On Friday, October 3, Zach Bryan posted a snippet of an unreleased song on his Instagram with the caption “the fading of the red white and blue.” “I heard the cops came/Cocky motherfuckers, ain’t they?”, Bryan sings on the track, which according to Stereogum is titled “Bad News.” “And ICE is gonna come bust down your door/Try to build a house that no one builds no more/But I got a telephone/Kids are scared and all alone.”
Now Bryan’s lyrics have drawn the ire of the federal government—a phenomenon that is becoming increasingly common. Earlier today (October 7), Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of public affairs for the United States Department of Homeland Security, told TMZ that Bryan should “stick to ‘Pink Skies,’” referencing a song from his 2024 album The Great American Bar Scene. Pitchfork has reached out to representatives for Bryan for comment.
Under the second Trump administration, the United States Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agency has been conducting raids and mass deportations in cities across the U.S. Following the news that Bad Bunny, who is Puerto Rican, would perform the halftime show at Super Bowl LX next year, DHS adviser and President Donald J. Trump’s 2024 campaign manager Corey Lewandowski said that ICE agents would be present at the event.
Revisit Alphonse Pierre’s Off the Dome column “How ICE Raids Have Impacted Texas Rapper HOODLUM’s Hometown,” and read about Zach Bryan’s “Pink Skies” at No. 79 on “The 100 Best Songs of 2024.”