Is R. Kelly in a “Sex Cult”?

Bram Dijkstra of the University of California (emeritus) wrote in Idols of Perversity that “There is no more accurate documentation of the manner in which a culture perceives its moral and social mission than in the works of visual art it produces.”[1]

Thinkers throughout the ages have been saying the same thing. Plato himself talked about this extensively in his work Laws. With respect to music in particular, Plato had the insight of a genius and an eye for the future. Music, said Plato, isn’t neutral; it has a power that can used either for good or evil. He said:

“Through foolishness they deceived themselves into thinking that there was no right or wrong in music—that it was to be judged good or bad by the pleasure it gave. By their work and their theories they infected the masses with the presumption to think themselves adequate judges. … As it was, the criterion was not music, but a reputation for promiscuous cleverness and a spirit of law-breaking.”[2]

Dostoyevsky also understood this principle. He argued that there is a symbiotic and implicit relationship between real life and art. Friedrich Nietzsche again understood what Dostoyevsky was getting at. In fact, Nietzsche saw that art and visual images would bring about what he called the transvaluation of all values.[3] Without a moral plumb line, said Nietzsche, the Dionysian sexual revolution will inexorably follow. Nietzsche wrote in the Birth of Tragedy:

“The central concern of such [Dionysian] celebrations was, almost universally, a complete sexual promiscuity overriding every form of established tribal law; all the savage urges of the mind were unleashed on those occasions until they reached the paroxysm of lust and cruelty which has always struck me as the ‘witches’ cauldron’ par excellence.”[4]

Nietzsche died too soon. He never witnessed the sexual revolution, but the entertainment industry proves that he was right on that point. Why? Pretty simple.

It can easily be argued that people in the entertainment industry have deliberately rejected practical reason and has therefore cut themselves off of any metaphysical realism. The entire industry is based on money and is always looking for new artists to sell themselves to make it big for a season. As rapper DMX himself once put it:

“The industry doesn’t have to do with talent; it’s about playing the game…The industry—money, bitches, [and] hate…The industry—if you ain’t got a strong mind—will break you down, [and] it’s a matter of time. The industry vultures with nothing to feast on…The industry plays in the dirt, stays in the dirt—test the wrong one in the industry and you will get hurt.

“The industry wanted, dead or alive, new artists to sell their souls…to survive. The industry don’t give a fu$k about you! But the industry couldn’t make a dime without you!”

Well, there are plenty of individuals who would give up just about any moral virtue they possess in order to get money, power, and fame for a season. They would even get involved in what the Daily Mail itself has called a “Satanic sex cult.”[5]

Athanasius articulated the principle that once a person has deliberately made a conscious decision to attack the moral order and metaphysical Logos, that person has inevitably become a Satanist.[6] This is certainly true when you look at R. Kelly, who has recently been accused of “keeping young women in sex ‘cult.’”[7] R. Kelly has a history of being accused of “sexual impropriety,” but he has never been convicted.

At least five independent women has been involved in the recent allegations. Three of those women—“former female acquaintances of the singer, Cheryl Mack, Kitti Jones, and Asante McGee – describe Kelly as an intensely controlling person who dictates how these women dress and behave. Mack reportedly said: ‘You have to ask for food. You have to ask to go use the bathroom … [Kelly] is a master at mind control … He is a puppet master.’” It gets more disturbing:

“The accusations against Kelly include that he confiscated the women’s phones, filmed sexual activity with them to show male friends and demanded the women – who call him ‘daddy’ – ask permission to leave their rooms, rented by Kelly in buildings in Chicago and Atlanta… Jones accuses Kelly of slapping her and holding her against a tree after she was deemed to be too friendly towards a Subway employee.”[8]

R. Kelly doesn’t seem to be moved by these allegations. In fact, he seems to be having the time of his life. “During his first concert since news broke of his alleged cult, the R&B singer took the stage in Virginia Beach, where he gave his usual sexy performance. At one point, he encouraged one concertgoer to touch his body as he crouched on stage in front of her…R. Kelly also asked another fan to hand him her phone, which he then rubbed against his crotch.”[9]

R. Kelly is indeed part of bigger plan. He has been paid by the entertainment industry to corrupt the young and restless, for scholars know by now that music can have a negative impact on society.[10] And many young people are more than happy to just follow along. The Chinese philosopher Mencius was right on target when he said,

“To act without clear understanding, to form habits without investigation, to follow a path all one’s life without knowing where it really leads—such is the behavior of the multitude.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXQRqm5wtSE

[1]  Bram Dijkstra, Idols of Perversity: Fantasies of Feminine Evil in Fin-de-Siecle Culture (New York: Oxford University Press, 1986), 6.

[2] For a scholarly study on this, see David Tame, The Secret Power of Music: The Transformation of Self and Society Through Musical Energies (New York: Destiny Books, 1984).

[3] See E. Michael Jones, Dionysos Rising: The Birth of the Cultural Revolution Out of the Spirit of Music (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1994), chapter 2.

[4] Friedrich Nietzsche, The Birth of Tragedy (New York: Doubleday, 1956), 25-26.

[5] Richard Price, “Forget Scientology, celebs are now falling for an even more sinister ‘religion’: Introducing the Satanic sex cult that’s snaring stars such as Peaches Geldof,” Daily Mail, April 22, 2013.

[6] See E. Michael Jones, “The Great Satan and Me: Reflections on Iran and Postmodernism’s Faustian Pact,” Culture Wars, July/August 2015.

[7] Cole Delbyck, “R. Kelly Allegedly Keeping Young Women In Sex ‘Cult,’ Parents Claim,” Huffington Post, July 19, 2017; Ben Beaumont-Thomas, “R Kelly accused of physically abusing and controlling women in ‘cult’,” Guardian, July 17, 2017.

[8] Beaumont-Thomas, “R Kelly accused of physically abusing and controlling women in ‘cult’,” Guardian, July 17, 2017.

[9] Jennifer Solin, “R. Kelly Encourages Fan To Touch Him During Concert Amid Cult Allegations,” International Business Time, July 31, 2017.

[10] See Bradley M. Waite, Marc Hillbrand, and Hilliard G. Foster, “Reduction of Aggressive Behavior After Removal of Music Television,” Hospital and Community Psychiatry, Vol. 43, February 1992, 173-175; Sissela Bok, Mayhem: Violence as Public Entertainment (Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1998); Dorothy G. Singer and Jerome L. Singer, Imagination and Play in the Electronic Age (Boston: Harvard University Press, 2005); John P. Murray, “Media Violence and Youth,” Joy D. Osofsky, ed., Children in a Violent Society (New York: Guilford Press, 1997); Wilson Brian Key, Media Sexploitation (New York: Signet, 1977).