“Turkey In The Straw” is believed to be one of the most recognized ice cream truck jingles in history but as pointed out by the RZA, it has a “problematic history.” The song was first performed in American minstrel shows in the 1800s and subsequent iterations used highly offensive and racist lyrics.
So, RZA and the ice cream company Good Humor teamed up to reimagine the song in an effort to absolve its racist roots. The Wu-Tang Clan luminary uploaded a video clip to his Instagram account on Thursday (August 13) to announce the updated version.
“Good Humor, they called me up and they was like, ‘We gotta do something about this, Riz,'” he says. “‘We can change the dynamics. We can make a new ice cream jingle for a new era.’ We wanted to make a melody that includes all communities. That’s good for every driver, every kid. And I’m proud to say, for the first time in a long time, a new ice cream jingle will be made available to trucks all across the country in perpetuity. That means forever, you know what I mean? Like Wu-Tang is forever.”
The clip ends with a call-to-action, asking all drivers to “STOP playing ‘Turkey in the Straw’ immediately.” The company also confirmed they’d be releasing RZA’s version for free to replace it. The new jingle will also be added to industry standard ice cream truck music boxes.
RZA concludes in the clip, “And I can assure you, this one is made with love.”
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According to the Good Humor website, “Throughout the 19th century, minstrel songs like ‘Turkey in the Straw’ were commonly played in ice cream parlors, and later, adapted as ice cream truck jingles. While these associations of ‘Turkey in the Straw’ are not the only part of its legacy, it is undeniable that this melody conjures memories of its racist iterations.”
Around the 1830s, George Washington Dixon popularized a version of the song titled “Zip Coon,” while Harry C. Browne recorded a version of the song in 1916 called “N*gger Love a Watermelon, Ha! Ha! Ha!,” which relied heavily on the offensive and widespread “coon” stereotype. Needless to say, it was time for an upgrade.
Check out RZA’s updated version below and the original.
THE ICE CREAM MAN IS COMING!!!
Rae gotta be part of this
How does it conjure up memories of racist iterations, when ain’t nobody here from the 19th century…and nobody knew this shit anyway. Ask literally any human being what that song is and they say the ice cream truck…how many things are we gonna ruin before we realize it just pisses people off and makes people who are already racist more racist, and possibly influence a non racist to feel attacked and flip them. All this superficial shit hurts more than it helps
So because people don’t know the origin of the song, we should just keep it? Many people did not know the origin of the Star Spangled banner is racist too. Should we keep it? What really is being “ruined” by changing it? Nostalgia? Thats cute. Imagine how any kids are becoming adults, learning about this nasty history. How does it feel to discover just how far and deep the roots of racism in this country goes. Even the ice cream song was racist? Yes, even ice cream.
Instead of keeping things just as they are because we have personal memories attached to it, how bout we clean it up. Make new. Knowing what we know, and moving forward with a clean conscience, without having that nonsense hanging over us. How dope would it be to discover that RZA created the ice cream jingle we grew up listening to?
But you wanna keep it because it’s simply familiar. Not good enough. It’s lazy. We can do better.
Fuck you bro. This isnt only your country. You dont get to just erase other peoples memories and childhood. Your black supremacy cry baby bullshit is falling on deaf ears.
Wu Tang really is for the children.
Woo hoo! Pack it guys! Racism is over!
I’m a soy boy beta cuck! Sorry for being white! Does anyone wanna smash my girl while I watch?
So because people did parody versions of the song over 100 years ago in poor taste now we have to abolish the song. You dont even have a good reason. Its just crybaby nonsense. Im sure the new jingle will be “inclusive of everybody”…meaning not for white kids.
Now thats one way to change the world. Maybe not for stuck up people. But the world should fallow his example.
I got more to say, but its not about me.
ITS ABOUT THE CHILDRENS.
PEACE. ?