Alicia Keys: Conspiracy Theorist?
 

AP



Alicia Keys

NEW YORK — There's another side to Alicia Keys: conspiracy theorist.

The Grammy-winning singer-songwriter tells Blender magazine: "'Gangsta rap' was a ploy to convince black people to kill each other. 'Gangsta rap' didn't exist."

Keys, 27, said she's read several Black Panther autobiographies and wears a gold AK-47 pendant around her neck "to symbolize strength, power and killing 'em dead," according to an interview in the magazine's May issue, on newsstands Tuesday.

Another of her theories: The bicoastal feud between slain rappers Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G. was fueled "by the government and the media, to stop another great black leader from existing."

Keys' AK-47 jewelry came as a surprise to her mother, who is quoted as telling Blender: "She wears what? That doesn't sound like Alicia." Keys' publicist, Theola Borden, said Keys was on vacation and unavailable for comment.

Though she's known for her romantic tunes, she told Blender that she wants to write more political songs. If black leaders such as the late Black Panther Huey Newton "had the outlets our musicians have today, it'd be global. I have to figure out a way to do it myself," she said.

The multiplatinum songstress behind the hits "Fallin"' and "No One" most recently had success with her latest CD, "As I Am," which sold millions.


http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,350916,00.html


I would like to see some proof on that...I don't know if I can co sign off on that one Miss Keys....

I somewhat agree with what she said about "gangsta rap."

While there were artists for decades who referenced their gangs and other "gangsta rap stuff" in songs for decades, the creation of a genre was very deliberate. And it isn't completely clear where the creation of a genre came from. Sure, Ice-T had the first real commercial success as a "gangsta rapper" but I'm not convinced that it was the rappers who led that movement (or even the people in the hoods). They wanted some of their stories told and for it to be accepted but the extent that that was allowed is still mostly up to those who allowed it.

On a related note, 2 Live Crew was banned in the USA for making music that is just run of the mill raunchiness now.

yeah...and my thing is, even if the government didn't 'invent' it...they sure as hell aren't stopping it and how it has permeated urban culture...especially since black consumers aren't even the biggest consumers of the genre now.

also I am keeping in mind that we still havent heard her side yet as to whther or not she refutes telling this to blender of in those are her words...so i will wait til then

She calls her ex-boyfriend "Voledemort." Alicia will always be cool, conspiracy theories or none. :cool:

I don't know about an AK-47 around my neck, but she's got something there. I'd need to here more from her specifically before I'm inclined to think about it more.

Unrelated to topic...I heard she's bi. That's totally cool with me. :cool: Notice that "No One" is gender-neutral.

For yeeeears.....

Oh...I don't care about A.Keys and whether or not she said any of this. She isn't the first or the last to say these things so they can be discussed on their own merit. :)

dang...we should have put this.....wait...let me go do it now....

Alicia Keys is in the closet.

I mean, Ice-T was the self proclaimed OG, and had one of the biggest influencing records of the whole genre, Original Gangster. I think the creation of the "gangsta rap" movement certainly had A LOT to do with the rappers themselves. NWA? Gangsta, Gangsta? Fuck tha Police? Straight outta Compton? I mean, these guys had graphic lyrics, a graphic image, and some pretty heavy beats for the time.............and I dig the shit out of it, haha.

I don't know, it just doesn't seem as deliberate to me as some may think. I think these guys wanted to get this "image" out there.

...yeah...even Wikipedia can tell you that.

The creation of the gangsta rap genre (we're talking about a genre of music and not a "movement" in terms of rappers wanting to talk about certain things in their songs) isn't mostly up to the artists. The music industry and the media generally don't operate that way.

Almost everything you see and hear in the media is deliberate. That doesn't make everything a result of a "conspiracy" but it's all deliberate. "Deliberate to accomplish what" is the question.

It's like a "chicken or egg" type issue. Were record execs just responding to the artists' and fans' interests or were the artists' and fans' interests in response to the money put into the creation and marketing of a genre of music? I don't know but it's interesting.

The record execs were responding to the money being put into thier pockets...

Think Dave Geffen, Mike Klein and Jerry Heller

You actually think the government could do that even if it wanted to?

Hmmmmmm

The US banned 2 Live Crew altho by todya's standards thier lyrics would be tame

Khia, Snoo Dog and Necro has been banned from Austrailia

Canada is working on banning 50 Cent because he promotes gun violence..DMX is already on that list

The government can ban whoever they want at anytime...they have banned not just rappers but country artists, metal...whatever...if it's determined to be a negative influence to somebody...best believe they can ban it....


Oh...and before you do.....try plain talking beofre yougo running off at the Court TV mouth.


Be nice to see you try holding a regular human convo sometimes....

