Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Ne-Yo talked to Essence magazine about what happened on tour with him and R.Kelly

Essence.com: You’re a busy man. Let’s switch gears to address some of the rumors, like your beef with R. Kelly. I understand you are suing him?

N.Y.: As of right now, things are pending legally so I’m not at liberty to talk about the case. You know, I never have a problem talking about anything, but I’ve been advised not to discuss the case.

Essence.com: That’s understandable. Well, can you explain how your dismissal from the tour came about?

N.Y.: Well, it wasn’t even told to me directly by [R. Kelly]; he sent his people to tell me.

Essence.com: So do you think your affiliation with Jay-Z and Def Jam
had anything to do with it, considering that they once toured together and didn’t complete the tour together?


N.Y.: I don’t think so, because if that were the case I wouldn’t have been on the tour to begin with. It’s no secret that I’m a Def Jam artist so I don’t think that had anything to do with it.

Essence.com: It’s been reported that you were asked to leave the tour
because you upstaged him. Is that simply speculation?


N.Y.: Well, I’m the one who made that statement. I only did two shows
in Columbus and Georgia. It was only the next day after the first two reviews came out and they gave me great reviews and his were not so positive.

Essence.com: Wow—so did you ever speak to R. Kelly about your
dismissal?


N.Y.: Nope. That was another thing—as a man he showed me blatant disrespect. He never tried to come and speak to me, but he wouldn’t even have to come to me, I would have been willing to talk to him about it, but that never happened.

Essence.com: Had you met him prior to this tour?

N.Y.: No, I was on tour and I didn’t get to speak to that man. I didn’t see his face. He didn’t make an attempt to speak to me; it was as if it didn’t matter that I was there.


Essence.com: Well, what about during rehearsals?

N.Y.: Never.

Essence.com: Wow. So would you be willing to sit down and talk if he ever reached out to you?

N.Y.: Absolutely, I don’t hate R. Kelly. There won’t be no diss records—we don’t do that in R&B.
Seriously, I looked up to R. Kelly as an artist, and still do, but I don’t have respect for him as a man.
I was happy to join the tour. I’m a man, so I don’t disrespect other men. I would still be
open to talk to him. But his not coming to me directly was blatant disrespect, because he didn’t even view me as
someone important enough to show respect to by talking to me man-to-man.
If you have issues with me, then be man enough to come to me personally, but instead he had his people do it and then they said it wasn’t him but that the promoters asked me to be removed from the tourand that’s b---sh--.

He also talks about his son, who is not biologically his and the gay
rumors…. Read more

1 comment:

ArCHRIStotle said...

I'm wit Neyo I don't respect him as a man either! I knew R. Kelly was shady and egotistical like that. Give somebody else a chance to shine Kelly!!