Black Like Me (song)

"Black Like Me"
Single by Mickey Guyton
from the album Bridges
Released	June 2, 2020
Genre	Country
Length	3:30
Label	Capitol Nashville
Songwriter(s)	Mickey Guyton; Nathan Chapman; Fraser Churchill; Emma Davidson Dillon;
Producer(s)	Nathan Chapman; Forest Whitehead;
Mickey Guyton singles chronology

"Black Like Me" is a song by American country music artist Mickey Guyton. It was released on June 2, 2020, amidst the George Floyd protests.[1] It was included on her third EP Bridges, which was released on September 11, 2020.[2]

Content

Guyton wrote "Black Like Me" with Fraser Churchill, Emma Davidson Dillon, and Nathan Chapman, the latter of whom also co-produced the song with Forest Whitehead.[3] It is a piano ballad that details Guyton's experiences as a black woman navigating life and a career in country music (she is the only black female artist signed to a major country music label), highlighting racial inequality with the song's chorus ("If you think we live in the land of the free/You should try to be black like me").[4][3] The song's title was inspired by Black Like Me, a book exposing racial inequality in the Southern United States in the 1960s written by John Howard Griffin.[5]

Written on a writer's retreat in 2019, it wasn't released until June 2020, amidst widespread protests in the wake of the murder of George Floyd.[5] It was originally slated to be released as a bundle alongside "What Are You Gonna Tell Her?" earlier in the year, but its release was postponed in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[1] Instead, Guyton posted a snippet of the song on social media and Spotify contacted Capitol Nashville requesting the song's full release, which they then put on top of their Hot Country playlist.[4] Guyton said the response to the song left her overwhelmed with messages from others: "There’s tears of joy, tears of sadness. There’s a guilt that I’m feeling. I keep thinking, “I don’t deserve this.” There's also guilt when I see the pain other people are feeling as their eyes open and see the oppression that I’ve experienced, having to see that pain in them as I'm talking about it. It's all so heavy."[5]

Reception

"Black Like Me" earned Guyton a Best Country Solo Performance nomination at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards, making her the first black woman to receive a Grammy nomination in that category.

References

Jewly Hight (June 6, 2020). "Country Star Mickey Guyton: Why Being 'Black Like Me' Shouldn't Be Twice As Hard". NPR. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
Joseph Hudak (August 13, 2020). "'Black Like Me' Singer Mickey Guyton Plots 'Bridges' EP". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
Jonathan Bernstein (June 2, 2020). "Mickey Guyton Addresses Racial Inequality in Personal New Song 'Black Like Me'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
Nancy Kruh (June 15, 2020). "Finding Her Voice, Mickey Guyton Stirs Hearts with 'Black Like Me': 'God Put It on My Heart'". People. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
Jonathan Bernstein (June 5, 2020). "Mickey Guyton on Country Music's Response to George Floyd's Death". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 16, 2020.

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[npr-1] Jewly Hight (June 6, 2020). "Country Star Mickey Guyton: Why Being 'Black Like Me' Shouldn't Be Twice As Hard". NPR. Retrieved June 16, 2020.

[2] Joseph Hudak (August 13, 2020). "'Black Like Me' Singer Mickey Guyton Plots 'Bridges' EP". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 21, 2020.

[rolling_stone_release-3] Jonathan Bernstein (June 2, 2020). "Mickey Guyton Addresses Racial Inequality in Personal New Song 'Black Like Me'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 16, 2020.

[people-4] Nancy Kruh (June 15, 2020). "Finding Her Voice, Mickey Guyton Stirs Hearts with 'Black Like Me': 'God Put It on My Heart'". People. Retrieved June 16, 2020.

[rolling_stone_interview-5] Jonathan Bernstein (June 5, 2020). "Mickey Guyton on Country Music's Response to George Floyd's Death". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 16, 2020.