Drake Credited Accused Sex Trafficker R. Kelly In A Song That Fetishizes Young Women On His New Album
Another rapper collaborating with an accused sex offender.
Jamie Lamor Thompson / Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock Drake’s long-awaited album ‘Certified Lover Boy’ came out last night at 2 a.m. but before anyone could get too hyped, fans spotted a controversial writing credit on the album.
R. Kelly was credited as a ‘Composer/Lyricist’ on Drake's song "TSU."
Drawing obvious controversy, considering R. Kelly is still on trial and faces a total of 22 federal counts, including child pornography, kidnapping and forced labor, everyone is wondering why or how the fallen R&B singer played a role.
Why is R. Kelly Credited On Drake’s ‘Certified Lover Boy’ Album?
R. Kelly's name is listed on Drake's album due to a sample used on the track "TSU."
The sample was taken from the accused sex trafficker's 1998 single "Half on a Baby."
Justin Timberlake is also credited on the track due to a sample of NSYNC's cover of Cross’ ‘Sailing’ — the vocals of which are featured in every "TSU" chorus.
Drake's 'TSU' fetishizes young girls while sampling R. Kelly.
"TSU" talks about Drake's relationship with a stripper and may take it's name from "Texas State University."
Drake, being the 34-year-old that he is, rapping about his sexual relationship with a woman who could either be in college or just out of college is a little strange — to put it lightly.
Lyrics that read, "Her daddy is not around, mama is definitely not around" put alongside a sample from a man accused of keeping young women away from their families against their will is also not a great look for the rapper.
Drake has also been accused of having inappropriate relationships with young women.
Drake's bizarre friendship with a 13-year-old Millie Bobby Brown brought controversy for the rapper in 2017.
This also isn’t the first time he’s rapped about having a relationship with someone much younger than him — his song ‘Jaded’ from his 2019 album Scorpion talked about a relationship he had with Jorja Smith, who was 19 while he was 30.
Lyrics that say, “We coulda waited, I wasn't rushin', difference in ages / You're old enough, but you're still a baby,” also take on a new meaning when you sample R. Kelly in your songs.
Drake is being criticized for sample R. Kelly.
Child pornography and trafficking aside, people are calling Drake a hypocrite for sampling R. Kelly when he has shown his deep love and admiration for Aaliyah.
The late R&B singer had an illegal marriage with R. Kelly — marrying him when she was 15 and he was 27.
The Toronto rapper has a portrait of Aaliyah tattooed on his back and was at one time working on a posthumous Aaliyah LP. Not to mention he’s mentioned her in a plethora of his songs.
A Drake representative declined to comment on the sample credit, but a version of “TSU” has been kicking around in demo form since 2018 — just months before "Surviving R. Kelly" and the subsequent legal charges that followed the docuseries.
It could be that they had the song ready for a while and had just decided to run with it, much to the chagrin of fans who are angry that it means R. Kelly will be reaping royalties off the track.
All of this, especially after Kanye West brought out Marilyn Manson and Da Baby at his listening party on a version of the track ‘Jail’ on Donda, is leaving fans disappointed.
Isaac Serna-Diez is a writer who focuses on entertainment and news, social justice and politics.