How racism became a marketing tool for country music

It's Been a Minute

NPR

News Commentary, Society & Culture, News, Spirituality, Religion & Spirituality

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🗓️ 1 August 2023

⏱️ 15 minutes

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Summary

The top three songs in America right now are country tracks, and the top two hits are by artists facing allegations of racism. At the top of the charts is Jason Aldean: he shot to number one after releasing his music video "Try That In A Small Town," which included montages critical of the Black Lives Matter protests and showed Aldean singing in front of a courthouse where a Black teen was lynched. Morgan Wallen has the number two hit, and his popularity rose after being cancelled for using the N-word.

But this is not unprecedented for the genre. Brittany sits down with historian Amanda Martinez to talk about country music's history of marketing itself in opposition of Blackness for financial gain.

You can follow us on Twitter @NPRItsBeenAMin and email us at [email protected].

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey there, you're listening to it's been a minute from NPR, I'm Brittany Loose.
0:07.9	Now I love country music.
0:09.3	My little sister was a big fan when we were growing up and we used to watch CMT all the
0:13.5	time as kids, so it was cool to see that three country songs were sitting at the top
0:19.4	of the Billboard Hot 100 this week.
0:22.2	But then you press play.
0:35.6	That is the opening verse from Jason Aldeens, try that in a small town, which hit number
0:40.6	one this week.
0:42.1	He sings, cast out a cop, spit in his face, stomped on the flag and light it up.
0:47.7	Yeah, you think you're tough?
0:49.6	Well, try that in a small town.
0:52.4	Now I don't know about you, but for me, when I heard those lyrics for the first time,
0:56.9	I had a feeling Aldean was referring to the 2020 Black Lives Matter uprisings.
1:02.8	Turns out, I wasn't just imagining it.
1:08.2	A couple weeks ago, he released the music video and as he's singing those lines, protest
1:13.0	footage from those uprisings flashed across the screen.
1:16.9	Not to mention, Aldean himself is singing in front of
1:19.6	a courthouse where a black teen was lynched, and in a town only 40 minutes from where
1:24.7	the KKK was founded.
1:26.5	The video was pulled from CMT, but the song just got more popular.
1:31.4	Country star Jason Aldean grateful for his supportive fans and the wake of the backlash
1:35.7	over that song, try that in a small town, as it streaming soars nearly 1000%.
	...

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