Red Clay Strays Release Powerful New Single ‘People Hatin’,’ Inspired by Division and a Call for Unity

The Red Clay Strays are back with a brand-new single, “People Hatin’,” out now via RCA Records.

The band announced the track earlier this week during an extended conversation on The Joe Rogan Experience, where they opened up about the song’s meaning and the decision to release it. Lead singer Brandon Coleman revealed that Charlie Kirk’s death and the events that followed played a role in shifting their release plans.

“We got so sick of seeing people put politics above humanity, we actually, we had wrote a song about it in April in the studio, called ‘People Hatin’,’” Coleman told Rogan. “We weren’t going to put it out as a single, at first, we were going to do another song, but after the Charlie Kirk thing it was just like, we got together … I think we need to put ‘People Hatin’’ out instead for the first single.”

The song’s lyrics capture the frustration of division while holding onto hope that we can still coexist, even with different beliefs.

I’s a little boy, my mama told me
Better keep my politics to me
Never really bought the things they sold me
But now I’m starting to believe
Seeing everybody going crazy
Every time they go and disagree
This animosity is got me thinking
We all could use some harmony

Hey, people hatin’
You’re not listening to what I’m saying
I’m sick of waiting
All this arguing is aggravating
Hey, you people hatin’
You’re not listening to what I’m saying
I’m so sick of waiting
All this arguing gets aggravating

Coleman explained that the song ultimately calls for empathy and understanding.

“We’ve got to stop killing each other over beliefs, and hating each other over beliefs,” he said. “Everybody’s race is different, everybody’s experiencing life different, and trying to figure it out the same as you are.”

Paired with a powerful message, the release also arrives with a new music video directed by Matthew Coleman.

Since forming in Mobile, AL in 2016, the Red Clay Strays have continued to carve their place in the music scene. Their 2022 debut album, Moment of Truth, featured the breakout hit “Wondering Why,” which broke into the top 10 on Billboard’s Hot Rock & Alternative Songs Chart and top 20 on the Hot Country Songs Chart.

The momentum carried into 2024, when they signed with RCA Records and released their critically acclaimed sophomore album, Made by These Moments, produced by Grammy-winner Dave Cobb (Chris Stapleton, Jason Isbell). Blending electric rock & roll with Southern soul, the project solidified the group’s reputation as one of the most exciting genre-defying acts in country music.

The Red Clay Strays earned back-to-back CMA Award nominations for Vocal Group of the Year in 2024 and 2025.