Murder Plots & Music Notes: The R. Kelly Prison Conspiracy

1
00:00:01,480 --> 00:00:03,880
No tears for.
Black girls.

2
00:00:05,040 --> 00:00:08,800
When they disappear, no tears
for black girls.

3
00:00:09,840 --> 00:00:13,600
Like they were never here.
What do we remember?

4
00:00:15,120 --> 00:00:19,360
We'll speak their names.
Their stories matter.

5
00:00:20,280 --> 00:00:24,360
We'll break these chains.
Welcome to No Tears for.

6
00:00:24,360 --> 00:00:27,560
Black girls, the podcast.
Where the real news is never

7
00:00:27,560 --> 00:00:29,520
just what's on the front page,
It's.

8
00:00:29,520 --> 00:00:31,600
What we?
Whisper in the salon what?

9
00:00:31,600 --> 00:00:34,120
We share.
Over the hum of the dryer and

10
00:00:34,120 --> 00:00:36,520
what we refuse.
To let the world forget.

11
00:00:37,080 --> 00:00:41,040
I'm Samantha Paul.
Tonight we're talking about.

12
00:00:41,040 --> 00:00:43,600
R Kelly.
But not just the headlines

13
00:00:43,600 --> 00:00:47,320
you've seen tonight, we're
pulling back the curtain on the

14
00:00:47,320 --> 00:00:48,840
latest.
Twists the.

15
00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:50,680
Rumors.
The conspiracies.

16
00:00:50,920 --> 00:00:53,280
And the truths that the system
would rather.

17
00:00:53,280 --> 00:00:55,880
Keep buried.
And we're doing it the way we.

18
00:00:55,880 --> 00:00:59,320
Always do.
With the wisdom, wit and fire of

19
00:00:59,320 --> 00:01:04,239
black women who know how to read
between the lines, picture the

20
00:01:04,239 --> 00:01:06,480
Queen's Crown salon on a
Saturday.

21
00:01:07,080 --> 00:01:09,840
The air thick.
With coconut oil, the sound of

22
00:01:09,840 --> 00:01:13,480
laughter and side eye, and the
latest gossip swirling like

23
00:01:13,480 --> 00:01:17,280
incense, Tasha's at the front.
Edges laid.

24
00:01:17,720 --> 00:01:21,040
Locks wrapped in a scarf.
Running the show like a general

25
00:01:21,760 --> 00:01:24,440
quanda's, moving through the
crowd, catching every.

26
00:01:24,440 --> 00:01:27,720
Detail every bruise.
Hidden under Fenty, every

27
00:01:27,720 --> 00:01:31,920
nervous glance at the door and
in the corner, Mama Esther's

28
00:01:31,920 --> 00:01:35,040
stringing beads, whispering
prayers for protection.

29
00:01:35,440 --> 00:01:39,640
Old as dirt and twice as strong.
Now imagine the news.

30
00:01:39,640 --> 00:01:41,320
Breaks that R Kelly's lawyers
have.

31
00:01:41,320 --> 00:01:44,360
Filed an emergency motion
claiming there's a murder for

32
00:01:44,360 --> 00:01:48,280
hire plot against him in prison.
The details are wild.

33
00:01:48,680 --> 00:01:52,800
An Aryan Brotherhood gang
leader, Michael Glenstein, says

34
00:01:52,800 --> 00:01:55,200
prison officials offered him
freedom if.

35
00:01:55,200 --> 00:01:57,680
He killed Kelly.
Stein says he was.

36
00:01:57,680 --> 00:02:01,400
Ready to do it but backed out.
At the last minute and told

37
00:02:01,400 --> 00:02:04,640
Kelly everything.
The government's response?

38
00:02:05,160 --> 00:02:08,039
Seal the motion.
Keep the public in the dark.

39
00:02:08,639 --> 00:02:11,400
The salon erupts.
Some of the women roll their

40
00:02:11,400 --> 00:02:13,520
eyes.
He's just trying to get out,

41
00:02:13,520 --> 00:02:16,000
girl.
Others lean in.

