“yo i got that shit.”
that is what my high school wolf friend said to me over the phone.
i never saw the alleged video,
but i was curious.
i wanted to know if it was really r. kelly.
“bump n grind” r .kelly
“feelin on your booty” r .kelly
“put his music on so we can fuck” r. kelly
“i was in lust with his bottom lip” r .kelly
i couldn’t believe it.
at that time,
there was no internet or “black twitter”.
it was word of mouth or your own experience.
so he bought it over and…
“wow.”
i remember i cancelled r. kelly after that.
what i saw was unacceptable.
i had his cds in my collection,
but i was willing to part with them.
one of my favorite albums from him was that “tp-2”.
i wanted someone to fuck me so good to that album.
that whole album always turned me on,
but listening to it tainted my view of it.
“that damn alleged dvd…”
that is all i could think.
so i called karaoke and mentioned it to her.
what i saw and thought of r. kelly.
“i’m not gonna stop listening to r. kelly.
what does his personal life have to do with his music?”
that was the main argument from most black folks about it.
she was also a rabid r. kelly stan so she was pretty biased.
when she told me that,
then i knew i would be a hypocrite with other artists i liked.
michael jackson was engulfed in scandal,
but i still loved his music and had respect for him.
i also didn’t believe his rumors.
r. kelly was different.
i think maybe because i saw “something”.
the alleged “something”.
r. kelly is another scandal today.
2017.
at this point,
i don’t even care.
he is pretty much cancelled for me.
i still like of his earlier songs,
but i’m not running to listen to an r. kelly record.
is my cancelling of him being hypocritical tho?
this made me wonder about our favs and the scandals they get into.
if beyonce was to get in a scandal tomorrow,
could we really separate her from her work?
the way how the beyhive is invested,
i don’t think so.
chris brown beat up rihanna.
we saw the pictures of her battered face.
it shocked me how he was made him the victim.
during that era,
so many turned on rihanna for him.
how did that end up?
he continuously showed his tail,
burned bridges,
lost a lot of fans,
and allegedly did the same to karrueche.
should we have cancelled him?
i love his music,
but let’s be really real.
chris might not have a good character.
so is it the artist,
or is it us who love them?
talent seems to out weight scandal for most of us.
i don’t think we want to drop someone whose music/movies we love.
sometimes it has a lot to do with attraction and “looks”.
these artists become part of our lives and experiences.
it’s hard to let them go,
but it’s very interesting question of how we “pick and choose“.
so i had to ask…
Should we separate the artist from their art?
hmm.
People will excuse wicked behavior just proves a lot of folks will be left behind.
I’m gonna say this about that infamous video, it was proven in court that he was not the man in that video. That being said, in my opinion I do believe he has proclivities for the younger aged ladies and at this point it seems to be doing more harm than help in his career, life and possibly his health. A mothafucka may want to get at him. I haven’t purchased his music for a while, but then again that goes for a number of artists, scandal notwithstanding, I ain’t paying for it.
He was found not guilty because the jury said the identity of the girl was inconclusive ,according to the New York Times.She and her parents denied it was her(uncooperative) and because she was 23 by the time it went to trial she no longer looked like she did in the video.
It was him according to his protege Sparkle.His high powered lawyers got him off, another Dream Team.
I believe he has brainwashed these new set of young ladies.It was obvious the one who spoke to TMZ was being coached and she lied about her father setting her up with with R Kelly.He and his wife said her father has never met or spoken to R Kelly,only the mother has.They took her to college in December and haven’t seen her since.She didn’t even come to her grandfather’s funeral a few weeks ago.
@del365..it was him, but they couldn’t conclusively identify the young lady in the video. That’s how he got off. now of they were allowed to enter that camera the cops in Florida found in that dufflebag into evidence, his ass would’ve been serving time right now still.
There was an identifiable body mark on the gentleman in the video that R. Kelly does not possess. That’s was part of the reasonable doubt.
