Monday, December 16, 2013

THE SADDEST FACT I'VE LEARNED IS NOBODY MATTERS LESS TO OUR SOCIETY THAN YOUNG BLACK WOMEN. NOBODY: Our old friend Jim DeRogatis did a lengthy and much-buzzed-about interview with the Village Voice today in which he reminds us that when you think of R. Kelly, you should think of one thing first and foremost (warning: link contains potential triggers):

I think in the history of rock & roll, rock-music or pop-culture people misbehaving and behaving badly sexually with young women, rare is the amount of evidence compiled against anyone apart from R. Kelly. Dozens of girls -- not one, not two, dozens -- with harrowing lawsuits. The videotapes -- and not just one videotape, numerous videotapes....  I can still listen to Led Zeppelin and take joy in Led Zeppelin or James Brown. I condemn the things they did. I'm not reminded constantly in the art, because the art is not about it. But if you're listening to "I want to marry you, pussy," and not realizing that he said that to Aaliyah, who was 14, and making an album he named Age Ain't Nothing but a Number -- I had Aaliyah's mother cry on my shoulder and say her daughter's life was ruined, Aaliyah's life was never the same after that. That's not an experience you've had. I'm not expecting you to feel the same way I do. But you can look at this body of evidence.
And in the past I've been as guilty of this as anyone, because "Trapped in the Closet" was amusing. No more. Hold me to it.

3 comments:

  1. Joseph Finn7:19 PM

    Honestly, I think I assumed that everyone knew about this (since DeRog has been reporting on this here in Chicago for so long) and Kelly fans were just kind of dismissing it. I didn't know that it was just being willfully ignored and under-reported by everyone.

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  2. Jordan7:45 PM

    I thought the fish thing was apocryphal. There are so many versions of the story out there, and no reporter had first hand knowledge, I doubt it's true (at least as told).

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  3. Nigel from Cameroon11:41 AM

    I think the American press willfully ignores and under-reports many things. Disgusting crap like this among them.

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