As you have probably guessed, I am a big fan of Alicia Keys. However, I must say that if her quotes in Blender magazine are accurate she has gone off the deep end. Way off the deep end. In the interview she was asked about gangsta rap.
She claims that gangsta rap was actually created by the US Government. Asked why the government would do that, she replied it was designed to "convince black people to kill each other".
Wow. That is right up there with the CIA wanting to kill gay people by developing the AIDS virus. So, in her opinion a bunch of white middle aged guys were sitting around listening to The Sugar Hill Gang and said that if they could just make it more violent that it would lead to black people killing each other.
I don't think so. I don't know what the hell she was thinking or smoking or both when she gave this interview, but she has gone way below the belt on this. Kids and teenagers listen to and respect what she says and she needs to come out and correct this. If the last quote wasn't bad enough, it gets worse.
You know why Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G were killed? Take a guess. "The murders were fuelled to stop a great black leader from existing."
Uh huh. And the reason no one is going to buy your records anymore is because you had the guts to expose the lies the government is trying to hide. Good luck on the rest of your career.
I totally believe it. I mean, they wouldn't let Naomi Campbell on the place due to race, why is it so unbelievable that someone saavy like Dick Cheney could have invented Gangsta rap. Cheney got that swagger.
ReplyDelete"Sugar Hill Gang"??? EL, that's hilarious. I bet the youngsters are thinking WTH??
ReplyDeleteTupac and Biggie were gang hits, that's why there are no witnesses. I guess the government controls the gangs too?
I used to like her, but I'm disappointed she said that crap.
Cheney got that swagger.
ReplyDeleteAnd don't forget he loves to shoot people, too! Oh ya, he's definitely the godfather of gansta rap.
Alicia seems so normal, I don't quite get the tinfoil hat thinking on her part.
ReplyDeleteUnless the interview was conducted on April 1st.
well then why haven't they picked off that ************ Dre then? And his bitch Snoop Dogg? I always knew Snoop was packin' a badge.
ReplyDeleteAlicia Keys jumped the shark when she signed on to do the dove ads that air during the Hills.
ReplyDeleteThey are painful to watch.
Why Alicia, WHY?!
Thanks for sayin' it EL. I'm disappointed in her, and my respect for her has definately gone down a notch. Its as if she sees the state of "black" society as the result of gangster rap, instead of the other way around. Sure, Tupac was a smart guy, had some great ideas and philosophies, but how was Biggie a "great man"? All I remember about him is the constant objectification of women and obsession with money. If this whole thing is true, I'd say she's a little out of touch...
ReplyDeleteand isnt she half white? Talk about a self-hater....
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ReplyDeleteoh sweet jesus Alicia is hanging with my grampa, who beleive the Japanese have built tiny bombs in all the cars to go off at the same time to avenge the war.
ReplyDeletewow i need the number of her dealer.
How do those comments make her a self-hater? It makes her seem a bit nuts and a conspiracy theorist, but that's about it. She was starting to bore me, but this makes her a little more interesting in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteI don't think the government created gansta rap. That's far-fetched. However, I don't see why her comments seem to anger so many people.
Allison, who is angry? I don't think evidence of the crazy angers people. It shocks, surprises and entertains, but doesn't anger. It's not like we are the government.
ReplyDeleteI'm making a generalization, based on comments I've seen on other blogs, about people's anger over Alicia Keys' quotes in Blender. People deciding they aren't going to buy her music anymore seem angry to me. People still buy Michael Jackson's music even though he's been repeatedly accused of child molestation. I just don't see what the big deal is with her comments, I guess.
ReplyDeleteI keep picturing Butters partying with his homey Biggie Smalls.
ReplyDeleteDid anyone break it to Ice-T that he did not create Gangsta Rap? He will indeed be sooo disappointed. ENT, you'd better write to VH-1 right away, since they credit Ice-T as being the "Founding Father of gangsta rap."
ReplyDeleteOh, and let them know that Alicia sent you!
Ohhhh...got it. I haven't read about this anywhere else. I'm actually trying to get work done today...lol.
ReplyDeleteSome people just want a reason to get mad, I guess.
"Tinfoil hat thinking." LMAO.
ReplyDeleteYep, that is some pretty silly shit she talked. She probably regrets it--unless she really, sincerely believes it, in which case...wow. I'll be interested to see how she handles reaction to this, and whether or not she stands by her comments. She can't have been serious.
Wow, I didn't realize she was into hardcore drugs.
ReplyDeleteI'd be interested to know if Alicia ever had a conversation with Ice-T, you know -- got it from the source that he took the credit for founding Gangsta Rap because he had a (government) gun to his head.
ReplyDeleteI can just see it now:
[Government operative calls Ice-T:] "Okay, you've gotta create the rolling, spare beats and samples that will provide a backdrop for your charismatic rhymes, which will mainly be party-oriented; call it "6 in the Mornin' and we'll put it on your debut album, "Rhyme Pays." Make it real bad and write, "Six in the morning, police at my door."
