I'm Not Racist
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"I'm Not Racist" is a song by American hip hop recording artist
Joyner Lucas Gary Maurice "Joyner" Lucas Jr. (born August 17, 1988) is an American rapper, actor and entrepreneur. Lucas first received exposure after the release of his single "Ross Capicchioni" in 2015. In June 2017, he released his fourth mixtape, ''508-5 ...
, released on November 28, 2017, by
Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...
. It features a heated discussion about
race and society Social interpretations of race regard the common categorizations of people into different races. Race is often culturally understood to be rigid categories ( Black, White, Pasifika, Asian, etc) in which people can be classified based on biolog ...
from the perspective of a white man and a black man. Lucas has said that the song's lyrics represent the uncomfortable race talk that people shy away from.


Composition

The track features Lucas rapping from a white man's point of view in the first verse, then rapping from a black man's point of view in the second verse, a
literary device A narrative technique (also, in fiction, a fictional device) is any of several storytelling methods the creator of a story uses, thus effectively relaying information to the audience or making the story more complete, complex, or engaging. Some ...
which may be influenced by Lucas's biracial origins. Both verses are supported by an airy, ambient
trip hop Trip hop is a musical genre that has been described as a psychedelic music, psychedelic fusion of hip hop music, hip hop and electronica with slow tempos and an atmospheric sound. The style emerged as a more experimental music, experimental var ...
beat.


Music video

The song was first released as a
music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...
on Lucas'
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
channel and has since garnered over 153 million views. It was directed by Lucas and Ben Proulx. The video starts off with a white man wearing a
Make America Great Again "Make America Great Again" (MAGA, ) is an American political slogan most recently popularized by Donald Trump during his successful presidential campaigns in 2016 and in 2024. "MAGA" is also used to refer to Trump's ideology, political bas ...
cap from
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
's
presidential campaign A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making progress within a specific group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, by which representatives are chosen or referen ...
giving his unfiltered view on the black community, synced to Lucas' first verse. He is talking to a black man in
braids A braid (also referred to as a plait; ) is a complex structure or pattern formed by interlacing three or more strands of flexible material such as textile yarns, wire, or hair. The simplest and most common version is a flat, solid, three-strand ...
who sits across a table from him. The white man mentions the perceived laziness and lack of goals of the African American community, referring to black people abandoning their children and families to party and deal drugs. The white man laments that all his "hard-earned" tax payments went into supporting them, mocking the
Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a Decentralization, decentralized political and social movement that aims to highlight racism, discrimination and Racial inequality in the United States, racial inequality experienced by black people, and to pro ...
movement. He also criticizes white rapper
Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time, he is credited with popula ...
speaking out against Trump, calling him ''motherfucker'', and claiming "he ain't white no more"; the national anthem protests by notable black athletes; and attacks black people for idolizing rapper
Tupac Shakur Tupac Amaru Shakur (; born Lesane Parish Crooks; June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor, regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all tim ...
as compared to
Albert Einstein Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...
and
Steve Jobs Steven Paul Jobs (February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011) was an American businessman, inventor, and investor best known for co-founding the technology company Apple Inc. Jobs was also the founder of NeXT and chairman and majority shareholder o ...
, saying that rap music has poisoned their minds. He finishes off by blaming black people for their treatment by police, saying if they pulled up their pants, took the
du-rag A durag ( alternate spellings) is a close-fitting cloth tied around the top of the head to protect the hair; similarly a wave cap is a close-fitting cap for the same purpose. Durags may be worn to accelerate the development of long curly/kinky ...
off and put on a suit, dropped their
victim mentality Victim mentality or victim complex is a psychological concept referring to a mindset in which a person, or group of people, tends to recognize or consider themselves a victim of the actions of others. The term is also used in reference to the t ...
, and quit blaming the white community and everyone but "
heir Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Offi ...
own race", then perhaps the police would "stop killin' you fucks". The white man claims he is "not racist" due to the fact he has connections to some black people and as he finishes his verse, he says that there are two sides to every story, and asks for the black man's view. The black man then gives his own unfiltered point of view, synced to Lucas' second verse (Lucas does not physically appear in the video), countering the white man's stereotypes and critiquing the
All Lives Matter All Lives Matter is a slogan that emerged as a negative response to the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, initially popularized on social media following the police killings of Michael Brown and Eric Garner in 2014. The phrase has been widel ...
movement as a "protest to my protest". The black man mentions
police brutality in the United States Police brutality is the use of excessive or unwarranted force by law enforcement, resulting in physical or psychological harm to a person. It includes beatings, killing, intimidation tactics, racist abuse, and/or torture. Police brutality, rac ...
and
institutional racism Institutional racism, also known as systemic racism, is a form of institutional discrimination based on Race (human categorization), race or ethnic group and can include policies and practices that exist throughout a whole society or organizati ...
in a country run by white people, which gave him no choice but to constantly fear for his life and deal drugs when he was blackballed from getting a decent job, and that his "grandmama" was a
slave Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...
and that it still "gets to im. He also mentions the white community's hate for former president
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
and his policies, which led to Trump's election. He then criticizes the white community for misusing black stereotypes and stealing black culture, such as fried chicken, barbecue, dance,
Kool-Aid Kool-Aid is an American brand of flavored drink mix owned by Kraft Heinz based in Chicago, Illinois. The powder form was created by Edwin Perkins in 1927 based upon a liquid concentrate named Fruit Smack. History Kool-Aid was invented by E ...
, and usage of the word "
nigga ''Nigga'' (), also known as "''the N-word''", is a colloquial term in African-American Vernacular English that is considered as a vulgar word in most contexts of its use. It began as a dialect form of the word ''nigger'', an ethnic slur agai ...
" and other black slang. Regarding Tupac, the black man defends looking up to him as he carried the struggle of the black community up to his death and welcomes Eminem's freestyle against Trump as Eminem expressed his solidarity with blacks through it. The black man becomes so angry in the process that he flips the table and swats away his white counterpart's MAGA hat, telling him to stop "blaming the blacks and everyone except isown race" for the country's problems. At the end of his verse, the black man also claims he is "not racist" and that he wished they could trade shoes. Following the argument, the two men embrace each other, having heard each other's point of view and desiring to reconcile despite their differences.


Critical reception

The video for "I'm Not Racist" went
viral The word ''Viral'' means "relating to viruses" (small infectious agents). It may also refer to: Viral behavior, or virality Memetic behavior likened that of a virus, for example: * Viral marketing, the use of existing social networks to spre ...
within a few days of release. It has been characterized as "polarizing". Some critics have called the video necessary to spark conversation about race by tying in both extremes of the debate, while others criticized it as "clichéd" and "cheesy", and that it oversimplified the race debate by reinforcing stereotypes. On December 7, 2018, the video was nominated for the
Grammy Award for Best Music Video The Grammy Award for Best Music Video is an accolade presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to performers, directors, and producers of quality short form music videos. ...
at the
61st Grammy Awards The 61st Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on February 10, 2019, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Singer-songwriter Alicia Keys hosted. During her opening monologue, Keys brought out Lady Gaga, Jada Pinkett Smith, Jennifer Lopez, an ...
.


Certifications


References


External links

{{authority control 2017 singles 2017 songs Atlantic Records singles Donald Trump in popular culture Joyner Lucas songs Political rap songs Racism in the United States Songs about racism and xenophobia Songs written by Joyner Lucas