Where did Jason Aldean grow up? Internet rips country singer over small-town claim amid outrage over pro-lynching lyrics 

Country singer Jason Aldean’s new music video for his song, Try That In A Small Town, has garnered severe backlash because of its racist and pro-lynching lyrics. While the song originally came out in May, it caught heat last Friday (July 14), when its music video debuted, where the singer is seen performing on the steps of a Tennessee courthouse that was once the site of a historic lynching.

In the background, news clippings of violent protests can be seen. Some of the lyrics from the song are as follows:

“C*ss out a cop, spit in his face/Stomp on the flag and light it up/Yeah, ya think you’re tough/Yeah, try that in a small town.”

As soon as the music video surfaced on social media, netizens began accusing Jason Alden of filming it at a famous lynching site and penning racist and pro-lynching lyrics. In fact, over its troubling lyrics, the music video was pulled from CMT (Country Music Television) on Monday.

This prompted the country singer to take to Twitter on Tuesday and openly deny all allegations. He dismissed all claims that the song’s lyrics were racist or pro-lynching or that it could promote violence.

Jason defends the lyrics and intentions behind his latest song. (Image via Twitter/Jason Aldean)

Interestingly, unlike his song where it seems he has experienced living in a small town, netizens have also accused Jason Alden of being nothing but a city boy. This is because he grew up in Macon, Georgia which has a population of 160,000, while he now lives in Nashville, Tennessee, which has a population of 692,000.

So, many on the internet are of the opinion that Alden has no idea what happens in a small town as he has never lived in one.

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Jason Aldean spent half his boyhood in Macon and the other half in Homestead

The 46-year-old Jason Aldean was born in Macon, Georgia. When he was three, his parents separated.

While he mostly lived with his mother in his hometown, he visited his father during the summer holidays in Homestead, Florida. While neither of these places are big cities, they are definitely not considered small towns either.

For instance, Macon is called a city and has almost 250,000 people in its metro area, while Homestead (a suburb near Miami) has a denser population than San Diego.

Later, when Jason Aldean began his music career, he moved to Nashville, a city in Tennessee, which now has close to 700,000 people living in it. In fact, at present, Jason Aldean continues to live there in a 20,000 square feet house of his own.

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“He’s never even lived in a small town”: Internet tears apart Jason Aldean over small-town claims

Even though Jason Aldean has clarified that his latest song Try That In A Small Town is neither racist nor pro-lynching, its lyrics are full of warnings and grave imagery. For instance, a portion of the lyrics go as follows:

“Sucker punch somebody on a sidewalk/Carjack an old lady at a red light/Pull a gun on the owner of a liquor store/Ya think it’s cool, well, act a fool if ya like.”

The lyrics then go on to challenge to try all these dire acts in a small town and find out “how far ya make it down the road.” The lyrics also warn how, if one crosses the line, it won’t take long for them to find out what really happens next.

“I recommend you don’t try that in a small town.”

The lyrics also mention how all these acts can “fly in the city” but one should never try them in a small town as “around here, we take care of our own.” The song more or less goes on and on about the dos and don’ts in a small town and how small-towners are not tolerant of all this.

To summarize, the song describes how “good old boys” (small-towners) “take care of their own” and do not tolerate disrespect of the police or the American flag.

Since last week, as soon as the music video with the unusual lyrics became viral, Jason Aldean has been facing severe online backlash, with netizens calling him out for writing a pro-lynching and racist song and also claiming he hails from a small town.

A netizen calls out Aldean for not being a small-towner. (Image via Twitter/Nate Morris)

A netizen calling Aldean a fraud. (Image via Twitter/KnitDan)

A netizen calling out Aldean for being lame. (Image via Twitter/Sheryl Crow)

A netizen refuses to wish good morning to the country singer. (Image via Twitter/LeVar Burton)

A netizen points out how Aldean grew up in a city. (Image via Twitter/Matthew Chapman)

A netizen slams Jason for pretending to be a small-towner. (Image via Twitter/stonygirl)

A netizen calling Aldean racist. (Image via Twitter/Kendall Brown)

A netizen slams Jason by calling him a plastic cowboy. (Image via Twitter/@nottherealtraceydelaney)

A netizen trolling Aldean for not knowing how life is in the small-town USA. (Image via Twitter/Charlotte Clymer)

What’s interesting is that the lyrics of Try That In A Small Town seem to suggest a pro-gun message whereas Aldean was himself present at the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival mass shooting in Las Vegas in 2017 that killed 60 people and injured 800.

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Jason Aldean rose to fame in 2005 as a country singer after signing with Broken Bow Records, under which he has released 10 albums and 40 singles to date. Some of his notable works include Night Train, My Kinda Party, Relentless, Wide Open and Old Boots, New Dirt among others.

So far, he has received five Grammy Award nominations, twice for the Best Country Album category.