r. kelly fake news: quotes from r., opinions from the biz.
"I have an ex-manager that's been on my back. A lot of people know about it, but when the smoke clears, you guys will really be able to know exactly what is going on. ... People are trying to make money off my music and my name in a very, very negative way. I've been blackmailed for the last four years, and I didn't give in, and I'm still not gonna give in. ... There are a lot of people who are very jealous of me right now ... and they're trying to destroy me."
"I'm not going to sit and lie. I'm not going to I.D. people. Most of the time when I meet women, we're in clubs, and in clubs they're supposed to be 21 and over to get in ... I just like going to clubs and I like partying, so I go to the party and there's, of course, all kinds of women there and they're after you, and sometimes I'm after them too.
"These are things that I'm trying to change in my life: The women thing, the so-called friends thing. I probably spent like $2 million a year on just Chinese food and pizza for everybody 'cause I've got these 10 people in the studio that don't sing or that don't produce."
"Even though I do not believe any of the charges are warranted, I'm grateful that I will have a chance to establish the truth about me in a court of law. I have complete faith in our system of justice, and I am confident that when all the facts come out people will see that I'm no criminal."
"I do honestly believe that your fame has a lot to do with why you get with women. I walk into a club and I can come out with two or three women, and that's a problem for me. I was living the life of R. Kelly, but that's something that I'm working on. I'm trying to change that part of my life and make it better. I'm trying to take one step at a time doing that."
"Because Aaliyah is gone now and out of respect for her and her mom and her dad, I will not discuss Aaliyah."
"I said to myself, this has gotta be some kind of set-up to hurt me, because why would someone be on TV breaking my CD when they don't know the facts, when I haven't been charged and when nobody has said, "You're guilty"? Why break my CD? I've given you 13 years of me and my music."
"I believe in my fans and I know that my fans believe in me. They still play my music. My music is still selling. That lets me know that this situation didn't affect that. But I believe that people got into my personal business in the studio and got a CD maybe six months before the project came out and started bootlegging it, big time. If there were a way we could check the bootlegging, I believe it would be the biggest bootlegging situation in history."
and some other opinions (nearly all of this from the muckraking newshounds at mtv and bet):
Irv Gotti, CEO of Murder Inc Records, said as a friend of Kelly's, he hopes the singer doesn't do any serious jail time. "If it is true, I hope he gets help," Gotti told BET.com. "He ain't no criminal." According to Gotti, he's known R. Kelly for years and said, "If he's f***king with them little girls, he needs to stop f***king with them little girls."
While people like Gotti feel therapy is the best option for Kelly, Def Jam artist Redman disagreed, saying there are many people serving time for the same predicament Kelly has. "Ni**as in jail right now would say, 'Hell yeah, let me get some help,'" he said, pointing out that most people would accept a program rather than time in a cell. Additionally, Redman alluded to a financial double standard within the African American community. "There are normal ni**as from the hood who are sitting in jail right now for the same thing [R. Kelly is accused of]."
DJ Quik, the father of a 10-year-old daughter, and who has worked with Kelly, jokingly said he thought the state should, "threaten to cut his d**k off" and "put it in a guillotine." Incidentally, Quik preaches against sexual relations with underage girls on "Gina Statuatorre," from Under Tha Influence, his current album. But realistically, Quik said, if found guilty, Kelly probably needs to do time, because of his unwillingness to admit he has a problem, something that could eventually harm the crooner legally.
"I've been hearing a lot of talk on the radio [in Los Angeles] from stations that are saying they're not going to play his records ever again because they saw the video and he's a sick bastard," Dr. Dre said Wednesday. "But I don't know if it's true. I only know what I've heard. I haven't seen the video, nor do I want to see it because there's a kid involved. That's where I draw the line. You can do almost anything except touch kids or something like that. That's a no-no, you know what I'm saying? If he's guilty, he's over. I'm just waiting for the results."
Some artists, such as Fat Joe, whose single "We Thuggin' " features Kelly, are supporting the singer. "He's like this sex-driven dude, so automatically that makes him guilty because his image is caught up like that," Joe said. "As far as I'm concerned, I hope it's a rumor. I wish him the best."
Nas, a rival of Jay-Z's, referenced Kelly at a performance Wednesday in Los Angeles, noting, "We ain't touching no little kids onstage. It ain't no Best of Both Worlds."
Jay-Z has only commented vaguely on the scandal, saying last month, "We're entertainers, man. [My] new album coming out in November is [called] The Gift and the Curse. We accept the good with the bad. It is what it is"
Sisq�, whom Kelly mocks on The Best of Both Worlds, attacks the singer on his new "This Is Heart," with one of his prot�g�s in the Associates rapping, "Let me remind you of that ish you did/ The 'world's greatest'? whatever/ Ain't nothing but a child molester" (see "Sisqo Shoots Back At Nas, R. Kelly On 'This Is Heart' ").
