After childpornography charges were brought against R&B singer R Kelly, he begancalling himself the Pied Piper, a story book character that led all the ratsand families away by playing music on his flute.
“I think it’sjust a coincidence,” said Brandon Gauthier, a senior majoring in computerscience from New Roads. “I don’t think he did that intentionally to be associatedwith the Pied Piper for how we know it to be.”
In The Pied Piper of Hamelin by RobertBrowning and Illustrated by Kate Greenaway, the excert says: Please yourhonours, said he, I’m able, by means of a secret charm, to draw all creaturesliving beneath the sun, that creep or swim or fly or run, after me so as younever saw! And I chiefly use my charm on creatures that do people harm, themole and toad and newt and viper; and people call me the Pied Piper.’
“It depends onwhich group he considers himself leading,” said Rodney Junior, a juniormajoring in criminal justice from Independence. “Whether it be the children orthe adults, and where is he leading them to. It can be good or bad.”
For R. Kelly torefer to himself as the Pied Piper it can be assumed he is making light of hiscriminal situation.
“He shouldn’thave made that bad decision and he wouldn’t be badly associated with the namePied Piper,” said Ashley Semien-Stevens, a sophomore majoring in elementaryeducation from Opelousas.
R. Kelly is mostknown for referring to himself as the Pied Piper in songs with such youngartist as B2K and Marques Houston.
