Seperating The Art from the Artist; Impossible?

Originally posted to Patreon on March 28, 2018.

I encounter this argument waaaayyyy too often... And I think it's time we settle whether or not it's ok to excuse acts of domestic violence and sexual assaults (especially with repeat offenders) of Artist who are wildly popular and have staying power because of the entertainment industry and the people who perpetuate rape culture and patriarchal paradigms to the world at large. We can not accept the woman beater in our own homes and when we do it's normally means someone is experiencing Stockholm Syndrome and embarrassment. So why is it that people, and especially Black people, cape for the likes of Chris Brown is beyond me. And let's not act like it was just the infamous initial violation he committed that makes me use him as an example, though it's enough in itself. We cannot accept the creepy, pedophilic rapist "uncle" in our lives, but because R. Kelly made Bump & Grind he gets a pass. Even though he's holding several 18 and 19 year old black women virtually hostage in houses across the country after selling them and their parents the dream of making them a star because, well, because he's R. Kelly and has so much staying power he can piss on a little girl ON CAMERA and get acquitted. All the while pimp programming them and creating all kinds of psychological damage.

Oh, how I know someone might argue some shit like "why you talking about them like these white people don't do it too?". Look, I'm aware that Johnny Depp and Gary Oldman are beaters too, I'm just focused on us cause I could give a shit less about those white motherfuckers who gave us the gospel of violence right now. Let a white guy write about them. I worry about the perceptiveness of my people and their willingness to overlook the heinous acts of people who they have some kinda sick nostalgia for that they use to justify their continued fandom. Rick Ross lost a Reebok deal with his little Molly line in U.O.E.N.O., but has not received any backlash for his hand in promoting sexism and colorism in the years since. That same division we all talk about ending we get reinforced in certain rap music that is wildly popular and co-opted by the white mainstream which then creates a really bad image of Black America.

I'm not talking about the white and non Black people of color fans who go "Kanye said nigga in the song so I should be able to". I'm talking about the culture moving towards this being those white people saying nigga in songs and charting cause they have absorbed Black culture to the point where the emulation makes people fuck with the music before they discover a non Black person is the one on the track. This is the new normal where before Hip Hop and Rap were initially tools of Black Liberation and story telling. When Ross or Diddy (exploiting everyone around him) or Jay Z (selling data to white people for surveiling Black people) or any of these other "moguls" allow themselves to be swayed by investment dollars, the whites and non Black people of color and light skin Black airheads get all the shine. It's really sick. I'm sick. Sick mostly for all the talent that gets overlooked cause it's not easy to sell cause people are simple and think that there's no particular reason why Music really sucks right now. All the while true Artist scream and tell the consumers why. Hell, I just listed the majority.

The question now is, when will we take our culture back? When will we start basing our support on the ability of the Artist to reflect a more beautiful inclusive world and not one of flashing the things you own and the people you've fucked? I'm not saying Trap doesn't have it's place or any other lower frequency Art... I'm just saying the hypocritical negativity that's promoted at our expense shouldn't be at the top of the lexicon.