R Kelly

In thinking about R Kelly, we need to also confront the rape culture that thrives in our society, writes Tseliso Monaheng.

Dig deeper, and they’re the perfect demonstration of what is going on; the perfect illustration of why the star was left to his devices, which then enabled him to carry on irrespective of the entire music industry and their mothers and their aunts knowing the details of his abusive, predatory tendencies. Kelly is at its centre, it exists to alert us of the many systemic iniquities that lead to the continued suffering of the most vulnerable in our society: black women, the queer community, the disabled; and so forth. And I can remember growing up in the ‘90s, when phrases like “age ain’t nothing but a number” being branded about in the hood whenever age difference was brought up. While R Kelly is at its centre, it exists to alert us to the many systemic iniquities that lead to the continued suffering of the most vulnerable in our society: black women, the queer community, the disabled, and so forth. The victim’s testimony was also the first of what became a pattern among his other victims. Kelly’s violence; along with the Gayle King interview on CBS that exposed the childish outbursts of the man known as The Pied Piper of RnB to a worldwide audience. I happened to find myself in the company of people, black men, when the R. And this is the purpose of the book, at least for me. The victim’s testimony was the first of what became a pattern among his other victims. Kelly can also be heard on the tape referring to the girl by her first name.” He wasn’t prepared for what lay ahead after he, along with colleague and legal affairs reporter Abdon Pallasch, broke the story about the sex tape, which led to events that would define his career as a reporter. Part of it read: “Robert’s problem — and it’s a thing that goes back many years — is young girls.”