42
00:02:16,240 --> 00:02:19,360
Voices low, but what if it's
true?

43
00:02:20,080 --> 00:02:23,520
What if he knows something about
Diddy, about the industry?

44
00:02:23,680 --> 00:02:25,440
About.
All those secrets they keep

45
00:02:25,440 --> 00:02:27,040
locked up.
Tighter than a fresh silk.

46
00:02:27,040 --> 00:02:31,040
Press the.
Conversation turns as it.

47
00:02:31,040 --> 00:02:33,800
Always does.
To the patterns we see but the

48
00:02:33,800 --> 00:02:36,160
world ignores.
Because.

49
00:02:36,160 --> 00:02:39,880
Here's the thing.
R Kelly isn't just a headline.

50
00:02:40,600 --> 00:02:43,440
He's a symptom of a system
that's been broken for black

51
00:02:43,440 --> 00:02:47,600
women and girls for generations.
The same system that let him

52
00:02:47,600 --> 00:02:48,960
operate.
For decades.

53
00:02:49,480 --> 00:02:53,080
That ignored the missing girls,
the silenced victims, the

54
00:02:53,080 --> 00:02:56,560
mothers who kept printing Flyers
even when the city tore them

55
00:02:56,560 --> 00:03:00,360
down.
The same system that now might

56
00:03:00,360 --> 00:03:03,400
be trying to silence him.
Not for justice.

57
00:03:04,040 --> 00:03:06,320
But to protect itself.
And the.

58
00:03:06,320 --> 00:03:07,720
Gossip.
It's.

59
00:03:07,720 --> 00:03:08,680
Not just.
Tea.

60
00:03:08,960 --> 00:03:12,000
It's survival black.
Twitter is buzzing.

61
00:03:12,320 --> 00:03:14,880
Is R Kelly about?
To snitch on the whole industry,

62
00:03:15,080 --> 00:03:19,040
Is that why they want him gone?
Some folks are connecting the

63
00:03:19,040 --> 00:03:20,880
dots.
Diddy's case.

64
00:03:21,120 --> 00:03:24,440
New allegations, old rumors.
About Aaliyah.

65
00:03:24,800 --> 00:03:27,840
And a music industry that's
always been quick to close ranks

66
00:03:27,840 --> 00:03:29,400
when the truth.
Gets too close.

67
00:03:30,120 --> 00:03:32,040
It's giving clean house.
Before the.

68
00:03:32,040 --> 00:03:35,680
Feds come knocking energy and
the sisters at Queen's Crown

69
00:03:35,680 --> 00:03:37,880
know how to spot a cover up when
they see one.

70
00:03:38,680 --> 00:03:40,920
But while the world debates
Kelly's fate.

71
00:03:41,520 --> 00:03:43,720
The women and girls he.
Hurt are still.

72
00:03:43,720 --> 00:03:48,600
Living with the consequences.
Some have his children, some are

73
00:03:48,600 --> 00:03:52,520
still fighting to be heard, some
like his own daughter.

74
00:03:52,720 --> 00:03:55,280
Have stories that got.
Buried under the weight of his

75
00:03:55,280 --> 00:03:58,360
fame, and the question hangs in
the air.

76
00:03:58,800 --> 00:04:01,840
If Kelly is released.
Are his victims safe?

77
00:04:02,560 --> 00:04:05,360
Or does the cycle of?
Silence and intimidation just

78
00:04:05,360 --> 00:04:08,720
keep spinning.
This is where the world of the

79
00:04:08,720 --> 00:04:12,120
price.
Of silence comes alive in the

80
00:04:12,120 --> 00:04:15,080
novel The Queen's Crown.
Salon isn't just a place.