I don't do lawspeak

BTW....take a gander at this link: http://www.freemuse.org/sw6907.asp

The government shouldn't stop it. That's not its place.

As I'm learning in my Community Counseling class this semester (well, relearning) follow the money. It leads to why the genre developed and was marketed after the emergence of a few successful artists.

Looked at your link: videos banned on MTV is different than the government doing something. Churchs and radio stations boycotting the Dixie Chicks is different than the government doing something. Maybe the larger issue you should examine is why MTV is more likely to ban sex than violence and the overall societal perceptions. It's not something limited to gangsta' rap.

Drole...and this where I am going....we as a society at large are selective as to what we want banned and to be quite honest with you and blunt...as long as rap culture doesn't start affecting affluent populations, it's no big deal...let thme listen to all the hip hop rap that they want....

other countries have banned hip hop artists because they state that the genre is having an adverse affect among the population so part of what we in the US need to be observant on is how long will it be before the USA starts taking the same stance...

On a somewhat unrelated note remember the big shift the media took after Nipplegate but yet and still you had Diana Ross feeling Lil Kim up and Madonna kissing Brittany on MTV and no one batted an eye.

The FCC lost thier minds afterwards because of the 'adverse affect' people said it (Janet's performance) had on kids.

yet and still kids at any time could tune in on an act of violence.

This is why I said IF the gov't wanted to they could act, but they aren't,instead they are leaving it up to the parents to do it (which in some cases, parents should)

it's almost and dmaned if you do and damned if you don't situation.


wait...i just remembered law and order is on

And of course while watching the 7pm episode it starts off with someone getting shot up in a diner...and not 5 mins after I finished typing my ETA up a kid blows his brains out...and it's only 7:15 pm.

Drole...something to consider

The American media has been slowly letting the genie over the bottle over the past 1/2 century

Think....

50 years ago married couples on TV slept in separate beds, 25 years ago the same beds....today you can find an interacial gay couple almost in the nude in bed in 8pm time slot (not trying to be offensive to gay people...just trying to make a point!)

50 years ago it was all about gee willikers and aww shucks....25 years ago....you heard damn....20 years ago joan Collins gave bitch a brand new meaning and today unless you are watching a paid premium channel you wont hear shit or fuck (altho I still think about the South Park episode!!) and depending on the show you can hear the n word.

I can go on and you see where I am going with this...it's just that when it comes to who should be allowing what it's a 2 faced beast...on one hand the FCC limits certain things but appears helpless to stop others....

yes....the responsibility falls mostly on the parents but when we are talking about parents who are desensitized and raised on most of this also...who can really say?

.

What country artists have been banned by the government?

Same with metal?

I'm not arguing (for the love of God I'm not so don't start in).

I remember the whole Tipper Gore, Twisted Sister thing...but I don't think they banned anything. Freedom of speech and expression came in to play.

That was the case that caused the warning labels to be put on cd's with questionable material, if I'm not mistaken.

Yes you are correct...but since you asked (and no I am not being smart aleky) do a lil google reseach around the web...you will be surprised.


Heck even Elvis was banned in some localities back in the day for lewdness


Oh and BTW remember the Dixie Chix got banned for anti Bush lyrics. (I stand corrected...they were banned by thier company...not the gov't...however thier ban caused a senate hearing to be convened to see if what happened was legal)

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/...ent_id=1930521 (heheh..Ironic...check out who was on the panel!)


what I will say tho...is that there are many other countries that have a heavier stance towards banning US artists and thier performance of their music in thier country...

Yeah you're right, I do know Elvis was deemed pretty dang lewd back in the day.

Yeah I know about the Dixie Chicks thing for sure. I think all of them lived in and around Austin at one point, not sure if they still do. Were they banned though? I know a lot of radio stations in Texas boycotted them. There was a time when you heard nothing from them. Come to think of it, I can't say that I've heard a Dixie Chicks song on the radio here in years.

Ok...well let me ask this then....

Does anyone here think that the gov't should take a tougher stance on censorship and the media?


Does anyone here think that there are groups of people are not doing thier job raising thier kids and protecting them from negative images and that it may be a cause of violence that we are seeing?

Are warning labels enough?

ETA: so I am flipping channels...why in HELL is arsenio on Flavor of LOVE???????

and

here is the blender interview in its entirety:

http://www.blender.com/articles/defa...key=21056&pg=2

No, I don't think the government should. I think warning labels, editing for TV and radio, etc. etc. are quite enough.

I think that parents need to do a better job at keeping the material their children listen to and look at in check.

.....and I really, REALLY hate when music and movies get blamed for bad things that kids do. "Oh my gosh, Timmy was just so horribly influenced by his Cannibal Corpse records that he went and shot a bunch of people." Well???? Why the hell was he allowed to buy the record in the first place? Isn't that your job?

HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! right?

I can only imagine what will happen when GTA 4 comes out in a few weeks how many parents will be on that bandwagin (again) saying that it caused ther kids to go into crime....

Hahaha, true man, true.

I will buy that game when it comes out too. Not gonna lie.
: putspaperbagoverhead

I mean come on. The GTA games are so over the top it's almost comical. I mean, if little Stewart goes into the streets, steals a car, bangs a hooker, and then blows away half of downtown with an unlimited supply of molotov cocktails, rocket launchers, and sub maching guns.....we've got a serious problem. Until then, I'm not buying it.

I got mine on reserve too

But...errmmmnyeah...so uhhh..yeah

It trifling the parents that buy this stuff for kids and dont take the time to show them that what they see in these games are NOT real.


Let's revisit Columbine for a sec shall we?

How do you feel about people blaming Doom and games for the shooting?


or....since we are on the subject of media...what about the kid that killed his sister because of something he saw on wrestling?


pssst...what system by the way

Aren't the only people who are calling for it to be banned the upper class? The "think of the children" crowd who yells the loudest?

Seriously? What countries? Because I hope the US never goes down that path.

The MTV kiss caused quite a stir, just like the "wardrobe malfunction." However the FCC does NOT regulate cable and couldn't do a damn thing about the kiss even if two women kissing was considered as "obscene" as a nipple.

Thank the Parents Television Council, I think that's their name. If you knew how many of the FCC's complaints came from that group, in form letter fashion, you'd wonder why they did anything.

Yep, that's american society. EXCEPT, the FCC regulates the violence allowed on network television.

Yes and no. Broadcast stations are held to different standards and I do not want the government regulating cable. Parents should be responsible in ALL situations.



Yes and the graphicness of that violence is carefully crafted around the government's regulations and would not have been shown before "prime time" ANything more graphic would be shown after 10 or 11pm.

Yes and thankfully we can all stop pretending that couples sleep in separate beds wearing full PJs and children just show up out of no where.

On CABLE which is outside of the FCC's rules.

It's the cable thing. Also your'e talking about everything BUT violence which is the issue at hand it seems.
So those parents are not capable of being responsible parents?

And personally, I'm glad we don't live in Pleasantville still.

Because it was a big to do about whether criticizing the government led to losing your job. There've been problems with that in the country before. As we all know though they hold hearings on baseball, that doesn't mean a heck of a lot.

Such as?

The opposite in fact.

Nope. I've seen repeated studies that do not show increased violent behavior after watching violence. I think that America's love affair with violence is something people should stop and consider before letting their kid see an R rated movie because, well it's violent but there's no sex.

Certainly, they inform parents and consumers and they're voluntary.



And that's the problem, the parents.


That Jack Thompson and his ilk are morons. The accepted bullying of children by children by adults had much more effect, but the ultimate responsibility lies in those who acted.

I'll probably get it on the PS3.

Columbine? Well blaming Doom is dumb. It's a fictional game where you go around shooting snarling space beasts. Haha, I mean seriously. These kids were problems before the shootings. Where were the parents in all of this? I mean breaking into cars, stealing, the stuff they were doing on the internet, the threats, having someone buy all of these guns????? I'm sorry, but if I acted like that my parents would have some serious, serious concerns. I probably would have been shipped off to military school to be honest. I just have no clue how they did all of this stuff without their parents noticing. Hell, my folks knew about things I did before I even did them, haha.

As for the kid and the wrestling...that's just terrible and so tragic. I don't know what to think about that.

Wait mack...the devil is in the details...remember a big part of the whole Doom issue was that they created a mod that was a replica of the school and they used that to fantasize about what they eventually carried out....

Now you and I as rational beings know that it doesn't make sense but to think someone went thru all of that trouble for a mod....yeah...some questions has to be asked.

And that was another detail to the whole thing...the parents really didn't pay attention to all of the signs and I think a debate still came to question as to how they got thier hands on all of those weapons with out mom dad and gaurdians not knowing....

regardless...that tells you that somewhere out there is a big disconnect between what parents do to stay a prioirty in thier lives....that just goes to show you why there is such a big difference in how we were raised and how some of these kids in this age are (or are not) being raised by responsible parents.

Please let me know if this makes sense...it's one am and my eyes are blurry.

Haha, I actually went and read some about them after I made that post. You are right about them making up the mod. They were called the "Harris Levels" or something like that.

Yeah man, you made perfect sense, and I definitely agree.

well, she still looks good

Sure.

That wasn't a slight at you. But go ahead and claim your "gangsta rap pass." ;)

I most certainly will. Ha.