ALICIA KEYS SAYS US GOVERNMENT CREATED "GANGSTER RAP"

Our favourite soul lady Ms. Keys is currently showing a side of her that nobody has ever seen, including her mother. The songbird covers the May-June issue of Blender, an American music magazine; some of her quotes in the cover article have bloggers blogging incessantly due to their apparent ‘controversy’. She has been labeled a “conspiracy theorist’ for her views on ‘gangster rap’.

Here’s a snippet from the article:
‘Gangsta rap’ was a ploy to convince black people to kill each other. ‘Gangsta rap’ didn’t exist.”

Keys, 27, said she’s read several Black Panther autobiographies and wears a gold AK-47 pendant around her neck “to symbolize strength, power and killing ‘em dead,” according to an interview in the magazine’s May issue, on newsstands Tuesday.
Another of her theories: The bicoastal feud between slain rappers Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G. was fueled “by the government and the media, to stop another great black leader from existing.”

Keys’ AK-47 jewelry came as a surprise to her mother, who is quoted as telling Blender: “She wears what? That doesn’t sound like Alicia.” Keys’ publicist, Theola Borden, said Keys was on vacation and unavailable for comment.

Though she’s known for her romantic tunes, she told Blender that she wants to write more political songs. If black leaders such as the late Black Panther Huey Newton “had the outlets our musicians have today, it’d be global. I have to figure out a way to do it myself,” she said.

We at Encore support Alicia’s stance on these issues; every Tom, Dick and Thabo knows that the American government despises rap and the so-called thugs that make it.


When Tupac Shakur was living, he lambasted the government on the same grounds. His outspoken nature compelled him to rap about various social and political issues in songs; he used any available minute on national media to publicize his thoughts.

In fact, in the early 90’s, he started the “Thug Life” movement through which he aimed to empower convicted criminals and gang members. His theories and practices must have obviously irritated some high-ranking people, since we now speak of him in the past tense.

So what do you guys think of Alicia’s comments? Is she speaking the truth or is she just desperate for attention?