In light of Lifetime's Surviving R. Kelly docuseries, which details the litany of allegations leveled at R. Kelly, many people have controversially said that people should separate the art from the artist. DJ Paul of Three 6 Mafia is the latest to say so, agreeing with both Kanye West and French Montana. As TMZ reports, DJ Paul thinks that the disgraced singer should be able to enjoy his legacy despite the disgusting accusations.
"You know he got talent, his personal life shouldn't have nothing to do with that," he responded when asked about whether Kelly has the right to "enjoy his legacy" as an artist. "He got good music, and music is medicine. [...] He's one of the kings of R&B."
Later in the clip, he's asked about the investigations into the allegations against him, to which Paul said that even if he goes to jail people should still respect his legacy. "The music is a whole separate thing, that's two different people, you know like that woman said on the TV show. She was like, 'Robert is one person, R. Kelly is another person.'" It would appear as though Paul is very much aware of the accusations, even quoting Surviving R. Kelly.
French Montana faced backlash over the weekend for sharing a similar sentiment. “All the greats went down like that,” he said. “Let somebody enjoy their legacy. Whatever happened, happened, man.” Kanye, meanwhile, said, "We can all enjoy all their music all we want. I thought I wasn't going to go there today. If we're gonna tear down artists, let's go ahead and take [Leonardo] da Vinci out the Lourve. Let's take down all the art."
His wife, Kim Kardashian, also came in his defense.
I’m going to nip this in the bud right now. Kanye was speaking about his own experience of everyone quick to say they are cancelling him because of differences in opinion & not being perfect. The analogies were in context to his own experiences, not defending anyone else.
I want to make it very clear, he is not condoning anyone’s actions or unacceptable disgusting behavior. My husband’s words are being taken out of context due to timing.
