Clawfinger, an infamous rock band from the 90s, refuses to perform one of its biggest songs these days. Their singer explains why they made that decision, and I, for one, wholeheartedly support the decision to leave this one in the past.
Hailing from Sweden, Clawfinger is a rap-metal band that dropped their debut album, Dead Dumb Blind, in 1993. The very first track on that record is titled “N****r,” and yes, it’s exactly the n-word you think it is. Listening to the lyrics, the song feels like it’s discouraging use of the word while also using it so, so, so much.
It is quite the conundrum, because the song is also one of their most popular. Right now, on Spotify alone, that song has more than 7.5 million streams. However, any fans who actually want to hear the song live should not hold their breath.
During a recent interview on the IMPACT Metal Channel, Clawfinger frontman Zak Tell was asked if he thinks Clawfinger would ever perform the song again. “I do not know,” he replied. “Times have changed since we released that song. There’s a whole new wokeness, and people are a lot more aware.”
One of Clawfinger’s biggest hits is a condemnation of racism with a very controversial title
He then mentioned the “Black Lives Matter” movement and offered some additional context on why the band doesn’t play the song. “I think one of the problems today is that things get taken out of context,” Tell said. “Nobody cares about the big picture; nobody cares about background. People get stuck up on words and small things instead of seeing the big picture.”
“I mean, we’re totally fine with the song,” he continued. “We know what we stand for. We know we’re not a bunch of racist idiots. The problem is everyone else out there who doesn’t know.”
Tell lamented that a “10-second TikTok clip” featuring only the “chorus” creates a misconception of the song. “It gets taken totally out of context,” he said. “I think it creates more problems than it creates solutions. And also it’s about being respectful to the fact that the times have changed, and people do see things differently. And maybe it’s a topic that’s more important than a three-and-a-half-minute song. It deserves to be addressed properly.
“Maybe we shouldn’t be the people addressing it anymore, if we ever should have been. But maybe now and here is not our time and place to be the agitators,” Tell added. “It’s not really our job to educate people about it, I feel.
“So it’s mostly just out of being respectful that we chose not to play it anymore,” Tell concluced. “Not because we don’t believe it’s a good song, ’cause we do. But it’s not our time and place anymore, the way the world is now. Maybe in the future that’ll change and people will understand the bigger picture more, and realize that it’s okay to say basically anything, as long as your intentions are good. But I don’t see the world working that way right now. Unfortunately.”
Photo by Mick Hutson/Redferns
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