London
(ANI):
American
R&B
musician
Alicia
Keys
has
issued
a
statement
declaring
that
her
recent
outburst
about
'gangsta
rap'
has
been
totally
misunderstood.
The
statement
was
issued
on
Tuesday
Apr
15,
and
Keys
pressed
on
the
point
that
she
was
clarifying
"comments
that
were
made
during
my
recent
Blender
magazine
interview
since
they
have
been
misrepresented".
"Gangsta
rap
was
a
ploy
to
convince
black
people
to
kill
each
other.
Gangsta
rap
didn't
exist," Daily
Mirror
quoted
the
27-year-old
singer
as
having
said
in
an
interview
in
the
magazine's
May
issue.
Keys
was
also
quoted
as
saying
that
she
wears
a
gold
AK-47
pendant
around
her
neck
"to
symbolize
strength,
power
and
killing
'em
dead".
However,
she
has
issued
the
statement
in
order
to
clarify
that
she
does
not
hold
the
government
responsible
for
anything.
"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,"
she
said.
"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,"
the
statement
added.
As
for
the
AK-47
remark,
Keys
said
that
AK-47
is
a
nickname
given
to
her
by
friends
"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." However,
Blender
magazine
is
standing
by
its
article.