Do You Separate The Artist From The Person?

[BlackRain]

When a rapper says "i kill, sell dope, hurt people" there is no other way to interpret those bars

When r kelly says "keep it on the down low, slow wind with me, age aint nothin but a number etc" can be relatable to everyone not fawning over under age children and wouldnt be known to come from an alleged or guilty pedophile without outside source

That is why its easier to separate r kelly from his music

But if rappers WERE actually sellin dope and killing they would undoubtedly be highly respected even if the music was ass

Bruh R. Kelly has lyrics he's written openly saying shit like "Been with you since 16"...he shouted out a 12 year old Aaliyah on a song about sex...or when he says shit like "16 and under" on a song...that's open to different meaning? Writing a song called Age Ain't Nothin But A Number as a grown man for a teenage girl to sing ain't creepy?

 

[SeaSnake]

I don’t understand tha mentality of “everybody has skeletons in their closet so you wouldn’t be able to listen to any music, watch any movies, cheer for any athlete, etc etc”...while this is true there are definitely different degrees of “transgressions”...and pedophilia is, at least in my book, one of those things I can’t look past

Because these niggas retarded

 

[rip.dilla]

Yes those people would be liable too. Mentioning them doesn't change anything in regards to R. Kelly. The "you can paint everyone with the same brush" is just a bullshit cop out plus you negated your own point by saying we might not know...thats the difference right there. With R. Kelly we do know. You can't hold shit against people if you don't know it even exists so the whole "You can paint everyone with the same brush" doesn't fit. Also doesn't fit because again, when the art is directly influenced by the artists life then that creates a different playing field. Look at an artist like Whitney Houston who sang love songs, songs about being happily ever after and all that bullshit yet we know in her personal life she was a junkie in a shitty marriage w/ another junkie and also wasn't that good of a mother...yet because her personal life and her music aren't interconnected it has no bearing on how people possibly feel when they hear her music. R. Kelly however writes, composes and produes his own music. Has repeatedly stated his music is inspired by his life...so when he's singing these songs about being with someone, being in love then it's hard not to think "Damn this nigga talking about underage women". The premise of the thread isn't is he a great musician, it's can you separate an artist's personal life from their art...

To me Michael Jackson was a great betrayer of the Black race of which he was part of.... I won't expand on that


Let's not also bring up his very disturbing lifestyle of hanging out most of the time with children as a middle aged man while he was alive...


But

The Bad album is one of my all time favourite albums ever



It is what it is

 

[Chi-Town B]

The dude made hits that I don't associate with underage children, R Kelly the GOAT for our generation. People can stop listening to dude and that's fine but I'm not.

 

[Marc123]

Nobody is saying you have to do anything, but if you choose to no longer watch a player because of that then cool. If you choose to no longer watch anything OJ related then cool. Telling folks they are being moral police because they choose not to indulge folks who've committed certain offenses has always been dumb to me. How are you going to tell somebody who/what they should enjoy or not enjoy because of what personal feelings it may trigger in them?

So you are saying you can not separate the two.

 

[AP3.0]

They're not better than what R Kelly put on the table. Do you think he's the best of our generation, if so then why wouldn't you keep listening.

Because my tastes in music have evolved past asking a chick to go half on a baby

But do it artists have to be as great as him for you to give them a listen? I think that's a problem in itself. That's like saying fuck watching basketball because everyone not as good as Jordan

 

[ChicagoFigure]

Bruh R. Kelly has lyrics he's written openly saying shit like "Been with you since 16"...he shouted out a 12 year old Aaliyah on a song about sex...or when he says shit like "16 and under" on a song...that's open to different meaning? Writing a song called Age Ain't Nothin But A Number as a grown man for a teenage girl to sing ain't creepy?

Lmao never listened to that song or line not defending it but wtf was he tryna say?

"Only if youre old enough,
18 and over or 16 and under"

So 17 aint old enough but 16 and under is?

I can see why some ppl are tripped out n dont wanna listen but all the shit i listen to heavy especially that was about sex/love i never thought about an under age girl i either just thought bout the music itself or about a chick i knew n it never got deeper to me than that

 

[BlackRain]

So you are saying you can not separate the two.

I can because I'm a person who can make a choice...and I simply choose not to with certain transgressions hence why I gave the Whitney houston example...especially ones that involve assault on minors.

 

[BlackRain]

To me Michael Jackson was a great betrayer of the Black race of which he was part of.... I won't expand on that


Let's not also bring up his very disturbing lifestyle of hanging out most of the time with children as a middle aged man while he was alive...


