R. Kelly has appeared in the charts for his upbeat, popular R&B songs for nearly three decades. But that’s all starting to change.
Surviving R. Kelly was recently released on Netflix – almost an entire year after its initial premiere on Lifetime. The documentary series reveals the injustices and trauma underage girls faced while working with singer R. Kelly.
The shocking six-episode series consists of interviews about R. Kelly’s misogynistic and abhorrent actions to girls more than half his age. The woman describe how he forced them, as well as other teenage girls, to perform sexual acts for him. He lured in each girl to be his puppets by promising to help them gain success with their musical aspirations.
Now when we analyze R. Kelly’s hit songs, we understand his true intentions behind the lyrics and how we were blind to their implied misogyny. Take his song “Ignition,” for instance. Some of the chorus includes the lines “hey pretty girl I’m feelin’ you, the way you do the things you do remind me of my Lexus coup.” Not only is R. Kelly objectifying women as a commodity – specifically his car – but he renders them subject to his personal interests in order to showcase his superiority.
At the end of the chorus, Kelly sings “mama rollin’ that body got every man in here wishin’, sippin’ on coke and rum I’m like so what I’m drunk,” using alcohol and other drugs to justify his inappropriate actions towards women.
I used to listen to this song in several venues, including school dances, dance classes, and in my own free time for entertainment. As a child, I did not fully absorb and comprehend the lyrics but now I recognize their intentions on a deeper level. I have stopped listening to R. Kelly’s music to stand in solidarity with the women who were victimized by his inexcusable sexual behavior.
Thankfully, Kelly was arrested in July on accounts of kidnapping, forced labor, and sending child pornography across state lines. Although he is now behind bars, R. Kelly continues to earn royalties from those who still listen to his music. Surviving R. Kelly is a step towards the future of exposing artists who previously manipulated us through their music in order to divert our attention so we would neglect reality. This wave of investigating and validating celebrities is just beginning and it begs the question: Who is next?