R. Kelly
Encyclopedia
Robert Sylvester Kelly better known by his stage name R. Kelly, is an American singer-songwriter
and record producer
. A native of Chicago
, Kelly began performing during the late 1980s and debuted in 1992 with the group Public Announcement
. In 1993, Kelly went solo with the album 12 Play
. He is known for a collection of major hit singles including "Bump n' Grind
", "Your Body's Callin'
", "I Believe I Can Fly
", "Gotham City
", "Ignition (Remix)", "If I Could Turn Back the Hands of Time
", "The World's Greatest
", "I'm a Flirt
", and the hip-hopera
"Trapped in the Closet
". In 1998, Kelly won three Grammy Award
s for "I Believe I Can Fly".
Kelly has also written, produced and remix
ed songs for many artists including Ronald Isley
and The Isley Brothers
, The Winans
, Charlie Wilson (singer), Quincy Jones
, Luther Vandross
, K-Ci & JoJo, Hi-Five
, N-Phase, Aaliyah
, Janet Jackson
, Whitney Houston
, Toni Braxton
, Celine Dion
, Michael Jackson
, Maxwell
, Kelly Price
, Gerald LeVert
, Jaheim
, Raheem DeVaughn
, Tamia
, Syleena Johnson
, Britney Spears
, Usher
, Ray J
, Ginuwine
, Tyrese
, Marques Houston
, B2K
, Twista
, Ciara
, Nivea
, Nick Cannon
, Jennifer Hudson
, Mary J. Blige
, and Jennifer Lopez
among others.
, Illinois
, Kelly was the third of four children. Kelly's single mother, Joanne, was a singer and a Baptist
. Kelly's father was absent throughout most of Kelly's life. Kelly began singing in church at age eight. In Chicago, Kelly's family lived in the projects at 63rd Street before relocating to a small house at 107th and Parnell Streets. Kelly entered Kenwood Academy
in Chicago's Hyde Park
neighborhood in the fall of 1980 where he met his music teacher Lena McLin, who encouraged Kelly to perform the Stevie Wonder
classic Ribbon in the Sky in a highschool talent show. As a teenager, Kelly began street performing (or busking
) under the Chicago 'L'
trains before he eventually formed a group with his friend Marc McWilliams. In 1989, Kelly and McWilliams formed the group MGM (Musically Gifted Men). Along with Vincent Corey Walker and Shawnth Brooks, Kelly performed on the TV talent show Big Break, hosted by Natalie Cole
, and went on to win the $100,000 grand prize.
released their debut album, Born into the 90's, in early 1992. Released during the new jack swing
period of the early nineties, the album yielded the hits "She's Got That Vibe", "Honey Love", "Dedicated", and "Slow Dance (Hey Mr. DJ)", all of which were led by Kelly. During late 1992, Kelly and Public Announcement embarked on a tour called "60653", whose title was the zip code
of Kelly's neighborhood. Kelly left Public Announcement in January 1993.
Kelly's solo album, 12 Play
, was released in the fall of 1993 and yielded the singer's first number-one hit, "Bump n' Grind
", which spent a record-breaking 12 weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart. Subsequent hit singles were "Your Body's Callin'
" and "Sex Me". 12 Play was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America
(RIAA) in 1994, eventually going six times platinum. Kelly also produced Age Ain't Nothing But a Number
, the 1994 debut album by R&B singer Aaliyah
. Kelly was attributed to writing "You Are Not Alone
" for Michael Jackson
for Jackson's 1995 album, HIStory
, but has been faced with allegations of plagiarism. During this time, as well as writing and producing, Kelly also became known for his remixes. He remixed his own songs, "Bump N Grind", "Your Body's Callin" featuring Aaliyah, and "Sex Me", as well as songs for other artists including Aaliyah, Changing Faces, and Toni Braxton. He also produced a remix for Janet Jackson
's 1994 hit "Any Time, Any Place
" Kelly's success continued with the release of his second solo album, R. Kelly
, popular for the singles "You Remind Me of Something
", "I Can't Sleep (Baby If I)", and "Down Low", a duet with Ronald Isley
. Kelly's self-titled album sold four million copies, thus receiving 4× platinum certification from the RIAA. Kelly promoted the album with a 50-city "Down Low Top Secret Tour" with LL Cool J
, Xscape
, and Solo. In May 1996 Kelly was featured on the cover of Ebony Man (EM) magazine with the headline proclaiming "R. Kelly The new King of R&B" where he discussed touring, working with Quincy Jones
, Toni Braxton
, and Janet Jackson ("When I first met them, I could tell they liked my albums. There was always a certain song they named off my album. They said they wanted something like that." Braxton liked "My Body's Calling".), as well as his influences Marvin Gaye
, Donny Hathaway
("The way he approached the woman he loved in his songs. He didn't hold back" he says of Hathaway. "He was raw with what he had to say. And Marvin Gaye was the same.") and Michael Jackson's dedication to music ("He's another person that I feel is married to his music. That's why we related so well.")
