Blanco Brown Defends Jason Aldean Amid ‘Try That In a Small Town’ Backlash: ‘I Don’t Believe He’s a Racist’

Jessica Nicholson
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Jason Aldean is taking heat following the release of the music video for his song “Try That in a Small Town,” and now, his BBR Music Group labelmate Blanco Brown is coming to his defense.

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Jason Aldean
Jason Aldean

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“Aldeans Stream [sic] Are Gonna Go Through The Roof…I hate the words to that song but I don’t believe he’s a racist,one of the first to check on me in my time of need!” Brown said in a now-deleted post he tweeted on Thursday (July 20), referring to how the embattled country singer reached out to him after “The Git Up” singer was involved in a near-fatal motorcycle accident in 2020. “Just bad song writing.”

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He followed up later in the day with a tweet about removing his previous tweet.

“I remove statements here and there text don’t have tone, but to be clear…I don’t feel like Aldean is a racist, I believe the timing and visual don’t align with positivity so they’ll [sic] always be backlash! Let’s ask the songwriters for clarity!”

Though Aldean recorded “Try That in a Small Town,” he’s not a writer on the song. The track was penned by Neil Thrasher, Kurt Allison, Tully Kennedy and Kelley Lovelace.

Brown also spoke out on Instagram, sharing screenshots of the text exchange between Brown and Aldean following Brown’s motorcycle accident.

“I have to speak on this matter cause I’d rather not have a good person be painted in a negative way! No I don’t like the words to the song much but look at the credits and question the songwriters! I don’t like how it empowers any kind of violence at a time like this but maybe never… Even with that said, it’s a song that a man recorded with good intentions I believe…”

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A post shared by Blanco Brown (@blancobrown)

The video for “Try That in a Small Town” features footage of carjackings, cars burning and protesters taunting military personnel, but Aldean’s performance footage was filmed in front of the Columbia, Tenn., courthouse that was the site of a lynching in 1927. The video’s imagery, in addition to the song’s lyrics — which some have interpreted as promoting violence and racism — sparked backlash from music listeners, music critics and artists including Sheryl Crow and Margo Price.

On July 18, Billboard broke the news that the video for “Try That in a Small Town” had been pulled from CMT’s music video rotation.

Chaz Molder, the mayor of Columbia, Tenn., previously spoke out about the usage of the courthouse for the video, telling Fox 17 News, “I respect the artist’s freedom of his own lyrics and the fans who support him, but I’m hopeful that the next music video that uses our historic downtown as a backdrop will seek a more positive message. Maybe Eric or Luke or Carrie or Dolly will be next to record a video on our small town — and they can highlight peace, love and all the things that are great about Columbia, Tenn.”

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Jason Aldean "Try That In A Small Town"
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Brown’s prediction that Aldean’s streams will skyrocket could prove prescient. Since the controversy erupted, “Try That in a Small Town” has risen to No. 1 on iTunes’ U.S. Songs chart.

See Brown’s tweet below:

https://twitter.com/blancobrown/status/1682010917846896642

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