[Ice-T:] "Okay, can I do it for a while and then change my gig to acting? 'Cause, like, that's where my real passion is! Just make a call and get me some auditions!"
Ya, wasn't Alicia going into acting too? Maybe the movies or TV (Dove and Tampax ads) made her wacko??
ReplyDeleteWhat the hell is wrong with people? First I had to stop listening to Lauryn Hill because she's an idiot, and now it looks like the same thing with Alicia. I can't stand when people blame a collective stupidity on something which doesn't make sense. Gangs have been around for ages, and not just for minorities. They've always been stupid and fueled by machismo mixed with a lack of self esteem. I don't get what she's trying to say here, but I'll be more concerned if I find out she meant it, and believes it. I'm totally sick of the race card conspiracy theories. Just grow up and acknowledge that these are learned behaviours perpetuated by the people who claim to be victims.
ReplyDeleteUmmm since she's so concerned about the "violence" message, and the conspirators who angled their way through the music ranks, she **might** just wanna re-think the jeweled-assault-rifle necklace she wears around sometimes. A-hem.....just, y'know....saying....
ReplyDeleteI wanna see some Mob Rap...
ReplyDeleteJax, I totally want to hang with your grandfather. I love conspiracy theories, and that one made my day! Not to mention, made me burst out laughing. Which would be funny, except I was in a meeting...yeah, ENT has be hooked.
ReplyDeleteI'm not at all surprised. She's talented, but she has a long history as a racist nutjob, even said a few years back that if she had the choice, she would only perform for black people. But since the white folks' money is as good as anyone's she'll begrudgingly make the exception? So much for music being the universal language.
ReplyDeleteAccording to Wikipedia:
ReplyDeleteKeys' mother is of Irish, Scottish, and Italian descent and her father is Jamaican. Keys describes herself as comfortable with her biracial heritage.
Maybe she forgot about this?
Kat said:
ReplyDeleteJust grow up and acknowledge that these are learned behaviours perpetuated by the people who claim to be victims.
Careful. That's a blanket statement. And that blanket isn't big enough to cover all the so-call "victims" you're mentioning with such disdain.
I don't think that these comments make Ms. Keyes racist. I understand the context (that may not be discussed in the article) from which she may be speaking.
ReplyDeleteI have made similar comments, but I honestly am not racist or classist(?) or anything hateful.
I love gangsta rap, either way. And other genres of rap. I don't feel the need to justify it in some sort of liberal artsy way, but if people are close minded and cannot comprehend the genius of much of it, then I don't care.
I am classically trained in music anyways, and I have read most of Shakespeare's plays before the age of 18.
There is no way that white people in the government have ever conspired against vocal and rising black American leaders.
ReplyDeleteI mean, next you're going to tell me that white settlers "conspired" to give American Indian people smallpox-infested blankets.
Oh, wait...
To those who say her comments arent racist or directed at whites...
ReplyDeletedo you mean to tell me that the "government is out to get black people" mentality isnt fueled by "whitey is out to get me?" I mean come on, lets be real here.
"I am classically trained in music anyways, and I have read most of Shakespeare's plays before the age of 18." ....and?
Just got my new issue of Blender. She apparently took some trip down the Nile and she's finding her sexuality. Mmm hmmm.
ReplyDeleteArticle makes her sound like a total diva bitch, honestly, although I've only scanned it.
Yawn. Glad I'm letting Blender go this month.
Burgundy said...
ReplyDelete'Careful. That's a blanket statement. And that blanket isn't big enough to cover all the so-call "victims" you're mentioning with such disdain.'
If it's a blanket statement, then this would imply that it IS big enough. That said, I would defy anyone to ask a gangbanger why they do what they do and get an answer to the effect of 'I've always aspired to greatness, and I feel I have to lot to learn from this experience.' I'm willing to bet that the answer will have something to do with identifying with the 'victim' role which will be masked by false bravado and assurances of one's station in the neighbourhood. I doubt it have much to do with proactive thinking or initiative.
Understanding it isn't enough, not when people are dying needlessly. Being 'careful' isn't going to stop the bleeding. Alicia Keys spewing ridiculous conspiracy theories isn't going to do much more than stoke a very old fire, and she ought to know better.
