Country crooner Brad Paisley has defended his Accidental Racist duet with rapper LL Cool J after facing a backlash on Twitter.
Paisley, 40, was a guest on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on Tuesday and said the song on his new album Wheelhouse was an attempt to address racism in the United States.
'I don't know if any of you noticed but there is some racial tension, here and there,' Paisley said on the show.
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Accidental
Racist: Country music star Brad Paisley explained his controversial
duet with LL Cool J on Tuesday on The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Paisley,
wearing his trademark white cowboy hat, told Ellen it was music's turn
to address the issue instead of relying on the media and Hollywood.The song opens with Paisley singing about walking into a Starbucks coffee shop wearing a Confederate flag shirt.
'I hope you understand/When I put on that t-shirt/The only thing I meant to say/Is I'm a Skynyrd fan,' Paisley sang.
Let me explain: The country crooner said the song 'Accidental Racist' was an attempt to deal with racial tension
LL Cool J, whose real name is James Todd Smith, later in the song threw down these lyrics:'Just because my pants are saggin’ doesn’t mean I’m up to no good
You should try to get to know me, I really wish you would
Now my chains are gold but I’m still misunderstood.'
Paisley said one of his favorite lines in the song is when 45-year-old LL Cool J raps: 'The relationship between the Mason-Dixon needs some fixin.'
'Leave it to a rapper to put it so simply and so beautifully,' Paisley told Ellen.
Famous friends: The rapper and the country crooner hung out backstage on Monday at the Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas
The song was released Monday on YouTube and immediately received a strong backlash on Twitter.
Its lyrics were openly mocked and some called it the worst song since Rebecca Black's 'Friday.'
Paisley took to Twitter himself to defend the song and said he wouldn't change a thing.
He also said he hopes the album 'evokes feelings' and 'triggers emotions.'