[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

[no subject]



R. Kelly Fans Separate The Sound From the Furor
By Stephen A. Crockett Jr.
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, January 25, 2003; Page C01 

The weather won't make up its mind. First it snows,
then it stops, then it starts again. Inside the Saint
on 14th Street NW, the crowd is just as fickle as the
elements. They won't dance, then they do. When 50
Cent's lyrics are piped through the speakers -- "You
ain't a friend of mine" -- they all hit the club floor
doing the "same ol' two-step." When DJ Precise mixes
in reggae, they all hit the bar. When he plays B2K's
"Bump, Bump, Bump," they all come back. They are a
forgiving group.

Which is evident when R. Kelly's remix of his song
"Ignition" begins to rattle the walls. They have
forgiven him, too, as women grab girlfriends from
seats and guys follow. Thick winter coats are
sprinkled like ice cream toppings on the soft leather
sofas.

You'd never know that the Grammy-winning singer who
has bodies swaying and Corona bottles being held high
was arrested Wednesday in Miami on new child
pornography charges stemming from pictures police say
show him having sex with an underage girl. Or that he
was already facing child pornography charges in
Chicago, where authorities say they have videotape
showing him having sex with a 13-year-old girl. The
grand total: 33 counts.

"When people come out to the club, they would rather
not think about that," says Ayanna Williams, 25, a
Smithsonian museum educator who braved the cold to get
her dance on. "I don't like to mix those issues with
my entertainment."

Many of the partygoers in the club are reluctant to
blend the singer's personal problems with their
booty-shaking.

"I think that we can make the separation between the
artist and the issue," says Matthew Hodge, a Howard
University student and a DJ on the student-run WHBC
radio station. "His music works in the club, and that
'Ignition' remix is hot. Look at Michael Jackson: He
is a complete whack job, but some of his earlier
albums are classics."

That attitude shouldn't come as a surprise, since
rappers are rarely condemned by their fans for their
legal problems. In fact, the rap industry thrives on
negative images. Felonies are badges that add street
cred.

WKYS-FM morning host Russ Parr devoted his Thursday
show to Kelly's new troubles. "I had to bring it up
after I received so many calls off-air, and the issue
really got into how deceitful these young girls are
with their makeup and fake IDs," he says.

"The problem I think that a lot of people are having
is if this were one incident where he couldn't tell a
girl's age, then that would be one thing. But the man
is facing 33 counts. It is hard to argue with 33
counts."

Kelly's troubles started when he married singer
Aaliyah, then 15, in 1994. The marriage was annulled
after a judge determined that she had lied about her
age. (Aaliyah died in a plane crash in the Bahamas in
2001.) Then came two civil suits -- both settled out
of court -- that claimed he had sexually exploited two
teenagers. The Chicago arrest came last June after a
newspaper received the videotape from an anonymous
source. Bootleg copies of the video hit the street,
and Kelly hit the airwaves saying it wasn't him. The
same month, he released "Heaven I Need a Hug," a
troubled-man, thug prayer.

Eventually, all was almost forgotten. "He was
weathering this storm," says Parr.

On Oct. 15, Kelly dropped a single, the original
version of "Ignition," with lines like: "Girl, please
let me stick my key in your ignition, babe / So I can
get this thing rollin', babe / See I'll be doin' about
80 on your freeway / Girl, I won't stop until I drive
you crazy." The single has sold 57,000 copies in the
States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

"It really doesn't make sense that he would come out
with a song like that. He should have stuck with the
'I Believe I Can Fly' stuff," says Parr, referring to
the gospel-like hit that won Kelly three Grammy Awards
in 1998.

Kelly's new album containing "Ignition" and the remix,
titled "Chocolate Factory," was set to be released
next week. After the new charges, the date has been
pushed back to Feb. 18.

Parr took some heat during his show for playing the
"Ignition" remix, one of the most requested songs.

"A woman called and yelled at me for playing it," he
says. "She said that she thought we were appalling for
playing his music. I told her that I have no control
over what the listeners want to hear, and I will not
condemn them for wanting to hear it."

Lisa Fager, 32, an entertainment marketing consultant,
says she doesn't want to hear it, either: "I can't
listen to his songs now. If I'm listening to the radio
and one of his songs comes on, I have to turn it off."

Several online messages boards have been flooded with
chatter. On the BET.com Web site someone wrote: "This
is sad, that someone so talented can go down like
this. Just when he was trying to rebuild his career. I
still like his music and I will get that new album,
but I don't want to hear no more 'Heaven I need a
hug's.' He needs help."

Back at the Saint, owner Danny Davis waves it all off:
"Rock stars do it all the time. The only difference is
he got caught."

Bobby Patterson, 23, one of the folks promoting the
party, is standing near the front door. He isn't sure
he buys the latest allegations.

"It just seems strange to me," he says. If the
allegations are true, "it's just sad that a grown man
that is famous has to settle with a minor to fulfill
his sexual fantasy."

As far as Kelly's music taking a hit, Patterson turns
and points to the crowd that is still dancing.


=====
-Brian in Atlanta
The Who This Month!
http://www.thewhothismonth.com
Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now.
http://mailplus.yahoo.com