LL Cool J Explains Why He Regrets His Song ‘Accidental Racism’: ‘I Completely Blew That One’

LL Cool J Explains Why He Regrets His Song ‘Accidental Racism’: ‘I Completely Blew That One’

Hip-hop vet LL Cool J is getting candid about a song he’s not particularly proud of.

The rapper expressed regrets about co-writing the song “Accidental Racism” during a recent interview, explaining that his intention turned out much different than the reception.

LL Cool J

In case you’re unfamiliar, LL Cool J joined country artist Brad Paisley for the 2013 collaboration, which was featured on the latter’s 10th studio album Wheelhouse. Reflecting on the fallout and controversy the song caused, LL Cool J named the record his “most misunderstood” song, stating:

“I completely blew that one. Like, in terms of my intention versus how it came off to people. Oh my God. Like, I missed the mark crazy.”

LL Cool J

Continuing, the New York native noted that the situation never sat right with him because he would never want to come across as if he’s undermining the horror of slavery and racism. He added:

“It always bothered me because my intention was absolutely not how it came off. I feel like it was like having a hot date with a vegan and setting everything up wonderful and the first thing the chef brings out is a big, juicy steak. But you think it’s vegan still, you know what I mean? I completely screwed that one up and didn’t mean to. It was the worst kind of miss because it’s one thing to fail; it’s another thing to fail when you’re looking to do the right thing and you’re looking to say the right thing.”

LL Cool J

Shortly after the song debuted, both LL Cool J and Brad Paisley faced backlash with many arguing that lyrics were insensitive to the travesty Black Americans faced in the country. Specifically, Brad Paisley was called out for appearing to absolve White Americans from the responsibility of slavery. Additionally, the singer was accused of promoting “Southern Pride” and the Confederate flag, crooning lines such as:

“Paying for the mistakes that a lot of folks made long before we came.”

And:

“We’re all left holding the bag here, left with the burden of these generations. And I think the younger generations are really kind of looking for ways out of this.”

On the other hand, LL was blasted for appearing to discredit the lingering impacts of pre-civil rights days, rapping lines such as:

“RIP Robert E. Lee, But I gotta thank Abraham Lincoln for freeing me.”

Brad Paisley, LL Cool J

It seems LL is fully aware of the missteps he made, however. He went on in the interview to further express how “f***ing bizarre” it was that the song went gold, and doubled down on his regret that his intentions were so far off from how the world perceived it. He added:

“I made songs that just weren’t great songs. Okay. I can live with that. But to have a song that garners that much attention and actually negatively impacts the way people perceive my intention was the worst. That s**t was the worst. I think it was just the idea that, somehow, I was looking to appease racists.”

And furthered:

“I was trying to say, ‘First of all, just leave me the f**k alone because of what I look like. Let’s start there. And then we could see what else can happen from there.’ But instead, I said the iron chains and the durag … It just was a bad metaphor. It was just all wrong.

[VIA]

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