Cassidy reflected on working with R. Kelly and the singer’s legal woes during an interview on the RealLyfe Productions Street Starz podcast this week.
During the conversation, the Philadelphia native discussed the R&B singer’s sex crimes against minors, defending his musical legacy. In the clip shared on Youtube on Thursday (May 4), the Split Personality rapper claimed that anyone mad at the convicted sex trafficker should be mad at a lot more people.
The discussion began with the 40-year-old being reminded by the host that his debut single “Hotel” was released after R. Kelly’s controversial tape, depicting him participating in sexual activity with a minor. Produced by Swizz Beatz, the song peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100.
“I probably wasn’t aware of it that time. It probably came to my attention later,” explained the “Get No Better” rapper when asked about working with the disgraced Chicago musician a year following the allegations.
He continued, “I was a superfan of R. Kelly, and this was my first album, my first single. So to be working with somebody of that magnitude, your first go around… For me to be trying to argue that about some tape that I don’t even know… I wasn’t doing no research and digging deep at that time ’cause I ain’t the law.”
As the conversation progressed, Cassidy revealed his thoughts on audiences who have decided to effectively mute R. Kelly, choosing to not play his music. According to the rapper, grown men seeking teenage girls was the norm, and R. Kelly’s musical legacy still stands.
“With his personal life, I’m not a jury or a judge, I’m not here to do all that. Me, my wife a Libra so I started learning how to be fair in life. I don’t got no problem with ni**as being mad at R. Kelly if that’s how y’all feel. If y’all feel like what he did actually makes you mad at heart, cool,” he detailed. “But be mad at heart at anybody that’s in that bag,” adding “There’s a bunch of ni**as… not even just famous ni**as like R. Kelly, just in my neighborhood alone that I grew up in … all the middle school girls was getting picked up by old heads. Every girl that was bad in middle school was getting picked up by some older ni**a, in every hood.”
He continued to explain “These industry ni**as worse. These ni**as is like…crazy. So now I can’t do no records then. I ain’t here to point the finger at R. Kelly and these ni**as. That ain’t my job. I just respect the ni**as music.”
In 2021, R. Kelly was found guilty of nine counts of racketeering and sex-trafficking charges against him in New York City where he was sentenced to 30 years behind bars. The following year, the Grammy Award-winning performer was found guilty of child sex crimes in his Chicago federal trial, earning a 20-year sentence to be served concurrently, with one year served consecutively.
Check out the RealLyfe Productions Street Starz podcast below.