Da Brat Stands Firm on Still Listening to R. Kelly’s Music
Hip-hop veteran Da Brat is unapologetically standing by her decision to keep R. Kelly in her playlist. In a recent discussion, the rapper made it clear that while she does not condone his crimes, she refuses to let the controversy erase decades of music that shaped an era.
Da Brat boldly questioned why the accountability conversation rarely includes the parents of the young women involved, arguing that they too played a role in allowing certain situations to happen. “Everybody wanna cancel R. Kelly, but what about the parents? Why are they not being held responsible for letting their kids be in those positions?” she asked.
Her stance has sparked heated reactions online, with some applauding her honesty and others criticizing her for “separating the art from the artist.” Still, Da Brat remains unwavering, insisting the focus shouldn’t rest solely on R. Kelly but also on the culture of enabling that surrounded him.
As the debate continues, Da Brat joins a growing list of artists and fans grappling with the same question: Can you still enjoy the music while condemning the man?
et it be known that she still supports her friend R. Kelly and won’t be muting him anytime soon. She also questioned where the alleged victims’ parents were at and the role they played, and according to TMZ, she said she wanted to ask them one simple question: “do ya keep track of your kids?”
Brat on Saturday at the Trumpet Awards in Atlanta and asked her about R. Kelly — whom the Chicago rapper and radio host says she has a close relationship with and a shared history. Both attended the same Chicago high school and were taught by the same music teacher. Also, R. Kelly wrote Da Brat’s 1st demo record.
“That’s a rough one,” Da Brat responded when she was asked to give her opinion. “I do think he needs help. I love him. I grew up with him. He’s kind of like family.”
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Da Brat conceded that she does believe the women in Surviving R. Kelly, and though she acknowledged that R. Kelly needs help, she questioned the parents of the victims and stated that she wouldn’t be muting her friend.
“Where are the parents?” Da Brat asked in the interview, according to TMZ. She faulted the parents of the teen girls for either not knowing where their children were or allowing them to hang out with R. Kelly.
Brat also said she had never personally seen anything out of order with the singer, according to XXL Mag.
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“I’ve never seen him do anything bad, but I don’t believe these people are lying,” Brat added, according to XXL Mag. “But at the same time, where is the parents? I think he needs help, for sure. I love him. I hope he don’t get mad at me. And I think the parents need to take responsibility. Where is your 14-year-old child? Why are you there? There’s something wrong with that.”
Regarding his music, Brat said she was not deleting any of R. Kelly’s songs from her playlist or participating in the Mute R. Kelly movement. “I can’t stop listening to the music,” she said.
Da Brat won’t be muting her friend R. Kelly anytime soon, despite the wave of backlash flanking the controversial R&B singer.
On Saturday, the 44-year-old rapper opened up about her close friend (and fellow Chicago native) at the Trumpet Awards in Atlanta, admitting that though she believes his victims and knows he needs help, she’s standing by him.
“I do think he needs help,” Da Brat told TMZ. “I love him, I grew up with him. He’s kind of like family. We had the same music teacher, we were around the same circles as kids. … I think he needs help, for sure. I love him — I hope he don’t get mad at me.”
“I can’t stop listening to the music,” she added. “Never will I stop listening to the music. I might not buy no more, but it’s already in my playlist.”
Her comments came as Kelly, 52, has recently come under intense scrutiny in the wake of the Lifetime docuseries, Surviving R. Kelly — which features interviews with Kelly’s family members, former friends and colleagues, and most notably women who claim that for decades the hit-making singer and producer used his power and influence to sexually and physically abuse women and young girls.
“I’ve never seen him do anything bad but I don’t think any of these people are lying,” Da Brat told TMZ.
The rapper also questioned where the parents of some of his alleged victims had been during the time of their alleged abuse.
“Where are the parents?” she asked. “I think the parents need to take responsibility. Where is your 14-year-old child? Why are you there? You know what I’m saying? Something’s wrong with that.”
Da Brat isn’t the only musician who has supported R. Kelly the man while condemning his alleged actions.
On Saturday, Erykah Badu told the crowd attending her concert at Chicago’s Aragon Ballroom that she was “sending a prayer right now for R,” referring to Kelly.
“I hope he sees the light of day if he’s done all those things that we’ve seen on TV and heard those ladies talk about,” she said, in video obtained by TMZ. “I hope he sees the light of day and comes forward.”
As the audience booed, Badu, 47, continued, “But y’all say f— it! That’s not love. That’s not unconditional love. But what if one of the people that was assaulted by R. Kelly grows up to be an offender themselves. We gonna crucify them? How do we do this? Just something to think about.”
Later, Badu clarified her comments on Twitter, saying that reports of the night had taken her words “out of context.”
“I love you. Unconditionally. That doesn’t mean I support your poor choices. I want healing for you and anyone you have hurt as a result of you being hurt. Is that strange to you?” she wrote. “That’s all I’ve ever said. Anything else has been fabricated or taken out of context.”
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