#BackChannel: Mute R. Kelly, 鈥楾his Is America,鈥� And Being A 鈥楶rofessional Black Girl鈥�

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#BackChannel: Mute R. Kelly, 鈥楾his Is America,鈥� And Being A 鈥楶rofessional Black Girl鈥�

瓜神app | By Anita Rao,

Frank Stasio

Published May 24, 2018 at 12:14 PM EDT

A group of protesters outside of the Greensboro coliseum before R Kelly is scheduled to perform.

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A protester carries a sign prior to a concert featuring R. Kelly in Greensboro, N.C., Friday, May 11, 2018.

Skip Foreman / AP Photo

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Actor Donald Glover attends a special screening of 'Solo: A Star Wars Story,' hosted by The Cinema Society and Nissan at the SVA Theater on Monday, May 21, 2018, in New York.

Evan Agostini / Invision/AP Photo

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Promotional artwork for Janelle Monae's new album 'Dirty Computer,' which was released on April 27, 2018

Courtesy of Pandora

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Dr. Yaba Blay and her granddaughter, Nazahah, rocking the signature Professional Black Girl gear

Courtesy of Yaba Blay / 瓜神app

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Filming Professional Black Girl Season 2 in New Orleans; pictured here with the "Mother of Twerk, "Cheeky Blakk and Moe Joe, founder of Bounce Fitness.

Courtesy of Yaba Blay / 瓜神app

A Texas woman filed a lawsuit Monday accusing R.Kelly of sexual battery and knowingly infecting her with herpes. This is the latest in a decades-long string of allegations against the R&B artist that detail an array of misconduct, including his repeatedly holding women against their will in a 鈥渟ex cult.鈥� Hollywood leaders recently renewed the movement to demand that companies who profit from his music cut ties.

The fact that [R. Kelly] has remained so untouched says so much more about how we view the lives of black women and girls than it does about R. Kelly.- Mark Anthony Neal

Host Frank Stasio talks with popular culture experts and about the fate of R. Kelly in this episode of #BackChannel, The State of Things鈥� recurring series connecting culture and context. Neal and Bullock Brown also discuss how coffee shop Joe Van Gogh cut ties with Duke University amid tension over a university vice president鈥檚 complaint about rap music.

Plus, they examine Childish Gambino鈥檚 smash hit 鈥溾€� and Janelle Mon谩e鈥檚 new album 鈥�,鈥� which critics hail as an album in which Mon谩e is unabashedly herself. They also talk about a new divorce plotline in the ABC sitcom 鈥溾€� that positions marital issues as part of a working relationship, and they review the new Netflix docuseries 鈥溾€� that chronicles Robert F. Kennedy鈥檚 political career.

I think the [Janelle Monae album] is heavily influenced by Prince. There are songs where I'm trying to match it with an old 90s Prince song. But half the album seems to be Monae being uniquely herself.- Natalie Bullock Brown

Childish Gambino's "This is America"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYOjWnS4cMY

I came to realize just how important it was to nuance the language around 'professional' for black women and girls. - Yaba Blay

North Carolina Central University professor joins the conversation to preview the second season of 鈥�,鈥� her short form video series profiling women who unapologetically embody black girl culture.Blay is the Dan Blue endowed chair in political science at NCCU. Natalie Bullock Brown a is filmmaker and adjunct professor, and Mark Anthony Neal is the chair of the department of African and African American studies at Duke University in Durham.

Professional Black Girl Season 2 Trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dF1fTWBu_Yc