Remember that old saying "boys will be boys"? Looking back, the naive little phrase sounds quite devious in essence - a praxis of masculinity, that is embedded in the 'modern' man, teenager and boy. It's a no-brainer that the masculine dominates the feminine in every aspect of mass culture. Given that exceptions and exceptional female artists matter, yet the overarching control and production remains firmly male dominated. That canonical inequality, sustained by idolatry, cult-worship, consequently creates entitlement which then leads to a 'culture' of abuse, violence and crimes. Committed again and again by world famous singers, rockers, musicians, record producers and DJs. All such icons and superstars are as widely celebrated by the mainstream media and millions of fans. This article is a brief narrative about how machismo, celebrity cult worship, gender based violence and a nihilistic sense of entitlement, has contaminated and proliferated within popular music culture.
Michael Jackson, robbed of his childhood, surrounded by 'vultures' that preyed on his fears and weaknesses - was so consumed by self-loathing, that he carved (surgically manipulated) his african-america face into a "caucasian death-mask". The same superstar went on to violate children inside his mansion, while mainstream media celebrated his "Peter Pan eternal childhood" image. Moral nihilism eventually consumed the world's biggest pop music icon, ending with his death (Propofol overdose), weeks before his 9th sold-out world tour.
James Brown’s litany of domestic violence, is well accounted for by his daughter Yamma Brown. She recalls harrowing experiences of watching the "godfather of soul" repeatedly subject her mother to domestic abuse and denigrating language, mostly under the effect of alcohol and cocaine. Onstage fronting thousands of hysteric fans, the same "godfather" cried "I got soul, and I'm super bad!" How morbid or plain pathetic? And a vast number of African Americans adore the music (and persona) of the same wife-beating "godfather". Such is celebrity cult worship trash!
Rockstar Ozzy Osbourne's wife Sharon Osbourne recollects the days of "heaven to hell" - a period when she was repeatedly bashed, inside the singer's mansion, and no one from the 'rock sorority' came to her rescue. Eventually the police came and arrested Ozzy Osbourne - only to release the rockstar on bail, two days later. Oh! "iron man"...
Africa's first superstar, Fela Kuti, touted by the BBC as "Africa's Bob Marley" on record displays his contempt -"To call me a sexist… for me is not negative. If I’m a sexist, it’s a gift that I am proud of...” Given that Fela Kuti was deeply inspired by James Brown's success as a black man in America, yet few speak about the hate and prejudice that he harboured against homosexuality and certain white folks. Pathetic euro-centric institutions appointed Fela Kuti as an "ambassador of human rights". Kuti, a classic megalomaniac towards the end of his life, the erstwhile 'afro-cult' struck down by AIDS, he started calling his music “African classical music” – and is quoted in a new film saying "you wouldn’t expect composers like Mozart or Beethoven to write three-minute numbers, so why should I?" What's worse certain popular liberal musicians (Paul McCartney, Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel etc) remained 'mute' about Fela having multiple wives and spurting hatred for LGBTQ folks. The stories of stardom, wealth and hedonism fail to hide the "train-wreck" reality of the 'gods of pop music'. Regardless of race and background, through the 70s, 80s, 90s and beyond, famous artists have often been crushed under their own false sense of entitlement. As Pulitzer prize winning writer Chris Hedges encapsulates by saying "when you spend your entire life as a celebrity, you have no idea, who you are.."
I (Don't) Believe I Can Fly!
Grammy winner and Guinness Book record holder, R&B singer songwriter, R. Kelly started his predatory pursuit of teenage girls early on in his career. Just like certain catholic priests prey upon the young of the parish, R Kelly too embodied certain "god-father" like traits, to charm and trap young girls, with promises of instant success. As early as 1994, R. Kelly had married an underage girl called Marries Aaliyah (she was 15). Her one and only album is titled "Age is but a number". Many folks played a tacit role in helping R. Kelly establish himself as a serial abuser over the next two decades. Repeated attempts to file charges or take him to court, were thwarted by his legal team, his record label (RCA) and largely ignored by mainstream media - till one could not hold back the sheer evidence, number of victims and mounting public outcry. His timeline of abuse, over two decades is now clear. In 2018, combined action taken by Women Of Color, #MuteRKelly and Buzzfeed eventually managed to bring the Grammy winner to court, wherein indicting him for several counts of sex-trafficking, sex with under-age girls, assault and rape. Such is the irony of R. Kelly's superstardom, who for three decades was cherished by fans and the media sirens as the "Pied Piper of R&B". Currently in jail, at the Chicago Correction Facility facing 22 felonies.
