Released: September 4, 2020 (streaming, digital download), September 18, 2020 (radio airplay)
Recorded: 2020
Studio: Oro y Plata studio (Bozeman, Montana)
Genre: Indie rock
Length: 5:43
Label: Studio 60 Records
Songwriter(s): Ryan Ross Hernandez
Producer(s): Ryan Ross Hernandez
"In Hate We Trust, USA" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Ryan Ross Hernandez and his first release since March 2016. It was entirely written and produced by Hernandez himself. The single was released through Studio 60 Records for streaming and digital download on September 4, 2020 and for radio airplay on September 18, 2020. According to the record label, the delay in radio release was due to a delay in the censored version. Hernandez was adamant in any clean version only censoring curse words, but not any topic touched upon. "In Hate We Trust, USA" marks the first politically-charged song in Hernandez's discography, many considering it a protest song due to its blunt commentary on police brutality and racism, among other subject matters. The artwork features a photograph during the fallout of George Floyd's death at the hands of Minneapolis Police Department, when protesters took over and set fire to the 3rd Police Precinct where the officers worked.
After its debut at the 2020 Fan Choice Awards and its subsequent release, the song was met with critical acclaim, many praising it for its blunt uncensored songwriting approach on current racial issues and directly calling out the Trump administration for fostering a safe haven for it. Many critics saw it as a surprising change of pace for an artist who has typically avoided speaking publicly about such subject matters. There have been many radio stations in the deep south of the United States who have refused to play the song.
The day after Hernandez's live performance at the FCAs, Trump supporters and Blue Lives Matter members were protesting outside of his Montana property. While not directly referring to the incident, shortly after Hernandez made a post on his Instagram account officially announcing "In Hate We Trust, USA" as a forthcoming single. He was also photographed landing at LAX a few days later wearing a Joe Biden and Kamala Harris campaign t-shirt. In that same post, Ryan Ross Hernandez also shared that 100% of the proceeds will be donated to various organizations working towards systemic change, social justice and police reform in America, later to be confirmed as Color of Change, Campaign Zero, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, and The Bail Project. All proceeds will be divided evenly among the four.
Background and composition"In Hate We Trust, USA" is an anthemic, slow-building indie-rock song, led by a stripped-down arrangement of a soft-spoken piano, a repeated drum beat throughout, and a rock-tempo guitar riff. The production also includes a marching band-like drum line coming into play during the bridge and guitar solo from Hernandez in the closing minute of the song. Hernandez's vocals start and gentle but pick up as the song progresses, the bridge and final pre-chorus and chorus feature the singer singing loudly, in an almost angry tone. The lyrics are built around Hernandez acknowledging white privilege, touching upon his own experiences with police officers, while also bringing up his childhood growing up in Boston, Massachusetts. The latter of which the 42 year old musician has rarely spoken about in the past. At other points in the song, he specifically refers to George Floyd's death at the hands of Minneapolis Police Department and the chorus calls out racism, toxic patriotism, sexism, and homophobia. It is the first song Hernandez releases that was entirely recorded in his home studio called Oro y Plata (Gold and Silver), named after the Montana state motto.
IN HATE WE TRUST, USALet’s take a trip down memory lane for a minute if I may
It was the spring of ‘91 and I was walking home from school
I was a quiet kid who kept to himself
I didn’t have many friends ‘cause most of my days were spent locked away in my room playing guitar
I saw some assholes push a kid to the ground and kick his ass
They called him a fucking faggot just ‘cause he listened to different music and wore a lot of pink to class
They were some kids who lived on the better part of town in a neighborhood where everybody looks alike
The world is at their feet and they could never be wrong
That’s what their parents instilled in them
It’s just what they learned from their parents too
They see nothing wrong with how dangerous it is to teach hate and prejudice
Most of those kids I grew up with now have children of their own
They never left the same town where they felt safe
They all married within their own race
The entire family goes to church on Sunday mornings
The same one where the archbishop covered up the pastor's pedophilia case some thirty years ago
Can you show me the Bible that approves of that behavior?
I thought most of us had stride to be a better person
How wrong was I to think that?
When these days people are still getting beaten and killed ‘cause of race and sexuality
You should probably check again your faith if it taught you to be an assholeAll the children that lost a parent
All the parents that lost a child
All ‘cause the color of their skin was hated by some racist fucks
The same who keep waving confederate flags when they have no idea what they even stand for
It’s all about pride in this country
Nobody wants to be told what to do or lose their right to bear arms
Cops are trying to start a war with every senseless murder of another black person
In the stolen land of the free
Only if you’re white will you feel safe leaving your house
Only if you’re white will you have no trouble hereDriving back home with a few drinks in my system
It was a quarter after three in the morning
I hear the sirens behind me and see the cop car through my rearview mirror
They pull me over to side of the road and I kept my hands on the wheel
They didn’t even ask me to take a breathalyzer test
They told me to slow down by ten miles and gave me a smile as they waked off
Only ‘cause the color of my skin did not scare them
For eight minutes and forty-six seconds we watched a white man kneel on the windpipe of a black man
Until the soul of that son, that father, that friend, that human faded away before our eyes
And if you’re not pissed off about it, you’re clearly not listening and you don’t care
‘Cause it does not directly affect you
You were born with the right color skin
I thought most of us had stride to be a better person
How wrong was I to think that?
When these days people are still getting beaten and killed ‘cause of race and sexuality
You should probably check again your faith if it taught you to be an assholeAll the children that lost a parent
All the parents that lost a child
All ‘cause the color of their skin was hated by some racist fucks
The same who keep waving confederate flags when they have no idea what they even stand for
It’s all about pride in this country
Nobody wants to be told what to do or lose their right to bear arms
Cops are trying to start a war with every senseless murder of another black person
In the stolen land of the free
Only if you’re white will you feel safe leaving your house
Only if you’re white will you have no trouble hereAll you achieved with your rhetoric was making hate acceptable
A safe space for every racist, every misogynist, every xenophobe
They see you as a protector for all their fucked up values
People are dying, people are killed
But you’re too busy playing fucking golf
The sight of a MAGA hat makes me sick to my stomach
It shows that all you trust in is hate
In hate is all we trust, America
I thought most of us had stride to be a better person
How wrong was I to think that?
When these days people are still getting beaten and killed ‘cause of race and sexuality
You should probably check again your faith if it taught you to be an assholeAll the children that lost a parent
All the parents that lost a child
All ‘cause the color of their skin was hated by some racist fucks
The same who keep waving confederate flags when they have no idea what they even stand for
It’s all about pride in this country
Nobody wants to be told what to do or lose their right to bear arms
Cops are trying to start a war with every senseless murder of another black person
In the stolen land of the free
Only if you’re white will you feel safe leaving your house
Only if you’re white will you have no trouble hereCredits and personnelRyan Ross Hernandez - vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, piano, songwriter, producer
Ashley Perry - vocals (background), synthesizer
Oliver McMahon - drums, percussion
Alexa J. Ryland - bass
Christopher Draper - engineer, mixer
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