He’s human…Not excusing his behaviors but none of us are walking angels of light either. We can separate the artist from the art in many things… H.P. Lovecraft is a pioneer is his weird tales but he was racist, Walt Disney was known to be racist as well but aside from all this we can separate their works from them and appreciate the art that seems to trickle from them.
I for one believe that he has good music but I can also separate his music from his personal life. Do I think he is a honorable man….not with them predator ways..
Will I stop my hubby from bangin me out to “Slow Wind” because R.Kelly is a Pissy Predator? No, I won’t.
That man has a skill to produce good/sexy music and no one can take that from him, unfortunately, he also has a skill for preying on the youngins/inexperienced..(same thing porn companies do)…as a result he is less honorable in that regard but his music still good.
The problem are the people that give other folks these titles “King of this”, “Queen of that” when they aren’t anything but a regular person with talent like us all pretty much and just like the rest us, these people have problems and are not PERFECT.
Even with all this said, the Entertainment industry is cut throat…and Mr. Kelly’s ways puts him a respectable man in a negative light.
Jammy…he’s human, yes. But a sick human that preyed on underage girls. People in the industry knew it…”but didn’t want to get involved”. Yet, you go to the man to help produce a hit record/song for you? They’re just as bad as he is in that matter. I can tolerate a racist, but a sexual predator…hell no!
That being said, listening to his lyrics, it doesn’t make you wonder if his lyrics are talking about doing those things to young girls? Flaunting his sickness (as predators like to do) for everyone to hear.
Nope. I don’t imagine anything like that when I hear his songs. I interpret them in relation towards a significant other.
This stuff that everyone is buzzing about in the industry is nothing new…they been at this for years. Even before when “Aaliyah” was round if you catch my drift. Young men are also preyed on as well in the industry…
I’m not saying what he did wasn’t wrong and that he shouldn’t be punished, he should. He is sick, just like a racist is too. There are a lot of sick individuals in this world no doubt, many that are still lurking about.
I guess I can understand how some folks may feel like they are listening to the music of a sexual predator or what not and lose distaste in his brand.
Also a racist shouldn’t be tolerated more than a sexual predator…they both are wrong and involve invoking power over an individual.
It might have happened if that evidence was allowed. Funny thing about the court of public opinion, it can be more damaging or moreso effective than actual court because even when there’s a not guilty verdict, folks opinions are not swayed from what they believe. Therefore having an affect on one’s financial standing, (low record or ticket sales) quality of life (harassment of one’s family). A number of things
I have read the BuzzFeed.com article and here’s the “money quote”: “Of course, the law says that consenting adults may take part in any relationship they want, no matter how nontraditional.” What R Kelly has done seems to be a step or two beyond what Hugh Heffner has done–use money to entice a bevy of young women to engage in sex with him. I see no crime and men have been enticing women into sex with money or the things money can by for “ages”. Some call it dating.
^from what i read,
this doesn’t really seem to be a story tho.
Nah. Him as a person negates his talent. I have not listened to a R. Kelly song willingly in years. Fuck him. People still saying “But he makes great music!” He did before I learned he was a predator.
This is interesting, but I believe the two can be separated. You can admire the work of someone and not them. This happens in employment everyday. Many employees do good work, but people may not like them. In this situation with R. Kelly, he is talented and has many hits, but the stories we hear about him, which often turn out to be true, and are just too much this time around. It is like it never ends with him, and the situation he is in is always sadistic.
@The Man…I agree that you can separate the two. You can separate their work from them, but in his case I started thinking…were these lyrics written about what he was fantasizing about doing to young girls? Put me into an entirely different mindset about him and that turned me off completely.
And then you want to take the moniker Pied Piper?! If you know the story, the Pied Piper took revenge on the town and lured all their children away. This man was telling people that he had a problem, and the crazy part is people knew but said/did nothing. Selling their souls for a hit record! Damn shame.