In 1996, Kelly released one of his most successful singles with "I Believe I Can Fly
", an inspirational song originally released on the soundtrack for the film Space Jam
. "I Believe I Can Fly" reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, and No. 1 on the UK charts for three weeks and won three Grammy Awards in 1998. Rolling Stone
magazine named it as the 406th of its top 500 songs of all time. For the film Batman & Robin, Kelly recorded the top ten single "Gotham City".
In 1997, Kelly fulfilled a longtime dream of his and signed a contract to al basketball
with the Atlantic City Seagulls of the USBL. Kelly wore the number 12 in honor of his album 12 Play. Kelly said "I love basketball enough to not totally let go of my music, but just put it to the side for a minute, and fulfill some dreams of mine that I've had for a long time." Kelly's USBL contract contained a clause that would allow him to fulfill a music obligation when necessary. "If Whitney Houston needs a song written", Gross said, "he would be able to leave the team to do that and come back". Kelly is believed to be the first music artist to play professional basketball.
In 1998, Kelly released R., his is the fourth studio album and first double album. It was released in the United States on November 17, 1998 (see 1998 in music
). It was the first time that Kelly allowed other record producers to produce or co-produce on his album, as opposed to producing the entire album himself, and his first time collaborating with various artists on his album. It is currently Kelly's biggest selling album to date, selling 8 million copies in the US according to RIAA.
R. went to number one on the R&B albums chart as the third album to do so, and went second place on the Billboard 200 chart. It spawned Kelly's second number one U.S. pop hit, "I'm Your Angel", a duet with Celine Dion
. The album also contains the number one R&B hit, "I Believe I Can Fly", which had been released two years earlier on the Space Jam soundtrack.
In 1998, Kelly wrote and produced the debut album of his new female artist Sparkle
, which was released on his Rockland label
, distributed through Interscope. The album went platinum due to the success of the first single, "Be Careful", a duet featuring Kelly and Sparkle. Kelly also found success with soundtracks such as "Gotham City" from Batman & Robin, and "The World's Greatest" from Ali
. In 1999, Kelly wrote and produced, along with Wyclef Jean
, the majority of the soundtrack to the Eddie Murphy
and Martin Lawrence
film Life
. Kelly composed ten songs on the soundtrack, while Jean composed five. Kelly also contributed two songs, "Bad Man" and "Up and Outta Here," to the updated Samuel L. Jackson
movie Shaft
. In 2000, Kelly released TP-2.com
, which yielded the hits "I Wish" and the remix to "Fiesta", which featured Jay-Z
. Because of the success of that song and another Kelly/Jay-Z collaboration, "Guilty 'Til Proven Innocent", from Jay-Z's Dynasty album, it was announced in early 2002 that the duo would collaborate on a joint album and tour entitled The Best of Both Worlds
. Due to controversy surrounding Kelly at the time, however, there was little promotion for the album when it was finally released and Kelly instead refocused his attention on his solo work as both a recording artist and producer.
During late 2001 and early 2002, Kelly began working on the follow-up to his album TP-2.com
, titled Loveland. The album was scheduled to be released in November 2002, but as with Best of Both Worlds before it, heavy bootlegging
led to its being delayed. The singer then rerecorded the entire album, titled Chocolate Factory
, which featured several of the bootlegged tracks on the bonus Loveland disc.
known as Baghdad. Later that year Kelly followed that success by releasing his first greatest hits collection The R in R&B Collection Volume 1, the album as well as a DVD collection. In 2004, Kelly released the ambitious two-disc set Happy People/U Saved Me
, with the first disc including feel-good, stepping-inspired tracks, while focusing on gospel
and inspirational material on the second disc. That same year, Kelly performed The Star-Spangled Banner
during the introduction of the world championship boxing fight between Bernard Hopkins
and Jermain Taylor
. His performance, which included a line of dancers doing the "stepping" routine and a prerecorded instrumental track set to the sound of "Happy People", was met with a mixed reaction. In October 2004, Kelly reunited with Jay-Z to do a follow-up to their Best of Both Worlds album shortly after announcing a tour to coincide with the project after the duo performed together during Jay-Z's "farewell" concert at Madison Square Garden
a year before. The duo's Unfinished Business album was released and peaked at number one on the Billboard chart.
