The songs in this segment are controversial for different reasons. Well, two are for the same reason. From the beginning of the genre as a recognizable whole, there have been arguments about what counts as “real” country. Those arguments have been wildly racist pretty much the entire time. We also very briefly touched on people getting mad when an artist in the mainstream makes a statement that differs from a safely mid-conservative party line, back at We Shall Be Free. This is a short segment, but its one where things get ugly for a minute. The songs themselves, however, are pretty damn good.
.
All the way back at DeFord Bailey, the division was made between “country records” and “race records,” which pretty much just indicated whether it was made by a black person for marketing purposes. It’s uh…it’s pretty much still that. This song got kicked off country charts for its inclusion of hip hop elements. As far as I’m concerned, if it’s good enough for Billy Ray Cyrus, it’s good enough for me.
.
Daddy’s Lessons by Beyonce (and The Chicks)
This one is country by way of R&B, or maybe the other way around, and it is glorious. As much as I love The Chicks, as a whole bunch of this list demonstrates, Beyonce has the better version, hands down. As far as the controversy, well, same shit different day. Apparently, Darrell Scott had something to do with the writing in this one, but I’m having a hard time confirming the timeline on that.
.
Not Ready To Make Nice by The Chicks
This is the one with the death threats. I like the emotional progression in this song. It goes from that quiet anger at the beginning to just full yelling by the time it hits that big note in the middle.
.
NEXT TIME: The final countdown! Songs that, if you hate country music, you will not like, and which I choose to expose you to anyway, because I can do what I want.
Dramatic Pause 
One thought on “Country Music For People Who Hate Country Music: The Songs A Lot Of People Yelled About”