Apr 16 2008
Alicia Keys supporting the WGA strikers

Alicia Keys Says Her ‘Gangsta Rap Conspiracy’ Was Misinterpreted

In this month’s Blender, Alicia Keys was quoted as saying..
“Gangsta rap’ was a ploy to convince black people to kill each other. ‘Gangsta rap’ didn’t exist.” And.. the bi-coastal feud between slain rap legends Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G., was fueled by “the government and the media, to stop another great black leader from existing.”

This has gotten a lot of attention on all corners of the web and newspapers, Alicia Keys thought it would be a blip in time, but the talk of her being this crazy conspiracy theorist was starting to take root. So yesterday she called a few radio shows to clarify her statements.

Speaking to The Ryan Seacrest Show she explained..

A Government Gangsta Rap Conspiracy?

What I was saying was that the term gangsta rap was so over-sloganized, that 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 about so strongly what they saw, what they lived with every day..

I wasn’t saying that I was a conspiracy theorist. Or that I’m anti- anyone, because anyone that knows my character, knows that I am a very positive person and my only aim is to uplift people and to spread love. In fact there are so many things that I have said in the past, that are super positive, about all the things that I’m involved with, and all the things that I try to do to inspire people and it rarely gets this much attention..  and it’s a little disappointing.”

Biggie and Tupac?

“I feel like during that time, some people in the media, overall, it was just an overly sensationalized situation.. I don’t feel they were able to really communicate with each other, and really tell each other what they meant. Instead it kind of came through different outlets and different people and it might have gotten misconstrued or misinterpreted. Therefore all of the information that came back led to some negative consequences.”

That was her main point >> that her comments were misinterpreted.

A lot of entertainers hate doing print interviews for precisely that reason. Lawrence Grobel wrote about a comedian who pulled out his own tape recorder just before Grobel interviewed him, saying.. “I do this because I’ve been fucked, And I don’t like getting fucked by reporters.”

That said, here’s the link to the unfiltered 10 minute audio clip of Alicia Key’s clarification.


☼ What's Your Opinion? ☼

1 meshach yager abuja,nigeria Wed, Apr 16, 2008 - 4:32 pm

i think alicia is just too gentle for a tupac case that has caused alot of boilings and hate, and its good she has reversed her statement. i love tupac, and will really want to see him in news for a long while, but not alicia been involved. i love tupac i repeat i love alicia, so talk carefully. cause you be hurting my feelings
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2 Doug Thu, Apr 17, 2008 - 6:44 am

Another brilliant star.

3 layla Mon, Jun 30, 2008 - 9:36 am

pepole say i just look like u alicia lol am prod of my self cuz ur cute but am not old us u lol am just 17 but i love ur song i wish u can sing hip hop insdet of boring songs….hal bk

4 jerrika paden Thu, Oct 02, 2008 - 2:34 pm

I love u alicia i think your the greatest person in the world and you couldnt be more pretty.

5 unknown Mon, Jan 26, 2009 - 11:59 am

Alicia is right. Even here in France our brothers and sisters convert into the White man things. They convert into Islam because they think Arabians are their brothers as they are in Africa.

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