‘There’s no way YOU can live here’: Gary Clark Jr. says a Texas neighbor questioned whether he owned his 50-acre property – as the musician opens up about the racism he faces in U.S.
- Gary Clark Jr. said he was approached by a neighbor in Austin, Texas last year
- The man questioned whether the 35-year-old owned his 50-acre property
- Clark lives on the property with his Australian model wife Nicole Trunfio and their two children
- That incident, as well as a number of others growing up black in the South, became the inspiration for Clark’s soon-to-be released album, ‘This Land’
- He said as a child people would leave ‘dogs**t’ in the mailbox and would write the N-word on their fence
- Clark also said people would ride around in trucks and put Confederate flags over the fence at his parent’s property
Gary Clark Jr. says he was approached by a neighbor last year near his 50-acre property in Texas and was told ‘there’s no way you can live here’ – as the musician opens up about the racism he has faced in America.
The Grammy-winning artist recalled a neighbor coming up to him last year after he bought the sprawling property outside Austin where he and his Australian model wife Nicole Trunfio plan to raise their two young children.
‘My neighbor comes to me and says, ‘Who owns this house? There’s no way you can live here – who’s the owner?’ Clark told Rolling Stone.
The 35-year-old repeatedly insisted: ‘This is my house’.
Gary Clark Jr. says he was approached by a neighbor last year near his 50-acre property in Austin, Texas and was told ‘there’s no way you can live here’. He lives on the property with his Australian model wife Nicole Trunfio and their two young children
His three-year-old son, who watched the incident unfold, later asked his father why the man was so angry.
‘Maybe it wasn’t racial… But in my mind I was thinking of that and I’m tired of having to think that way.’
That incident, as well as a number of others growing up black in the South, became the inspiration for Clark’s soon-to-be released album, ‘This Land’.
He recalled as a child ‘getting dogs**t in the mailbox, people writing ‘n****r’ on my fence outside my parent’s house, riding around in trucks (putting) Confederate flags over my fence’.
‘That was a regular occurrence,’ Clark added.
Other instances that he says inspired his latest album include Donald Trump being elected and the deadly Charlottesville rally in 2017.
That incident, as well as a number of others growing up black in the South, became the inspiration for Clark’s soon-to-be released album, ‘This Land’. He performed one of his singles last week on Saturday Night Live
The Grammy-winning artist recalled a neighbor coming up to him last year after he bought the sprawling property outside Austin where he and his Australian model wife Nicole Trunfio plan to raise their two young children
The lyrics to his song, This Land, describes the area where he lives outside Austin as ‘Trump country’.
‘Paranoid and p***ed off. Now that I got the money. Fifty acres and a model. Right in the middle of Trump country,’ he wrote in the lyrics.
‘I see you looking out your window. Can’t wait to call the police on me.
‘I’m America’s son. This is where I come from.’
In writing the album, Clark told NPR that he doesn’t usually like to be angry but he wanted to be honest.
‘That’s what came out as a result of you know, life being black in this country, in this world, unfortunately,’ he said.
‘I’m singing like I never sang in my life before. I’m going to be exhausted after this but it’s time to put it all out there on the table.’
Clark has been married to his Australian wife Nicole since 2016. The couple have two young children together