50 Shades Of Black: Celebrities Struggling With Race Relations

LL Cool J

LL lost all of his cool points when he hooked up with country singer Brad Paisley to produce the song “Accidental Racist.” If you haven’t heard it, its a song about being a “white man from the Southland” who doesn’t see anything wrong with the confederate flag.

Paisley needed a black man to make the song sound less offensive — and LL agreed. Then when fans were offended, LL defended his (weak) lyrics in the song:

“Music is about, and art is about, connecting different people and building bridges and breaking the rules. If it’s not compelling and it’s not complex and it’s not interesting, then what are we doing? So I think that’s the right move. I needed to do something that was going to be interesting like that, and shake things up, and jump out of the box. I’m really proud of it, and I hope the world hears it and enjoys it.”