Why Female Musicians Still Work With R. Kelly
It’s a shame that the same reporter who sent the tape of R. Kelly allegedly having sex with a minor years ago had to write another piece chronicling the singer’s stomach-churning antics to get people to once again debate the merits of supporting this man. The Buzzfeed expose details R. Kelly’s allegedly abusive behavior in what parents describe as a “sex cult” where he holds young women against their will at his Atlanta home. Their sole role is to sexually service him while he demands to be referred to only as “Daddy.”
Even if he’s denied criminal wrongdoing, R. Kelly has long waved his desires for young girls and the history of serial abuse that comes with it directly in our faces. Even before he married Aaliyah as a teenager, he had her sing lyrics he wrote that featured her calling on him to sexually please her. Even after being acquitted of 14 counts of child pornography, he continued settling civil suit and after civil suit that alleged he had had sexual, predatory relationships with minors. And yet, even with this baggage, he had the nerve to dub himself “The Pied Piper of R&B”—a troubling nickname to those familiar with both the fable and his disturbing past.
Many of us who have long found him to be a monster continue to ask the question: How can anyone with a conscience choose to work with this man?
Even before this explosive story, I was revisiting that question after noticing that quite a few R&B female artists I enjoy made the choice to open for him on various tour dates this summer. This would include the multi-platinum selling singer Monica, who began her career around the same time as other 1990s R&B teen acts Brandy and Aaliyah; LeToya Luckett, an original member of Destiny’s Child who has her own platinum solo debut album; and June’s Diary, the new girl group created on a television show hosted by Kelly Rowland that aired on BET in 2016. If you take a look at their respective Instagram accounts, you will find that Monica is set to open for Kelly in Baton Rogue on August 12th; the following day, LeToya Luckett will be opening for him; June’s Diary has been the main opening act on Kelly’s “The Afterparty Tour” since late last year.