81
00:04:15,080 --> 00:04:18,519
For hair.
It's a war room, a sanctuary, a

82
00:04:18,519 --> 00:04:22,960
place where women like Tasha,
Quanda and Maya turn pain into

83
00:04:22,960 --> 00:04:25,520
power.
They map patterns of missing

84
00:04:25,520 --> 00:04:27,120
girls.
Code escape.

85
00:04:27,120 --> 00:04:30,520
Routes into Braids and build
networks of protection that the

86
00:04:30,520 --> 00:04:34,440
city can't ignore.
Armin, the data analyst.

87
00:04:34,680 --> 00:04:37,160
Uses his skills to track the.
Disappearances.

88
00:04:37,160 --> 00:04:40,400
The police won't investigate
connecting the dots that the

89
00:04:40,400 --> 00:04:42,000
system tries.
To erase.

90
00:04:43,200 --> 00:04:45,120
Just like in the R Kelly.
Case.

91
00:04:45,560 --> 00:04:48,160
The women of Queens Crown know.
That justice.

92
00:04:48,160 --> 00:04:52,920
Isn't given, it's taken.
They see the cover ups, The

93
00:04:52,920 --> 00:04:55,800
Dirty cops.
The way every missing woman's

94
00:04:55,800 --> 00:04:58,480
case gets closed with no further
action.

95
00:04:59,360 --> 00:05:02,880
They know that the badge can be
a license for abuse and that the

96
00:05:02,880 --> 00:05:05,280
only way to break.
The cycle is to refuse.

97
00:05:05,280 --> 00:05:07,800
To be silent.
And let's be real.

98
00:05:08,360 --> 00:05:10,760
The R Kelly.
Story is more than a headline.

99
00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:13,880
It's a warning.
It's a reminder that when Black

100
00:05:13,880 --> 00:05:18,480
women speak up, the world finds
a way to shut us down, whether

101
00:05:18,480 --> 00:05:21,960
it's through intimidation,
erasure, or just plain

102
00:05:21,960 --> 00:05:23,760
indifference.
The message.

103
00:05:23,760 --> 00:05:26,600
Is clear.
Your pain doesn't matter unless

104
00:05:26,600 --> 00:05:29,080
it's.
Profitable, but we see.

105
00:05:29,080 --> 00:05:31,120
The patterns.
We see.

106
00:05:31,120 --> 00:05:33,000
How the same names keep coming
up?

107
00:05:33,360 --> 00:05:35,840
Kelly Diddy.
Even whispers.

108
00:05:35,840 --> 00:05:38,480
About others, we see how the
industry.

109
00:05:38,480 --> 00:05:42,800
Protects its own how the system
closes ranks and how time and

110
00:05:42,800 --> 00:05:44,480
again it's black women who pay
the.

111
00:05:44,480 --> 00:05:46,480
Price so.
Tonight.

112
00:05:46,840 --> 00:05:50,120
As we talk about R Kelly.
We're not just talking about one

113
00:05:50,120 --> 00:05:52,640
man.
We're talking about a culture

114
00:05:52,640 --> 00:05:56,320
that lets men like him thrive,
about a system that would rather

115
00:05:56,320 --> 00:05:58,760
kill the messenger than face the
message.

116
00:05:59,920 --> 00:06:03,280
We're talking about the need for
spaces like Queen's Crown, for

117
00:06:03,280 --> 00:06:05,800
networks of women who refuse to
be silent.

118
00:06:06,560 --> 00:06:10,440
And that's the spirit behind The
Price of Silence dropping.

119
00:06:10,440 --> 00:06:14,480
Juneteenth, 2025, free on Amazon
Kindle.

120
00:06:15,600 --> 00:06:19,480
It's an urban suspense thriller.
But it's also a love letter to

121
00:06:19,520 --> 00:06:20,680
every.
Black woman.

122
00:06:20,880 --> 00:06:22,720
Who's ever had to fight to be
heard?

123
00:06:24,120 --> 00:06:27,000
The women of Queen's Crown are
fighting the same battles as the

124
00:06:27,000 --> 00:06:28,600
women in the R Kelly.
Case.

