American soul singer Aloe Blacc, who will soon be touring the country alongside Common, Mos Def, and D’Angelo as part of the inaugural Soulfest, has offered his two cents on the controversy that has long surrounded Robin Thicke‘s 2013 smash Blurred Lines, which he says is damaging.
Controversy and allegations of misogyny have long followed Thicke and the single, with Music Feeds reporting back November that some 20 British universities had banned the song for its allegedly sexist lyrics, which one school said glorify rape and are “degrading to the female subject.”
Such was Aloe Blacc’s sentiment, recently explaining to Bang Showbiz (via Contact Music) that he feels the song has a detrimental influence on people, “There’s really no problem with the song Blurred Lines aside from the subtle innuendos that are made glaringly apparent in the music video.”
“To open people up and then to dump trash into them, is to me, no matter what your religion is, it’s sacrilege, it’s immoral,” he continued. “The machismo, the misogyny, the violence, the disrespect… I just don’t think it’s necessary and I actually think it’s damaging to the psyche of young girls and… to the psyche of young guys who sort of fantasise in this world of being macho and sexist.”
Blacc linked his views on the single to his beliefs regarding the spirituality of music, saying, “It’s an important thing what we do with music. Music is a spiritual experience whether you want to admit it or not, music opens your senses and has been used historically as a conduit to your inner psyche.”
Watch: Robin Thicke feat T.I. and Pharrell – Blurred Lines