... +25 to "sara". Crack cocaine = CIA import. BTW... cRap sucks... just as grunge/nu-metal/Emo-Screamo/etc. *does*. Straw-man fallacies won't work here. No one said the government hires cRappers to kill each other... only that the culture of gangsta-thug cRap perpetuated by the corporatist (government-cotrolled) media destroys mostly (if not exclusively) poor, inner-city black/Hispanic neighbo-'hoods. Middle-class, white wigger kids into cRap don't kill each other, because there is no urban blight/poverty/illegal drug influx in the suburbs... DUH. Once you get drugged-up wigger boi clones of *"Em"-in-ANU$* dwelling in poor, all white 'hoods... then you WILL HAVE whites killing whites. Speaking of "Em"flux - the *influx* of illegal Hispanic immigrants here in the Southwestern US is BLATANTLY SPONSORED BY the US Gov. More illegals you can't track = more crime/gangs selling crack/killing anyone who's black... *THAT IS* already happening in SoCal. And *it is* ALSO most likely going to be the "Em"petus of an out and out RACE WAR between inner city black folks and Hispanics... illegal or 'OTHER'wise. Fine "excuse" for the *luciferian* One World Government to "Em"pose *martial law* on US Citizens. Mandatory human-"Em"planted microchips anyone?
ReplyDelete... and talk about "close minded" [sic]... Ent. L. is the epitome of being *CLOSED-MINDED*... and hypocritical. This whole "blog" of his is BASED ON the idealized existence of Hollywood Entertainment Industry-sponsored *conspiracies*... and his blog-published "denial" of DECADES OF WELL-DOCUMENTED government...*cough*CIA*cough*...*programs* set to destroy non-whites ... *cough*likesaytheTuskegeeSyphilisExperiment*cough*... is *one* of COMPLETE/UTTER DENIAL and IGNORANCE on Ent L.'s "part"...
Looks like Ent. L. is a SHEEP after all... and a CHICKEN to BOOT. ... *bok bok*... Ent. L just doesn't want his cell phone and wireless Internet tapped by *gov. spooks*... :D
... Ent. L. FEARS THE C.I.A. ...
... Doo Dah... Doo Dah...
... Ent. L. FEARS the C.I.A. ... all DOO DAH DAY. ... *bok*... *bok*...
... BAAAAAAA.
I agree, she is an idiot. I would love to get her input on affirmative action.
ReplyDelete!!DEVIL'S ADVOCATE ALERT!!
ReplyDeleteK, so I know I'm late to *this* party, but after reading the article itself, I have to say, it's not all too shocking.
It a poor choice of words, and she has a really poor grasp of the concepts behind it, but there really is something messed up about the rich corporate music mogul promoting criminal life amongst the poorest americans. It's an entirely modern phenomenon that has left a lot of people uneasy, and Keys isn't the first one to notice it.
Also, the article points to an interesting fact that NO ONE has brought up in this whole discussion: namely, the New York Police Dept. "monitoring" her in 2004. They said it was cause she was a suspected anarchist (in all their fascist glory, they pointed to her DNC contribution as proof). They didn't admit to it until last year. Does it justify her comments: no. But honestly, I can understand if she's a little pissed at the government.
As for the snide comments about her being half white, I've got news for you: biracial kids aren't treated as half-white, they're treated as blacks. Just look at the recent comments made about Obama if you want to disagree. Google 'Obama' and 'boy' if you're having trouble finding it (the source, btw, is a US Congressman).
In my opinion, this makes her more interesting. then again, I'm a libertarian, and, coincidentally, an Egyptian, so my whole position on the subject is akin "Great start." =P
dB
Wow she's got some ugly boobs.
ReplyDeleteHer comments equate her with Lauren Hill, in my book. LH's racist beliefs ruined her music for me. What a shame. I forget sometimes that great talent can be a mask for great ugliness, too.
d, you brought up some excellent points. I still think her comments are ridiculous, and had really hoped they'd been taken out of context, but you've brought some new insight into the discussion which has me mulling. My main bone of contention is that by saying that the government has duped young, black people to kill each other, she implies that they are easily lead and not smart enough to see through the veneer. I don't buy that. I don't think they're stupid, and while I do think a lot of white suits are getting rich off gangsta rap, so are a lot of black suits. Isn't Suge Knight one of the worst for this? It's a business, pure and simple, and violence in our society appeals to the young and those lacking in self-esteem. It would seem that a lot of these kids who are victimized by it are willing victims, in that they have chosen to buy into the image. Your comments are great though, thought provoking.
ReplyDeleteI think especially at her level of fame and success she isn't in touch with "the people" -- you know, normal people. She is reading her own hype and buying it, too.
ReplyDeleteDon't they always say, don't buy into your own fame or something like that?
I am not trying to defend Keys, but I am from a country where gang violence is perpetrated by the government for their own agenda, where the poor are used as pawns to create a system of chaos that keeps the poor poor and the rich constantly richer. Aiding and maintaining the dynamic will ensure that the poor remain that way. It is selfishness and greed. While I have no proof or know what her reasons are for saying the rap comment, it is not that far fetched. Money for everything trickles down from those who have it most, i.e. the rich and powerful, which includes he govt. This includes money that fuels the crap that is played on the air and that perpetrates several types of negative behavior. The classist and circumstantially racist system created is not necessary caused by negativity in music, but it is like a circular effect where the music both reflects the dire situation and promotes it.
ReplyDelete