125
00:06:29,040 --> 00:06:30,960
Building something new out.
Of the wreckage.

126
00:06:31,280 --> 00:06:33,400
Refusing to let the system write
the ending.

127
00:06:34,240 --> 00:06:36,960
We're also.
Releasing a soundtrack 15

128
00:06:36,960 --> 00:06:38,640
original songs inspired.
By the.

129
00:06:38,640 --> 00:06:40,760
Book composed.
By the creator of this.

130
00:06:40,760 --> 00:06:44,520
Podcast Jon Reedberg and
performed by The Crown and Soul.

131
00:06:44,520 --> 00:06:47,960
Collective neo soul.
R&B.

132
00:06:48,120 --> 00:06:52,280
Hip hop music that carries the
weight of our stories and.

133
00:06:52,280 --> 00:06:54,200
The hope that we can break the
cycle.

134
00:06:55,320 --> 00:06:57,920
As we close.
Tonight's episode, I want to.

135
00:06:57,920 --> 00:06:59,880
Leave you with the title track
from the.

136
00:06:59,880 --> 00:07:02,120
Upcoming soundtrack.
The price?

137
00:07:02,120 --> 00:07:06,120
Of silence.
This neo soul duet is about

138
00:07:06,120 --> 00:07:09,120
breaking.
Silence, revealing truth and

139
00:07:09,120 --> 00:07:12,240
finding freedom.
Let these words.

140
00:07:12,240 --> 00:07:15,600
Remind you nothing, not even
love.

141
00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:17,600
Is.
Worth losing your voice?

142
00:07:19,080 --> 00:07:21,560
I watched the shadows.
Dance through plexiglass.

143
00:07:22,440 --> 00:07:24,640
Truth.
Caught in my throat, words I

144
00:07:24,640 --> 00:07:28,080
couldn't pass.
Silent melodies play beneath my

145
00:07:28,080 --> 00:07:32,560
skin, each unspoken verse a
battle I can't win.

146
00:07:33,200 --> 00:07:37,880
It hurts when loyalty becomes
the price of truth, When quiet

147
00:07:37,880 --> 00:07:40,200
feels like safety.
But hollows out your roots.

148
00:07:41,040 --> 00:07:42,360
I should.
Have let my voice.

149
00:07:42,400 --> 00:07:46,880
Breakthrough these walls.
Because nothing, not even love,

150
00:07:47,120 --> 00:07:48,680
is.
Worth the weight of it all.

151
00:07:49,600 --> 00:07:52,680
Stay loved, Stay blessed.
And stay.

152
00:07:52,680 --> 00:07:55,200
Safe thank.
You for tuning into another

153
00:07:55,200 --> 00:07:58,280
episode of No Tears for Black.
Girls, this is.

154
00:07:58,280 --> 00:08:12,680
Samantha Paul.
I watched the shadows dance

155
00:08:12,680 --> 00:08:16,800
Duplexiglass, Truth caught in my
throat, words I couldn't pass.

156
00:08:17,000 --> 00:08:20,920
Silent melodies play beneath my
skin, each unspoken verse of

157
00:08:20,920 --> 00:08:24,240
battle I can't win.
They ask why my eyes hold

158
00:08:24,240 --> 00:08:31,080
stories untold as I paint my
smiling shades of fool's gold.

159
00:08:32,600 --> 00:08:36,320
Yeah, I built these walls brick
by brick, Understand?

160
00:08:36,559 --> 00:08:39,000
And Pyro whispers touch of a
heavy hand.

161
00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:42,080
Your silence became the throne.
I claimed it never saw the

162
00:08:42,080 --> 00:08:46,440
change till they had your frame.
Every text, the tracking device,

163
00:08:46,440 --> 00:08:48,920
every caller.
Leash power play disguised.

164
00:08:48,920 --> 00:08:50,800
As love sweet release.
It hurts.

