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Magazines must love it when celebrities give controversial comments, because it’s a surefire way to get a lot of publicity. In this case singer Alicia Keys was widely quoted as telling Bender Magazine that the US Government invented gangster rap as a means to incite violence in the African American community. But Keys now says that her comments were misconstrued and she didn’t say that it was all a big conspiracy. She claims that what she meant was that the term “Gangster Rap” was overused by the media to stereotype and dismiss a genre of music that has important messages about the experience of inner city blacks. That’s a decent point, but it’s not likely to be taken at face value after the big hoopla she created with what initially sounded like a whacked out conspiracy theory:
According to an interview in the magazine’s May issue, the 27-year-old singer says: “`Gangsta rap’ was a ploy to convince black people to kill each other. `Gangsta rap’ didn’t exist.” She also is quoted as saying that she wears a gold AK-47 pendant around her neck “to symbolize strength, power and killing ‘em dead.”
“We stand by our story,” Blender spokeswoman Kate Cafaro told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
“My comments about `gangsta rap’ were in no way trying to suggest that the government is responsible for creating this genre of rap music,” Keys said in a statement issued by J Records. “The point that I was trying to make was that the term was oversloganized by some of the media causing reactions that were not always positive. Many of the `gangsta rap’ lyrics articulate the problems of the artists’ experiences and I think all of us, including our leaders, could be doing more to address these problems including drugs, gang violence, crime, and other related social issues.”
As for the AK-47 remark, Keys said Tuesday that AK-47 is a nickname given to her by friends “as an acronym for Alicia Keys and a metaphor for wowing people with my music and performances, `killing ‘em dead’ on stage. The reference was in no way meant to have a literal, political or negative connotation.”
[AP Story from The Huffington Post]
I’ve had to rely on secondhand accounts of this interview because the excerpt available on the Blender website doesn’t include these quotes from Alicia that are causing a stir. You kind of assume that she did make some broad sweeping comments like this if Blender stands by their story. As the Ent Lawyer on Crazy Days and Nights said, it’s not like the government suits were “sitting around listening to The Sugar Hill Gang and [speculating] that if they could just make it more violent that it would lead to black people killing each other.”
As for the media overusing the term “Gangster Rap” to stereotype music they didn’t understand or want to grasp the meaning of, that’s entirely plausible and probably true. A singer who wears a gun pendant around her neck isn’t the one who should be pointing that out to everyone as if it’s a big plot, though. She can really belt out a tune, though, and she should probably stick to that for the immediate future.
Thanks to The YBF for these photos from Blender.
Written by Celebitchy
Posted in Alicia Keys, Music, Stupid
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12 Responses to “Alicia Keys tries to clarify “Gangster Rap” government conspiracy comments”
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She was pretty much spouting exactly what is in the books about the Black Panthers and updated it to include Tupac and Biggie.
Some PR person wrote that for her so she wouldn’t pull a Britney and sound all crazy.
I thought they just shipped everyone off to rehab when they made a PR blunder like this?
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Here’s the explanation: You’re a dumbass; beautiful, talented, but a dumbass.
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i would think she made her ooops-i-didn’t-mean-THAT statement, less because she was afraid of sounding like a conspiracy freak or a modern day black panther, than because ooops-what-are-all-the-black-rappers-going-to-say? here’s a culture that has felt historically disenfranchised and powerless. they find their voice, a voice of power and anger that brings them fame and money, that unites them with others within their culture, that makes them objects of adoration not just within segments of the black community, but also within segments of the world’s communities. now along comes little alicia keyes who says that their voice of power is really nothing more than a little tin trumpet designed by little old white men in suits??? what disrespect. she better back pedal– and fast!
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Great point, Journey. And Herman, can you simplify the relationship between “gangsta rap” and foreign trade? You kind of lost me on that one. Oh, and how did the domestic and foreign governments manage to convince would-be rappers to carry out their master plan?
Thanks in advance for your guidance.
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gangsta rap was created by american and foreign governments
Little-known fact: Bill Clinton wrote “Fuck Tha Police.”
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What? I think Simon your the one that needs to go to rehab.
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Your probly rite.
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Little-known fact: Bill Clinton wrote “Fuck Tha Police.”
Hilarious!!!!
Has John McCain written anything I’d know of?
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i love that girl but man………i dont like that statement at all…it makes her look ignorant rely…
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nice shared.
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I think she is right… Gangsta rap is finished…
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there’s nothing to clarify, alicia. there’s not one white american whose ever owned a parcel of farm land, or one black american, that have not experience how corrupt this american government is.
gangsta rap was created by american and foreign governments, and perpetuated the white entertainment industry to influence foreign trade, by demonstrating that blacks cannot be trusted.
one example would be the alleged race riots of the 60’s that were fought by less than 1% of the african american population against the police in america, and the corrupt governments established throughout africa . . . especially in nigeria, where most black african refugees end up.
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