Dave Paulson

USA TODAY NETWORK – Tennessee

Four days after its release, it seems like everyone's talking about "Ghetto," a new song from an independent East Nashville musician.

But the reviews haven't been kind.

Ashlee K. Thomas' music video for "Ghetto" has drawn near-universal criticism from residents of East Nashville and beyond, who say the song is tone-deaf, racist and "reeks of privilege."

Thomas — a singer-songwriter and yoga instructor — calls "Ghetto" her "love song to the ghetto," and says she wrote it on her porch swing in East Nashville.

In the opening lines, she sets a scene of gunshots, sirens, “flashy rims” and people “up to no good.” The song's protagonist is a woman who "moved here from the suburbs," and while her neighbors sometimes "hoot and holler," "somehow she just blends in."

"She's good, living in the ghetto."

As criticism mounts, Thomas hasn't backed down.

"I stand by this Song and Video," she wrote on Friday. "Aside from moving from the suburbs, this song is not about me. This song is an observation of what I've seen in Nashville, Memphis, India, South America and other places I've traveled. I do yoga in the video, because yoga helps me do better at living wherever I am.﻿"