R. Kelly Trial: Fan Arrested, More Witnesses Identify Sex Tape Girl

An R. Kelly fan was arrested inside the courthouse yesterday as the third day of testimony continued at Kelly's child-pornography trial. Debra Triplett managed to sneak into the courthouse and set up shop next to a freight elevator reserved for the jurors. As the jurors exited the elevator, Triplett yelled "Free R. Kelly!" numerous times before her arrest. The judge in the Kelly case ruled Triplett was in contempt of court and now faces $50,000 bail and a hearing on June 25th. When the trial resumed, several more of family and friends positively identified the then-underage girl in the sex tape. The defense maintains that even if the girl in the tape is underage, the man performing the sex acts is not Kelly.

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Song Stories

“1999”

Prince | 1982

“I don’t consider myself a great poet,” Prince told Rolling Stone. “I just know I’m here to say what’s on my mind.” In the case of the apocalyptic party anthem “1999,” he was worried about then-president Ronald Reagan’s foreign policies. The song’s melody is based on a riff borrowed from the Mamas and Papas’ “Monday, Monday,” and Prince originally envisioned the first verse with three-part harmony but later split the vocals between himself and members of the Revolution. Because Warner Bros., with whom Prince was locked in a contractual battle, owned the original’s masters, Prince rerecorded the song and appropriately released that version in 1999.

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