Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones have face criticism for their song ‘Brown Sugar’. Image via Twitter: @Rolling Stones

‘Slavery lyrics’: No more ‘Brown Sugar’ for the Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones will no longer perform ‘Brown Sugar’ after their hit song has been labelled ‘racist, sexist and stunningly offensive’.

Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones have face criticism for their song ‘Brown Sugar’. Image via Twitter: @Rolling Stones

Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones has confirmed that the group will not be performing their hit song Brown Sugar for the time being. This is because the song contains lyrics that speak of slavery, racism, and sexual violence – something that has been widely criticised in recent times.

Rolling Stones to stop performing hit song ‘Brown Sugar’ over slavery lyrics

The Rolling Stones have confirmed that they have made the decision to stop performing Brown Sugar. This comes after they received criticism for the song’s lyrics which makes reference to slavery among other topics that are considered highly sensitive.

Since their 13-date tour started in September this year, they have not performed the 50-year-old classic which they last performed in 2019.

According to Daily Mail the band received a lot of criticism after the performance of Brown Sugar on 30 August 2019 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida.

Giving ‘Brown Sugar’ a ‘break’

Speaking to The Los Angeles Times, they revealed that they have decided to give the song a “break” despite the fact that it had a whopping 2,700,000 sales since its release.

“We’ve played Brown Sugar every night since 1970, so sometimes you think, We’ll take that one out for now and see how it goes,” said Mick Jagger, adding that they might put it back.

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Keith Richards ‘taken aback’

Meanwhile, Keith Richards who wrote the popular song alongside Jagger in 1969 said that he was taken aback by the recent discomfort around the song since it had always told a very clear story of slavery, rape, and sexual violence.

“Didn’t they understand this was a song about the horrors of slavery? But they’re trying to bury it. At the moment I don’t want to get into conflicts with all of this s***.”

He also added that he hopes they will be able to resurrect it sometime in the future.

Mick Jagger says ‘Brown Sugar’ made him feel uncomfortable

Jagger however admits that the song made him uncomfortable. In a 1995 interview, he shared how he thought the song was a “mishmash” of “nasty subjects”. He also added that he would never write that song now.

“I would probably censor myself. I’d think, ‘Oh God, I can’t. I’ve got to stop. I can’t just write raw like that,” he said.

The song was also named Rolling Stones magazine’s 495 out of 500 best songs of all time. Meanwhile many fans of the band have headed online to complain about the popular song falling victim to “cancel culture.”

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