlds -- white and black -- in which he said he grew up as southern boy. Later, transcribing the tape, I physically recoiled at the prospect. But is there any justification for thinking that Fred's version (and pray God it doesn't exist) might not be as bad as "All Summer Long"? You know, at least he wouldn't have included that whole "Werewolves of London" train wreck...
Um, forget I asked.
its quite clear Charles (author) is onto something...what did he say in this article that doesnt make sense.....Im still waiting....I think he's stating the obvious so why is everybody crying. I thought this article would be stupid based on the title, but as i read on, it all makes logical sense. Maybe thats because I was born in 1982 and I like many grew up in the hip-hop era. If anyone deny's this articles contents, they are in denial themselves. As far as urban-progressive ideals and rural-traditionalist ideals, if your looking for that in a spin article, take a sociology class, give me a break. Aaron is right on, so he calls the truth, what usually happens now-a-days when someone calls the truth, they get flack...so nevermind the traditionalist bloggers that listen to Kid Rock (a joke)...And Lil wayne, said he's a great like "MLK Jr." so I can see why Kid and Lil would hook up, they both need help(mentally, musically, figuratively)!!!!......PS.....were not 12 anymore so why the ps....if thats the case Aaron must be my bff, omg, how toolish.....
Hey Dan, I too was born in 1982. So, If I wanted to claim some relation to the Hip Hop era (nevermind countless other cultural movements/expressions between then and now)...I probably could. The problem of course would be that I would be behaving in a "toolish" manner. If the "logical sense" of this article appeals to your ideals, then your ideals are based on divisive ignorant stereotypes. Enough of this Red state vs. Blue state nonsense (What is a "traditionalist blogger"?). Time for some diversity of thought and perspective. Stop demonizing people who don't agree with your point of view. We all have a lot more in common than that.
Ok mateodominico , let's not cross our words here, you claim..."Stop demonizing people who don't agree with your point of view. We all have a lot more in common than that.", so where did your "unfathomably bigoted and ignorant" comment come from. wether blue or red, how you started talking of politics i don't know, but if your looking for insight into the genres of country and hip hip, don't assume you'll get it on the internet period. Actually research what Aaron said and find what he said you think is false. I haven't found this to be the case (although I didn't write it) I can only assume that you associate yourself with, "countless other cultural movements/expressions" or you would have no influences. And you are right, the way you speak would assume you can't claim to be part of the hip-hop era. As for me, there has been many areas of hip hop that have touched my life... The basis of this article was to explain how something is lacking in the music community. Some musicians will never cross boundries, some will, that's the basis. This article was funny, it made me laugh, all the talk of rappers/country musicians using technology to act like they have a voice(when they're really tone-def)...as an artist, what don't you agree with that(unless you use vocal masking too)? You must know a lot of african-american country singers, or maybe not....and really don't bring politics into this...if i assumed everything was related to politics, life would equate a quagmire....quagggmire...giggity-giggity
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