I just find it hard to believe Alicia Keys actually said this. She appears to be a quite intelligent young lady. It's just weird coming from her...
I love Alicia but she should lay off the grappa. Is she trying to tell me that if the media hadn't instigated the EastCoast/WestCoast rivalry, Tupac'd be running for president?! How would he have named his autobiography: The Audacity of Thuglife?
ha Mario..good one. I like Alicia...I'm not sure of her talent in the grand scheme of things because truth be told, no one in r & b is really doing the kind of music that she is doing NOW but put her up against the greats of the bygone era-(40s through mid 70s) she would be below mediocre at best. But again, she is the best that we have right now compared to the Lil' Waynes, TIs and Soulja Boys. Death has a tendency to uplift paupers into saints and that is the case with Tupac and Biggie. We have to stop making entertainers into political leaders when that is not their purpose...it's a shame.
I've always found her overrated. If it wasn't for her looks would anybody really care about her?
With that said, I also found it hard to believe that she said all these things and if she did it sounds once again like Keys desperately trying to establish her 'street cred". Does anybody remember how she used to talk when she first came on the scene trying VERY hard to sound like "ghetto" with a phonier "black" accent than Hillary speaking to audience of black people
Read the whole interview in Blender Magazine people!!!! Do not judge her statements based off of quotes taken out of context!!!! If you have read her past interviews you would know she has never hid her political views. she is not saying things for "street cred". I will post the relevant part of the interview.
Here is the link to the whole interview.
http://www.blender.com/articles/...?key=21056&
pg=0
I can't be bothered to read the whole interview because her opinion doesn't interest me. However, there does seem to be a pattern with musicians where they overstate the importance and impact of their field. The influence of Tupac and Smalls are trivial compared to socio-economics.
I fail to see what the article says to ameliorate the intent of Keys argument. This is not a matter of being “taken out of context.” Keys was quite clear about her thoughts on gangsta music and the governmental cause of it. My problem is that this appears to be a case of a “little bit of knowledge.” She read a few progressive writings and now she is sure that the government is responsible for all of Black people’s ails. Perhaps she should read the transcripts of the COINTELPRO files where the FBI used entertainers and sport figures in the general sense to quell Black folks from embracing radicalism….in other words, if Blacks are given athletes and entertainers they will be too prideful to revolt. If we are to believe the transcripts…Alicia Keys might be considered the problem. The corporate elite capitalized on gangsta music because it sold well. And corporations could care less if people of color suffer because of the proliferation. The corporate stronghold on pushing detrimental product is analogous to companies that continue to sell the public cigarettes despite the prospective health risks and death toll. And again, I’m not one to believe that street thugs like Biggie and Tupac possessed the will or the intellectual capacity to be classified as leaders. Let’s put a stop to promoting folks that clearly should remain in their respective lanes. What’s next R. Kelly has been conspired against because he is secretly a astrophysicist? Please…
Well she has the right to voice her opinions. We really don't know what her intent was; that is why I wished the interviewer had asked her to explain what she meant more fully. I don't think she is saying the government is to blame for all of black people's problems; she was talking about something very specific.
Tas..no one is disputing her right to speak but when a person says something that is questionable, they have to be expected to be vetted about the remark. I think she is a breath of fresh air amongst the substandard artists that are out here but we have to stop deflecting as people of color and stop the PC business. Gangsta music was or is popular for a lot of the same reasons some of the devil worship aspects heavy metal were....they struck a cord with certain youth and the corporate structure pounced on that....is that the government? Everyone IS entitled to an opinion but can it be based on some facts for a change.
I have to echo some earlier comments that while Tupac and Big were influential in their chosen professions, forces for societal change they were not. AK is off on this one, because we black folk were killing each other, anyway. The government never needed to help us do that.
To some degree, she has a point. Tupac was starting to organize and people were actually listening. I'm a conspiracy theorist as well, so....
But thats all I'll say about that.
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