Mathew Knowles Says He Didn’t Allow Destiny’s Child to Be Around R. Kelly

Mathew Knowles Says He Didn’t Allow Destiny’s Child to Be Around R. Kelly

Since it’s recent debut, it seems nearly everyone in the music industry is discussing how they’ve managed to survive R. Kelly, and the alleged sexually predatory behavior he’s reportedly displayed since the early 1990’s. Mathew Knowles – former manager of Destiny’s Child, and Beyonce and Solange‘s father – recently revealed that he made sure his artists had nothing to do with the singer while trying to break into the industry.

Mathew sat down for an interview with the British Metro News, detailing he and Tina Knowles’ strategic way of helping the teen-aged Destiny’s Child avoid R. Kelly. He said:

“I was there, and my former wife Tina was there. The thing with R Kelly was, he liked to record late at night, around midnight. And what was different with his studio was that one room had a recording suite, and next door was a club, with 40 or 50 people dancing…The girls were 15, 16. When they went to the bathroom, Tina would go with them. They did not leave our eyes.”

He continued:

“R. Kelly was managed by Sony, by someone I won’t name, and at that time, they would almost force you to record with [their] artists. And R. Kelly wasn’t cheap – it was $75,000, plus travel costs, so we’re talking $100,000 for a song. I personally rejected the song, because I didn’t think it was a good song. Not just because of [his] reputation – this was around 1998, we had just begun to hear some of those things.”

When asked if the child molestation and sexual assault allegations are what kept Mathew from allowing R. Kelly to work with DC, he said:

“…certainly, it was both of those things.”

An unnamed source confirmed with Metro News that the Knowleses went to great lengths to keep the girls away from the Pied Piper of R&B. They said:

“Record labels would ask R. Kelly to write songs for emerging artists as a way to help them break into the industry and he made several requests for Destiny’s Child. Mathew and Tina rejected all of them because they didn’t want him anywhere near the band which is why they are one of the few acts to debut in the 90s without an R. Kelly song in its official discography.”

The source continued, pointing out that R. Kelly wrote the song, “Stimulate Me,” for Destiny’s Child for the soundtrack to Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence movie, “Life.” However, the song was produced by Jermaine Dupri, which is who they worked in the studio with. The source added:

“Mathew didn’t want it on any official Destiny’s Child’s albums so it didn’t appear.”

Jermaine Dupri recently echoed Mathew Knowles, stating:

“R. Kelly is one artist I’ve never worked with…I want to make sure people understand I don’t play them games. I don’t condone none of that abuse.”

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Amid the airing of the “Surviving R. Kelly” documentary, the singer is currently under investigation for reports of him holding women against their will in Georgia.

Written by Miata Shanay