Twitter Debates Separating The Artist From The Music Using R. Kelly & Gunna As Examples

R. Kelly was once considered one of the greatest R&B singers and songwriters of his generation until scandals upended his massive stardom and all but shattered his integrity. On Twitter, an intense debate regarding separating the artist from the music kicked off over the weekend and Gunna found himself in the middle of this ongoing conversation.

R. Kelly, 56, is currently serving time for sex crimes and racketeering charges that took place in his native Chicago and in New York. The beleaguered artist still enjoys a high amount of support from fans who believe the charges levied against Kelly were exaggerated or false. Still, Kelly’s music is largely missing from the modern landscape in the wake of all his legal troubles as it should be.

A Twitter user posed an interesting thought over the weekend when @amarihanifahh asked, “So y’all can separate the music from the artist with R. Kelly but not Gunna?”

So y’all can separate the music from the artist with R. Kelly but not Gunna?

— Amari (@amarihanifahh) June 4, 2023

The tweet was eventually grabbed by another Twitter account and shared, which got R. Kelly trending on Twitter for the past day and a half.

Y’all saying what R. Kelly and Gunna did aren’t the same but that’s kind of my point….

What R. Kelly did was worse yet it’s easier for y’all to separate the music from the artist if it’s him but not Gunna pic.twitter.com/XXnASyxxVU

— Amari (@amarihanifahh) June 5, 2023

The question was probably asked because another Twitter account shared the reactions of Atlanta clubgoers after the DJ inside the establishment played a song from Gunna and the entire club stopped dancing. Gunna, as most might know, has earned the unsavory reputation of being a snitch amid the ongoing YSL RICO case with his former compatriot Young Thug and others connected to the matter.

Because some people lack context clues, most missed @amarihanifahh’s point in that it’s something of a contradiction that R. Kelly fans will still play his music despite years of accounts and court evidence backing why they shouldn’t instead of Gunna, who was seemingly let go on a legal technicality and testimony that can’t be used against the alleged YSL gang members on trial. Further, there is a lot of civilian opinion on street business that at least 90 percent of Twitter doesn’t know anything about.

Check out some of the tweets below.

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Photo: Getty