Alec HaydenThe Daily Northwestern
As I read the Chicago Sun-Times on Thursday, I came across a story about R. Kelly in which the R&B star compared himself to Martin Luther King Jr. Hold on, let’s be more specific. R. Kelly compared himself to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Here is what he said: “I’m the Ali of today. I’m the Marvin Gaye of today. I’m the Bob Marley of today. I’m the Martin Luther King, or all the other greats that have come before us.”
Now these comparisons might seem a slight bit exaggerated, but I’m willing to give R. the benefit of the doubt. After all, R. Kelly does have his own channel on YouTube and a hot new single. So, rather than assume he is just trying to get publicity for his new album like all you other hatemongers, I decided to check into just how similar R. Kelly is to Dr. King.
Martin Luther King Jr.: Born in Atlanta, graduated from Morehouse College and the Crozer Theological Seminary. He also received many honorary degrees from several renowned colleges and universities.
R. Kelly: Born in Chicago, formed the group MGM and later left to start a solo career. Kelly also allegedly married the 15-year-old Aaliyah.
MLK: Led the Montgomery Bus Boycott after Rosa Parks refused to give her seat to a white man.
King also organized nonviolent protests and marches against the Jim Crow laws, segregation, and the lack of voting and labor rights, including the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, which led to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
RK: Recorded “I Believe I Can Fly” on the “Space Jam” soundtrack.
MLK: Won numerous awards for his leadership including the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 at the age of 35. He was the youngest man to receive the Nobel Peace Prize and announced he would give the $54,123 in prize money to the furtherance of civil rights.
RK: Allegedly peed on a 14-year-old girl at the age of 35.
MLK: Arrested 30 times for civil rights activism. He founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and was president of it from 1957 to 1968. He also wrote six books and many articles regarding civil rights.
RK: Wrote “Trapped in the Closet,” a hip-hop opera about a man who has an affair with a married woman and is caught by her husband. The husband turns out to be a pastor and also turns out to be having an affair with a man. It then turns out that the first man’s wife was also cheating on him with a police officer and knows he was cheating on her and someone gets a speeding ticket at some point.
After reviewing the facts, it appears R. Kelly made some awesome contributions to the “Space Jam” soundtrack and delivered a thrilling hip-hopera while maintaining a sexual affinity for teenage girls.
Unfortunately, it appears I gave him more credit than he deserved. I’m not sure he warrants comparison to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
