Source: Prince Williams;Abel Uribe / Getty
Ever since R. Kelly was declared a sexual predator, there has been a debate about whether people should still listen to his music. During his 30-year career, he had 11 #1 hits on the R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. He’s also sold 100 million records worldwide. Chances are there aren’t many people who don’t have a favorite song of his.
Since going from icon to disgrace, the question is it appropriate to listen to his music? When TMZ asked Kirk Franklin about this, he didn’t say yes or no.
“I think it’s very difficult to separate the artist from the art,” the gospel veteran said. “And I think that’s why the microphone is a very responsible thing. Even with myself because I’ve made mistakes, and I have to be able to be responsible to know that to whom much is given, much is required.”
Kirk Franklin added that artists have to be cognizant of the trust their fans put into them.
“We don’t put ourselves above people because all of us could make mistakes, but it is important to know that when we do, a lot of times the trust is broken. We have to be responsible for that trust.”
Many won’t admit that they still listen to R.Kelly but it’s clear that he still has fans. His album sales skyrocketed 517 percent after he was found guilty of sex crimes, racketeering and violating the Mann Act, Rolling Stone reported. Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison on June 29.
Kelly isn’t the only artist who has been a casualty of cancel culture. After agreeing to perform at Donald Trump’s inauguration, Chrisette Michelle hasn’t been very visible. Whether DaBaby has been cancelled or not is debatable. It’s obvious that his music and overall career doesn’t have the buzz it did before his made the offensive comments about the LGBTQ community at Rolling Loud in 2021. He made matter worse when he went on Instagram Live and publicly humiliated DaniLeigh, who he shares a daughter with.
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