R. Kelly Rises Up

I was a little weary this morning when I heard a clip of R. Kelly's new song dedicated to the victims of the tragic VT massacre. I assumed that since R Kelly's career and reputation toppled significantly after that sex tape scandal with a minor in 2002, he was just trying to look good again by adding this dedication to his latest single. Before he got caught seducing a little girl, he had been pretty much on top of the world since the early 90's with such hits as "I believe I Can Fly," "Bump N Grind" and "I'm Your Angel" (a collabo with international diva Celine Dion). After listening to his latest single (which sounds VERY similar to his most popular hit "I Believe I Can Fly"), "Rise Up," I thought, "WOAH Kelly... I see exactly what you're trying to do here; you're attempting to use this tragedy to build up some of that wholesomeness (and not to mention accumulate some dinero) you lost after peeing on that 16 year old girl. Oh NO, Kelly I see right through you mister, and you should be utterly ASHAMED."

However, as I looked into the whole dedication deal, I discovered that all the proceeds from the single are going to VT's memorial fund for the victims. The lyrics came to him while sitting in his tour bus after hearing about the tragedy. I then decided that perhaps R. Kelly is just trying to gain our trust back. Maybe, he isnt a big huge perve. My better instincts led me to simply give him the benefit of the doubt and support his sympathetic endeavor to spread that sense of national condolence to the victims' families throughout the hip hop community. I'm sure that the inner-city kid who doesnt watch CNN, but listens to the hip hop radio station, is now going to hear about the song's connection to this tragedy and be that much more informed and aware of what the rest of the country is going through.

::Ok Kelly, I see what you were thinking... you felt bad on your bus, you wrote a little song, and the kids end up just as touched as you were. That's sweet. Hmm...this is gonna do wonders for your image Kelly. You knew that the American people were a bunch of sappy motherfuckers, didnt you?::

I just can't help having mixed feelings about Kelly's might-be-mission here... it just seems so random that R. Kelly, out of all artists, is singing about the VT massacre. Actually, now that I think about it, I feel that I'd probably be just as suspicious of any other popular artist who tried to further their career or up their image using a tragic event such as this one. I'm just not sure how honorable a celebrity's intentions are when they use their talent (their job, really) to capitalize on such a touchy subject.

In any case, I'll keep convincing myself that R. Kelly is just trying to do a good deed. My heart goes out to those who suffered this tragedy too, Kelly.

Brokie

ps- this is the remix to that R. Kelly spoof by Dave Chappelle. he's a clown.