Country music star Jason Aldean is facing immense backlash over his new music video “Try That in a Small Town,” which combines news footage of Black Lives Matter protests, violence and crime with lyrics such as:
“Try that in a small town/ See how far ya make it down the road/ Around here, we take care of our own.”
“Got a gun that my granddad gave me/ They say one day they’re gonna round up/ Well that s— might fly in the city/ Good luck.”
A channel devoted to country music videos has pulled the video out of rotation after accusations that it promotes racism and violence. But “Try That in a Small Town” has also leaped to the top of many streaming charts, and top Republicans are defending Aldean, who insists the song has nothing to do with race.
The music video features Black Lives Matter imagery
Aldean released the song in May but started facing widespread criticism after the music video hit YouTube last Friday.
The video is made up largely of news clips showing protests, riots and police confrontations in cities — at least some of which took place during Black Lives Matter demonstrations prompted by police killings. Other clips show an attempted convenience store robbery and other apparent crimes.
These alternate with shots of Aldean and his band performing in the public square of Columbia, Tenn. — population about 45,000.
“Cuss out a cop, spit in his face/ Stomp on the flag and light it up/ Yeah, ya think you’re tough,” he sings, and at another point:
“Try that in a small town/ Full of good ol’ boys, raised up right/ If you’re looking for a fight.”
After two minutes of violent images, the video concludes with a brief montage of grainy footage depicting peaceful townspeople and their crops and families.
