Professors claim Jason Aldean’s ‘Try That in a Small Town’ contains ‘coded’ racial language, pictures

nypost.com:

Jason Aldean’s “Try That in a Small Town” and quoted academics accusing it of spreading division and racism.Aldean became a national figure after he released a music video for his song, “Try That in a Small Town,” that included authentic news footage of rioters, looters, and violence in 2020 after the death of George Floyd.

In the song, the country singer warned such activity would not be tolerated in rural America. CMT responded by pulling the music video from circulation on their network.

THR published a piece on Wednesday, “How Jason Aldean Cynically Built ‘Small Town’ to Appeal to Trump Country,” noting that some have blasted the song as “a pro-lynching anthem and anti-Black.”THR quoted Hunter College music theory professor Philip Ewell arguing the song is part of a phenomenon of subtle yet unmistakable “anti-Blackness” amid America’s cultural divide.“Right now, in 2023, we’re having these massive disagreements about race and what role it’s played in the history of our country.

And in music, it plays out in these extremely subtle ways sometimes. It’s hard to deny some of these embedded stereotypes,” Ewell told THR. “I’ve listened to some of Jason Aldean’s music — I think he’s a pretty good artist.