The Prince & The Bald Belle
"Nothing Compares To You" - the song which won Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor overnight worldwide fame, has a rather pitiful background. The rebellious Irish singer who boldly ripped a photo of Pope John Paul on SNL (denouncing the catholic clergy's abuse of children) did actually take a long time to reveal the abuse she suffered personally - at the hands of one of the most popular american singers : Prince. Rock trivia tells again and again, that the aforementioned song was originally written by Prince. O'Conner was summoned by Prince to his macabre Hollywood mansion. After some brief pleasantries, Prince chastised her for swearing on TV and radio interviews, harangued his butler to serve her soup though she repeatedly refused it. A while later Prince sweetly suggested a pillow fight, only to thump her with something hard he had slipped into his pillowcase! Eventually she escaped on foot in the middle of the night, she recalls, he stalked her with his car, leapt out and chased her around the highway. O'Connor never saw Prince again. Ironic or business as usual, the following year Prince released 'The Most Beautiful Girl In The World' (Billboard No.1 1994). A prince of nihilism or abject machismo? Till his death in 2016, Roger Nelson a.k.a. Prince never apologised nor owned up for his actions. It took O'Conner almost twenty years to come out and say “You’ve got to be crazy to be a musician, but there’s a big difference between being crazy and being a violent abuser of women...”
The list of rockstars who had sex with underage girls and boys is vast, yet to highlight a few - David Bowie, Jimmy Page, Ted Nugent, Iggy Pop, David Lee Roth, Don Dokken and Steven Tyler. Yet a majority of fans discard such facts as "come on, it's rock & roll, it's a given". A culture that has deeply internalised abuse while grossly distorting rights and entitlement. As we look through the last two decades, the list of famous musicians who have been accused of sexual abuse, blackmail and violence, grows. Drake, Moby, Gaslamp Killer, Erick Morillo, DJ Datsik, Bassnector, Ninja and Yolandi, 50 Cent, Adam 22, Anthony Keidis (RHCP), Katy Perry, Brittney Spears, several K-Pop artists, Sigur Rós, Captain Beefheart, Nick Oliveri, Jessy Lacey, the list keeps getting updated. Social media and 'cancel culture' has little impact towards dismantling abusive power structures - most often unable to deliver real justice to the victims. Entitlement and abuse, like two invisible batons, is passed on from one generation of artists to the next. Managers, booking agents, curators, publicists, promoters, script writers, video directors, recording executives, advertisers, media planners plus the hundreds of online "enablers" who continuously orchestrate this vast stage of 'celebrity for profit'. Today, pop music culture is like a reality show. The 'winner takes all' (but never for long) - and those cast aside become non-personas (for the audience) - they vanish into the backdrop of a brutal world of unadulterated competition. As artist or audience, we are constantly made to value popularity, power and projection, consequently loosing our moral bearings and ability to divest from a culture that perpetuates abuse and machismo.
A very recent study based in the UK, shows that four out five female artists have faced sexual harassment at least once in the last ten years. The 'praxis' of abuse and violence inside the music industry is linked to a society in deep distress. One feeds into another. In today's society, the level of dysfunctional relationships, hyper-competition and online misogyny is gradually destroying traditional values, boundaries and morals. Values considered outdated and baseless, such as mutual respect, equal opportunity, consideration for another person's feelings and even common courtesy - are they becoming extinct human customs? Hence we are compelled to correlate the ugly power-structures of society at large with the abusive legacy of superstars. We loved their music, spent hours and days articulating their artistry, but never bothered to think once about their actions and real character? As artists or audience, we are obligated to envision a future, where the music ecosystem is cleansed of sexism, abuse, violence and crimes. What good is a love song written by a macho abuser? If one cannot separate the art from the artist - Question being, can awareness play a positive role in shaping our collective and individual choice?