I have no problem with you Mr. Fox Cancelling R.Kelly! I had cancelled him for awhile also. I think my problem with this particular issue is that people choose what they are offended by. I remember seeing that damn video that I wish I never saw. I remember people calling that girl that was presumably “13” at the time a whore. In my mind though I said even if she was a whore that did not mean he should have sex with her or “PISS IN HER MOUTH ALSO”!!! I think in this particular instance though it’s not what they are saying it is and these are grown ass women who chose to entertain this “Alleged Creeps” company. They will come out of it one day hopefully it does not destroy them. In my opinion the video was far worse than him keeping a harem!!! Where was the concern for the child in video matter?? But grown women’s parents want to hold press conferences talking about this man got their daughters in a cult… Really? They are grown!!! The choosing to make right what in reality is wrong and that is the thing that kills me in this society. I have another example for you. Remember “The Coreys” from the “The Lost Boys” movie from the 80’s. Well the one that is still alive wrote a book about how he was abused by Hollywood Elite. How they essentially use them as party favors. Only problem is he did not reveal the people who did these horrible things. He said that he was afraid to. Even after the other Corey died of a drug overdose! He even said that a lot of those people that abused him still are working in Hollywood to this day. This offended me tremendously!!! How at this stage in the game can you not name monsters? Especially if they are out here doing it to a whole new group of kids? You lost your friend to this. Just like the alleged Cosby victims. If a few had been really loud it maybe would put some of those women they he was allegedly able to victimize on notice. Maybe they would not have gotten got? Who knows. I mean I get that we are a society of victim blamers, but we got to sometimes when it is what it is call a “Spade A Spade” and the leave the shit in the pile “Period”. A lot this is black & white.
Every artist is one hit away from a comeback..
I’m not worldly so these celebrities are a non factor to me. There bad behavior tells it’s own story, stop idolizing mankind it’s a sin. I walked away from the world years ago, and I’m very happy that I did so. R. Kelly and the rest are doing wrong because they think rules don’t apply to them. Look at Beyonce doing satanic chants in her music she’s not the only one though, and these lost sheep flock to it. Time is coming to an end soon better get right or get left behind. If you don’t want to go to heaven then keep doing wicked things for satan the lake of fire will never get full. Satan knows his time is almost over, he is trying to get as many of us as he can. Many are playing right into his hands, when you don’t have a personal relationship with GOD this is what goes on.
Even though I love “Turn Back The Hands of Time” (which I dedicated to my dad R.I.P.) I can’t fuck with him anymore either. After seeing that video, I lost respect for him. Here was a grown ass man, caught on tape fucking and pissing on an underage child. I imagined that being my nieces and what I would do if I found out. He would be dead and I would be in jail. I thought is was sad and disgusting that the families were paid off to remain quiet, and his former artist Sparkle spoke out against him (but I wonder if she was bitter).
We had the argument of Michael Jackson’s scandal versus R. Kelly’s scandal, and I was asked how I could still listen to one and turn my back on the other. I said it’s easy because one of them was caught in the act with visual evidence, while the other’s alleged crimes were hearsay, and a grab for money (no doubt in my mind). It was evident something was wrong with his marriage to Aaliyah, but everyone turned a blind eye…all for a hit.
Sad what society has come to. Selling out innocence for profit or god knows whatever else.
Not just selling innocence, but you have predators that prey on people to steal or take theirs.
This is a complicated thing I don’t have a straight answer to. like there are people who have done things I don’t like but I do find myself still liking their music as long as I wasn’t invested in the person but there are cases when it doesn’t matter if I was invested or not cause like what has came out about r kelly, he turned out to be so heinous that I morally couldn’t stomach anything he has done in any way despite me being to young at the time to get into him when he was at his prime it hurts to even think someone is capable of doing things like that and getting away with it.
So personally I couldn’t see myself enjoying too many who have done things near that level of awful only cause it crosses my threshold of what is and isn’t okay but I won’t judge too many people on certain ways if they still listen to whatever problematic artist, I’m just saying it’s a hell to the no for me. I think it truly is a matter of what you won’t tolerate, though PERSONALLY!!!I feel like if anyone really can sit through any rkelly song if the have a choice and still say they don’t conflate him with his music despite most of the things coming out point out that his music is not so secretly
about the things he was doing to girls then I just think they should admit they don’t care about black
Girls and
Women.