R. Kelly is the sweetest person you will ever want to meet. But Robert [Kelly] is the devil. | | | | Rhett here, Rhett now: Thomas Rhett in Florence, Ariz., April 8, 2017.
(Rick Diamond/Getty Images) | | | | |  | “R. Kelly is the sweetest person you will ever want to meet. But Robert [Kelly] is the devil.”
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| | rantnrave:// Hi music biz. Please read this, if you haven't already. Please read every article and document linked within. Please read these related timelines. There will be a one-question quiz afterward. A quiz you will be asked to give yourself: Can you still separate R. KELLY the artist from R. Kelly the man? Do you still have to? Do you still want to? Music is far from the only art that frequently asks you to separate the beauty of art from the reality of the artist who makes it, and Kelly is far from the only musician who has repeatedly forced the issue. But there's something unique about music, especially pop, in the depth and frequency with which it intersects with our everyday lives. And there's something uniquely horrifying about the allegations that have dogged Kelly for much of his career. He's never been convicted of any of them, it's important to note, and he denied the charges leveled Monday in a BUZZFEED blockbuster reported by JIM DEROGATIS, who pursued Kelly for years. There have, on the other hand, been multiple out-of-court settlements and nondisclosure agreements with alleged victims. DeRogatis' newest piece, which accuses the singer of seducing, brainwashing, emotionally abusing and trapping women in a cult-like existence, is different. I'm not sure anything in it would constitute an actual crime even if proved true. It would just be astonishingly creepy. And inhumane. And, as DAMON YOUNG argues in VSB, difficult to disentangle from much of Kelly's music. "He makes crazy, nasty, deviant sex music because he’s a crazy, nasty sex deviant," Young writes. "These are not two separate parts of him." And, as Young and others have noted, he is allegedly using his music celebrity to facilitate what he's accused of doing. So how do you separate the man from the music, and how do you separate the music from everything you've read? And should you? And do you want to?... More crucial thinking on SOUNDCLOUD: It's "the best streaming service on EARTH" because it's the only one that fully embraces the idea of social media (feeds, feedback, likes, reposts, etc.). It really really needs a business model (but so do all its competitors). Let's archive the entire thing just in case... Love KELEFA SANNEH's profile of one of the all-time great singles artists, GEORGE STRAIT, with side trips to rodeos, radio and the LAS VEGAS strip... RIP TUXEDOMOON bassist PETER PRINCIPLE. | | | - Matty Karas, curator |
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| | | all my ex's live in texas |
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 | BuzzFeed |
| As the R&B legend tours the country this summer, parents have told police that R. Kelly is running an abusive "cult" that's tearing families apart. Three former members of Kelly’s inner circle told BuzzFeed News similar stories. | | |
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 | Slate |
| Jim DeRogatis on 16 years of reporting on the singer’s alleged sex crimes—and why he hopes this time will be different. | | |
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 | The Washington Post |
| YouTube is locked in an increasingly bitter battle with music labels over how much it pays to stream their songs -- and at stake is not just the finances of the music industry but also the way that millions of people around the world have grown accustomed to listening to music: free of cost. | | |
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 | The New Yorker |
| For decades, he’s been country’s most consistent hitmaker. Can he keep holding on? | | |
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 | Refinery29 |
| Women face an avalanche of sexism for playing instruments. They deserve better representation. | | |
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 | CDM Create Digital Music |
| SoundCloud's CEO published a post saying SoundCloud is here to stay and uploads are safe. But it isn't just SoundCloud's business that's troubled. | | |
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| BuzzFeed |
| MTV used to be closely in tune with youth culture, creating cultural phenomena instead of merely covering them. Now, it looks like they’re just trying to catch up. | | |
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 | The Cipher |
| Aldrin “DJ Toomp” Davis began his career as a DJ and producer for early Atlanta rap acts like Raheem the Dream and MC Shy-D. But it was when he met a friend’s cousin named Clifford Harris that things really got started. | | |
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 | Billboard |
| An excerpt from the book 'Dressed Up For a Riot: Misadventures in Putin's Moscow.' | | |
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 | Clash Magazine |
| Why "Grunge: The Musical" is simply a step too far. | | |
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| | | does fort worth ever cross your mind |
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 | The Daily Beast |
| The music icon presents a series of racist images in his new music videos for “The Story of O.J.” and “4:44” off new album ‘4:44.’ And Jay knows exactly what he’s doing. | | |
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 | Los Angeles Times |
| Desert Trip had the vibes and superstars, but the more humble Classic West might be easier to pull off again. | | |
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 | Lenny |
| An interview with Kate Stables, the Paris-based folk musician, on her band's latest and most spacious album. | | |
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 | Music x Tech x Future |
| To me, it's beyond a doubt that we'll all be listening to AI-created music within a few decades, and probably much sooner. The most important way in for this type of music is mood playlists. | | |
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 | Salon |
| A glimpse at the legendary performer in his prime -- a disciplinarian, but hardly a perfectionist (Excerpted from "James Brown's Live at the Apollo" by Douglas Wolk | | |
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 | Motherboard |
| Spurred by recent reports the German streaming music and audio company may be running out of cash, The Archive Team is racing to preserve sound files-at high cost. | | |
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 | VSB |
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| Billboard |
| With Congress set to address pre-1972 copyright laws, labels are lining up against the satellite radio service -- with the two sides preparing to battle over billions. | | |
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| The Daily Beast |
| The story of Schwesta Ewa says a lot about gritty sex work--and the music industry. | | |
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 | Texas Monthly |
| Thirty years ago, Jo Carol Pierce turned her Lubbock upbringing into a sublime musical about sex, suicide, and Jesus. Now 72, she's ready for her third act. | | |
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| © Copyright 2017, The REDEF Group |
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