165
00:08:52,000 --> 00:08:57,440
When loyalty becomes the price
of true, when quiet feels like

166
00:08:57,440 --> 00:09:03,640
safety but hollows out yours.
I should have let my voice

167
00:09:04,280 --> 00:09:10,640
breakthrough these walls.
Because nothing, not even love,

168
00:09:11,240 --> 00:09:18,000
is worth the weight of it all.
Mama's wisdom saw the bruises I

169
00:09:18,000 --> 00:09:21,680
disguise changing like seasons
where in different disguise

170
00:09:21,880 --> 00:09:24,560
between brush strokes and Combs
confessions lie.

171
00:09:24,760 --> 00:09:27,440
While my spirit drowns in the
sea of compromise.

172
00:09:27,680 --> 00:09:29,880
Dig me traded for another day of
peace.

173
00:09:30,160 --> 00:09:32,160
So fragments scattered, begging
for.

174
00:09:32,160 --> 00:09:34,520
Relief checking.
Your freedom fades with every

175
00:09:34,520 --> 00:09:37,800
story I spend, each clock ticked
another secret.

176
00:09:37,800 --> 00:09:40,400
I win.
Started as protection, twisted

177
00:09:40,400 --> 00:09:44,040
to control, even locked the way
I still lay claim to your soul.

178
00:09:44,200 --> 00:09:47,320
System working for me.
Badge and gavel Blue Shield

179
00:09:47,320 --> 00:09:49,600
black bruises just as color
blind.

180
00:09:52,120 --> 00:09:58,080
Sometimes whispers echo louder
than screams ever could until

181
00:09:58,080 --> 00:10:01,600
the silence wraps around you
like a shroud.

182
00:10:03,400 --> 00:10:08,160
Shadows I couldn't name now
stand revealed in light.

183
00:10:09,160 --> 00:10:13,120
Too late I realized I'm the one
held tight.

184
00:10:15,600 --> 00:10:17,720
Some prisons ain't built with
bars, you dig.

185
00:10:18,440 --> 00:10:22,480
They constructed from unspoken
words, digital footprints,

186
00:10:22,720 --> 00:10:26,720
broken promises, paper thin
walls to echo with consequence.

187
00:10:26,960 --> 00:10:30,880
Judge Gabble Falls system built
to fail some keys invisible

188
00:10:30,880 --> 00:10:34,720
until you're trapped inside.
Now I'm breaking every chain

189
00:10:34,720 --> 00:10:37,520
that kept me bound, finding
strength and speaking truth,

190
00:10:37,560 --> 00:10:41,080
reclaiming my ground.
No more hiding scars beneath my

191
00:10:41,080 --> 00:10:43,680
skin.
The weight of silence was too

192
00:10:43,680 --> 00:10:48,280
heavy to win, my voice rising
like smoke from ashes of fear,

193
00:10:50,760 --> 00:10:53,800
the melody of freedom ringing
crystal clear.

194
00:10:53,800 --> 00:11:00,360
Words have come only when you
set them free.

195
00:11:02,280 --> 00:11:05,920
Otherwise they're just another
lock without a key.

196
00:11:07,160 --> 00:11:13,640
It hurts when loyalty becomes
the cost of truth, when quiet

197
00:11:13,640 --> 00:11:17,040
feels like safety but cars out
yours.

198
00:11:18,280 --> 00:11:23,800
I should have seen the warning
signs flashing in your eyes.

199
00:11:24,080 --> 00:11:28,920
The words you kept inside became
my own demise.

200
00:11:29,600 --> 00:11:37,520
Because nothing, not even love,
is worth losing your voice.

201
00:11:38,320 --> 00:11:43,000
And freedom only comes when
silence breaks by choice.

202
00:11:45,520 --> 00:11:48,800
I came to set you free.
Never saw the burden you carried

203
00:11:48,800 --> 00:11:52,360
because of me.
The price of silence.

204
00:11:52,840 --> 00:11:54,200
I refuse to pay again.