Diverse News 2008®

NEWS FEEDS
Alicia Keys Statement Regarding Blender Magazine
   NEW YORK, April 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Alicia Keys has released the
following statement regarding her recent interview with Blender Magazine:

    "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."
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