(Fear of fading into the background: Raz-B)
I think Raz-B needs a psychiatric evaluation.
That’s not to say that I believe the allegations of child molestation he has levied against his former manager and mentor Chris Stokes and R&B singer Marques Houston are false. Quite the contrary, I think his claims are very credible. Rumors of Stokes's behavior have been swirling since the days of Immature and they have been corroborated by another Stokes protégée, Quindon Tarver.
I’m no psychologist, but after watching, listening to, and reading the interviews with this young man, his demeanor—the erratic behavior, angry tone, hyperactive speech pattern, vulgarity, casual bigotry, religious zealotry, and unkempt appearance—seems, if not indicative of a severe emotional disorder, at least cause for serious concern.
It may be his religious zealotry that is doing him the most harm, though. In his interview with Vibe magazine, he said that he won’t seek psychological counseling and has opted, instead, to rely on Jesus Christ. Quite a few members of the black community hold similar positions, believing that counseling is a waste of time—“real men and women” either deal with their mental and emotional problems on their own or rely on religion to get them through. I know the song claims that he’s a wonderful counselor, but Jesus predates psychiatry by a few thousand years; I think it’s safe to say that he’s not an expert in the field. Which may explain why Raz-B is also relying on the power of another god: the media.
I’m just an observer, but I think that his exploitation of this subject matter speaks to a larger issue at play in America: the idea that everything—even our darkest, most private and terrible suffering—is an opportunity for profit. Couple that with the addictive nature of fame (and the depths to which one will go to attain or maintain it) and what you have in Raz-B is a prime example of what happens when the human being—both to himself and to the people around him—becomes secondary to material wealth.
The media, which is in the business of distracting rather than informing, couldn’t be more pleased by Raz-B’s mania. Instead of using this as an opportunity to educate, every single outlet reporting the story has sensationalized it. So, it comes as no shock that they have not corrected—but have, in some cases, provoked—Raz-B’s conflation of pedophilia and homosexuality (for the record, the two aren’t even remotely the same thing). It isn’t surprising that they haven’t challenged Raz on his use of the word “faggots” to describe his abusers (thereby revealing their own homophobia). Rather, they have focused on the most heinous details. Without feeling the least bit of shame, they’ve asked him about the specific sexual acts forced on him by his abusers and were delighted by his responses. No one is being helped in this situation and everyone is being demeaned—some willingly. It's all very bizarre.
Perhaps E. Raymond Brown was correct in his assertion that every single human relationship is based on exploitation: You’re either a pimp or a ho. The only flexibility you have is in deciding which of the two you’re going to be.