Alicia Keys is either bored with her own success and looking for some controversy to "keep things real", or simply hasn't yet learned that for an artist of her caliber and of her exposure, some topics are simply taboo. Controversy travels very fast and wide these days, and there are more than enough quite recent examples to prove that when artists start to talk about such things like the 9/11 attacks being a farce, a world of criticism and (mainly) unlawful judgment is quickly unleashed upon them. Alicia Keys is the last one to stir up the pot and get burned doing it: in an interview with Blender magazine, the successful R&B artist claims that gangsta rap (a subgenre of hip-hop music which developed during the late 1980s) was a "government conspiracy" to convince black people to kill one another.
"'Gangsta rap' was a ploy to convince black people to kill each other. 'Gangsta rap' didn't exist," the multi-platinum, Grammy-winning singer-songwriter states for the May issue of Blender magazine, further adding that, in her opinion, the feud between rappers Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G. was also fueled "by the government and the media, to stop another great black leader from existing". Alicia expressed her desire to write more political songs in the future and added that if leaders such as Black Panther co-founder and Huey Newton "had the outlets our musicians have today, it'd be global. I have to figure out a way to do it myself".
By publicly expressing her opinions on this matter, Alicia is stepping into mined territory. We've all seen by now it's very easy these days for artists to be misunderstood, misquoted or taken out of context, particularly when it comes to highly volatile, ideological issues that are likely to cause strong emotional responses from various communities. From that respect, gangsta rap is a very delicate issue, as the subject matter inherent in this community has caused and continues to cause a great deal of controversy.
The genre faced accusations both from those outside the movement itself, and from black people. According to Wikipedia, gangsta rap was condemned for "promoting homophobia, violence, profanity, promiscuity, misogyny, rape, street gangs, drive-by shooting, vandalism, thievery, drug use, racism, and materialism", and the artists who cultivated the genre were seen as acting "in a stereotypically uncultured and ignorant manner for the entertainment of white audiences". However, the whole issue is extremely controversial, and Keys' comments could very well have a negative impact on the singer's career. Just how negative, it remains to be seen. Stay tuned for more news, coming soon.
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