But

The Bad album is one of my all time favourite albums ever



It is what it is

And you know what...if you listed those reasons as to why you couldn't listen to Bad w/ a clear head I wouldn't call you having fake outrage or fake moral police. Simply somebody who chooses not to look past personal flaws in favor of talent

 

[Chi-Town B]

Because my tastes in music have evolved past asking a chick to go half on a baby

But do it artists have to be as great as him for you to give them a listen? I think that's a problem in itself. That's like saying fuck watching basketball because everyone not as good as Jordan

No, I'm able to listen to anything that I feel is worth the listen. I'm not going to put classics on the shelf because he did something that I feel is reprehensible. Like someone said earlier, Frank Ocean is singing about dudes but does that mean he doesn't have good songs and you shouldn't listen. If you didn't know he was gay would you give those songs a second thought.

Like I said a few posts ago, in my mind R Kelly is talking about grown women. You can say him writing Age Ain't Nothing But A Number and feel weird about his other stuff but Biggie wrote some songs for Kim where she sucking dick, do you picture Biggie sucking dick when listening to Kick In The Door.

 

[BlackRain]

Lmao never listened to that song or line not defending it but wtf was he tryna say?

"Only if youre old enough,
18 and over or 16 and under"

So 17 aint old enough but 16 and under is?

I can see why some ppl are tripped out n dont wanna listen but all the shit i listen to heavy especially that was about sex/love i never thought about an under age girl i either just thought bout the music itself or about a chick i knew n it never got deeper to me than that

And if R. Kelly wasn't the type to tout how his life always has influenced his music I can see not taking it that deep in thought...but when he does say constantly say that then it's hard for me to hear him sing and not think "Who is he singing about"...and now hearing the victims come out and say shit like he had teenage girls in the studio, he wrote You Are Not Alone about one of them having a miscarriage etc...it's hard not to hear those songs and think what were they really about.

 

[BlackRain]

No, I'm able to listen to anything that I feel is worth the listen. I'm not going to put classics on the shelf because he did something that I feel is reprehensible. Like someone said earlier, Frank Ocean is singing about dudes but does that mean he doesn't have good songs and you shouldn't listen. If you didn't know he was gay would you give those songs a second thought.

Like I said a few posts ago, in my mind R Kelly is talking about grown women. You can say him writing Age Ain't Nothing But A Number and feel weird about his other stuff but Biggie wrote some songs for Kim where she sucking dick, do you picture Biggie sucking dick when listening to Kick In The Door.

In your mind he's talking about grown women...in reality we know he's not. So are you purposely dismissing the reality simply so you can listen to the song?

 

[Chi-Town B]

In your mind he's talking about grown women...in reality we know he's not. So are you purposely dismissing the reality simply so you can listen to the song?

The video's give me a clear image of him talking about grown women

 

[BlackRain]

The video's give me a clear image of him talking about grown women

Yeah because he was going to put underage girls in his music videos...

 

[Loquacious]

I legit haven't listened to an r. Kelly album since chocolate factory.

Idk why people act like there aren't other good/great rnb artists to fill that void in your music collection

It ain’t.

 

[ChicagoFigure]

And if R. Kelly wasn't the type to tout how his life always has influenced his music I can see not taking it that deep in thought...but when he does say constantly say that then it's hard for me to hear him sing and not think "Who is he singing about"...and now hearing the victims come out and say shit like he had teenage girls in the studio, he wrote You Are Not Alone about one of them having a miscarriage etc...it's hard not to hear those songs and think what were they really about.

I feel what ur saying but maybe call it being selfish, i enjoy the music too much.

If i personally knew one of the victims or seen the shit in the studio with my own eyes while he recorded....maybe i'd have a different take.

I also separate condoning his behavior and being a fan of his music as well. If hes ever tried and found guilty, lock his ass up n throw away the key.

 

[Chi-Town B]

Yeah because he was going to put underage girls in his music videos...

So he's talking to grown women then

 

[Loquacious]

“I don’t see nothing wrong...”

with separating the two.

 

[BlackRain]

I feel what ur saying but maybe call it being selfish, i enjoy the music too much.

If i personally knew one of the victims or seen the shit in the studio with my own eyes while he recorded....maybe i'd have a different take.

I also separate condoning his behavior and being a fan of his music as well. If hes ever tried and found guilty, lock his ass up n throw away the key.

I can understand it being hard not to enjoy the music. I haven't seen 1 person criticizing him or saying they can't/dont or wont listen say his music is trash. Everyone acknowledges the man' musical talent. I just get confused when folks seemingly get mad at others for saying "Nah I can't listen to a person who's been accused by multiple people over decades of sexual misconduct sing continuously about sex"...like that's a weird thing.

 

[Marc123]

I can because I'm a person who can make a choice...and I simply choose not to with certain transgressions hence why I gave the Whitney houston example...especially ones that involve assault on minors.

OK. so you choose not to separate the two...some times.

Thats having it both ways, but eh. Do you.