R&B singer R. Kelly is officially a free agent in the music biz. New reports claim Sony Music has decided to drop the controversial musician following backlash from Lifetime’s Surviving R. Kelly docuseries and heated protests.
According to reports, Sony Music has quietly cut its business ties with the award-winning performer.
Sony Music has decided to dissolve its working relationship with R. Kelly, Variety has learned. No external announcement of the move is planned in the immediate future, says a source, who added that Kelly’s presence on the RCA website (where he remains) will not indicate his departure from the company, as his back catalog will remain with RCA/Sony. Kelly’s last release with the label was a Christmas-themed album in 2016, although he has released several songs independently since that time, presumably with Sony’s consent, and Tweeted earlier this year that he has a new album on the way. Contacted by Variety, reps for both RCA Records and its parent company, Sony Music, declined comment. (Variety)
This week, protestors gathered outside of Sony Music headquarters in New York City to urge the label to drop Kells.
Sony Music, through its label RCA Records, has Kelly among its artists. So organizers behind #MuteRKelly, Black Women’s Blueprint, Care2, Color of Change, Credo Action, Girls for Gender Equity, NOW-NYC and UltraViolet went to the company’s New York City offices to present it with a Record Label of Shame award and ask it to drop Kelly. (Huffington Post)
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Outside of @RCARecords’ headquarters in NYC with a clear message: Protect Black girls and #DropRKelly from your label once and for all. #MuteRKelly pic.twitter.com/tR0ATYoL2L
— UltraViolet (@UltraViolet) January 16, 2019
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COC’s Jade Magnus Ogunnaike at our rally outside @RCARecords’ HQ to demand they #DropRKelly and #ProtectBlackWomen and girls. #MuteRKelly pic.twitter.com/VKTdpAzOr6
— ColorOfChange.org (@ColorOfChange) January 16, 2019
Last week, pop superstar Lady Gaga promised to pull a past Kelly collabo from streaming sites.
#LadyGaga #RKelly…
I stand by anyone who has ever been the victim of sexual assault: pic.twitter.com/67sz4WpV3i
— Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) January 10, 2019
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Recently, Atlanta rapper Future said people should stop putting ample focus on Kelly.
“Man, who is that? I thought we had forgot about that? We giving it too much attention. When you give things too much attention, they blow up. That’s why he gonna blow up. That’s why his music gonna do what it do. If you stop talking about it, it’ll go away.” (Power 106 FM)
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