The Celebrity Truth

Alicia Keys has defended the comments she made during a recent interview in Blender magazine, saying that she was "misinterpreted" over her comments regarding gangster rap and the deaths of the Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur.

The singer told Blender that, "The term ‘gangsta rap’ was so over-sloganized during that time.  And in so many ways, everyday people as well as the government could have really done so much more to obliterate and eradicate the things that were going on in the community at that time that forced the artists to discuss and talk so strongly what they saw - what they lived with every day."

She also addressed the murders of rap rivals the Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur, saying that the government and media fuelled the situation "to stop another great black leader from existing."

Keys released a statement via her record company, J Records, on Tuesday (April 15) clarifying her comments: 

"I feel it is necessary to clarify the comments that were made during my recent Blender magazine interview, since they have been misrepresented.

"Anyone who knows me and my character, knows that I am not a conspiracy theorist or, by implication, a racist. My comments about ‘gangsta rap’ were in no way trying to suggest that the government is responsible for creating this genre of rap music. The point that I was trying to make was that the term was over-sloganized by some of the media causing reactions that were not always positive. Many of the ‘gangsta rap’ lyrics articulate the problems of the artists’ experiences and I think all of us, including our leaders, could be doing more to address these problems including drugs, gang violence, crime, and other related social issues.

"Additionally, regarding the AK-47 reference, AK-47 is a nickname given to me by some of my friends in jest, as an acronym for Alicia Keys and a metaphor for wowing people with my music and performances, "killing ‘em dead" on stage. The reference was in no way meant to have a literal, political or negative connotation.

"The recent implications about me are too radical and too dramatic a departure from whom I have continually demonstrated myself to be. I work so hard and give so much of myself to bring about positive change to this world, and I only wish those efforts received as much press and attention as the misinterpretations of the Blender article."

NEXT: Paris Hilton Apologizes For Cottage Cheese Comments

Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 15th, 2008 at 6:14 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.