The Unfinished Business tour was plagued by a rivalry between the two stars and Kelly reportedly showing up late or not at all to gigs. The singer, according to Jay-Z, often complained that the touring lights were not directed towards him and often left during the middle of sets. Another night during the concert, Kelly stayed on his tour bus for two hours before finally coming out to perform an uninspired set. Jay-Z eventually removed R. Kelly halfway through the tour, after a member of Jay-Z's entourage attacked R. Kelly with Mace
or pepper spray
. On April 25, 2006, it was confirmed that Jay-Z's younger cousin, Tyran (Ty-Ty) Smith confessed in a Manhattan Criminal Court to pepper-spraying R. Kelly and four of his bodyguards at Madison Square Garden in October 2004. Smith had been charged with assault, but was allowed to plead guilty to disorderly conduct for four days of community service. After the original incident, Jay-Z made Smith an executive of Def Jam Records. Kelly also launched a $75 million lawsuit against Jay-Z for removing him from the tour, which received a countersuit by Jay-Z which was thrown out by the judge.
and T-Pain
. The original track entitled "I'm a Flirt", also produced and co-written by R. Kelly, appeared as a hidden track on Bow Wow's The Price of Fame
(2006). However, Kelly never gave the rights for the song to be released as a formal single, although it was played by many radio stations before the remix version. Kelly's first single from Double Up was "I'm a Flirt (Remix)", Bow Wow was not featured on this version of the song. In Kelly's video for "I'm a Flirt (Remix)", he encourages fans to call a number which flashes up quickly on the screen. Fans who called the number were greeted by a recording of Kelly talking about his upcoming album and playing snippets of new songs in the studio. "I'm a Flirt (Remix)" was successful for Kelly. The song peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also reached number one on the Billboard Hot Rap Tracks. Another hit on the album, "Same Girl
", was a collaboration between Kelly and Usher
. The single peaked at number 20 on the Hot 100 and peaked at number four on the R&B chart. Other singles such as "Rock Star" featuring Ludacris
and Kid Rock
, "Sex Planet" and "Freaky in the Club" were R&B charters, although the latter two were not officially released as singles, nor was the title track featuring Snoop Dogg
.
Kelly's other single from Double Up titled "Rise Up" was a tribute to the victims of the Virginia Tech massacre
. The song was officially released as a digital download May 15, 2007. Proceeds were donated to the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund, a fund that helped family members of the victims of the shootings.
Kelly began his Double Up tour with Ne-Yo
, Keyshia Cole
and J. Holiday
opening for him. After two shows, promoter Leonard Rowe had Ne-Yo removed from the tour because of a contract dispute. However, Ne-Yo alleges that the reason for the dropout was because Ne-Yo believes he received a better response from critics and fans, even though he only performed at two shows. Ne-Yo filed a lawsuit against Rowe Entertainment. It was shown that Kelly was not mentioned in the lawsuit. In December 2007, Kelly was showing up to another preliminary court hearing on his case due to his tour bus being held up in Utah. The judge threatened to revoke Kelly's bond, but the judge eventually decided not to. In 2008, Kelly released a rap track titled "I'm a Beast" in which he coarsely attacked his detractors, though Kelly himself never mentioned by name who the song was directed to.
In 2008, Billboard reported that Kelly had plans to release his newest album titled 12 Play: Fourth Quarter in the summer of that year but the album was postponed. Billboard also named Kelly among the most successful artists ever for its 50th Anniversary List. In the spring, the first promotional single "Hair Braider
", peaked at No. 56 on Billboard's R&B chart. On July 28, the entire album leaked online. The album was then pushed back to be released in the fall. On September 18, Kelly released the video to the second promotional single "Skin". However, the album still has no official release date. Though Kelly has not released an album, he has kept busy in the studio doing featured guest spots on numerous remixes including "Lookin Boy
" remix by Hotstylz
, Mariah Carey
's "Touch My Body
" remix, a verse for a remix to Kanye West's
single "Love Lockdown
", Raheem DeVaughn
's "Customer
" remix, Beyoncé Knowles
' "If I Were a Boy
" remix, T-Pain
's "Chopped 'n' Skrewed" remix, among others. A recent track was leaked on the internet titled "I Believe". Kelly states on his official MySpace page that Obama's election inspired him to write the song, which contains an excerpt from Barack Obama
's presidential acceptance speech. This song was available on iTunes as a free download the first week it was released.
, The Demo Tape (Gangsta Grillz)
presented by DJ Skee
and DJ Drama
as a way to reintroduce himself to fans.
While at the Velvet Room in Atlanta in February 2009, Kelly announced that he was out there working on the album and that it would be called Untitled
. The album was given a September 29, 2009 release date, but was delayed until October 13, 2009. The album release was again delayed and was released under Jive Records
on December 1, 2009. It got mixed to positive reviews from critics. The single "Number One
", which features Keri Hilson
, peaked at #8 on the US R&B Chart.
Kelly performed for the first time in Africa headlining the Arise African Fashion Awards in Johannesburg
, South Africa on June 20, 2009. Kelly scheduled to perform in Cape Town
before heading to Nigeria as part of the annual ThisDay music and fashion festival in July. Kelly also performed in Kampala, Uganda in January 2010. He also scheduled to perform in London as part of his first international tour in eight years, but he did not make his London concert. "I'm very excited about my first visit to Africa, I've dreamed about this for a long time and it's finally here," Kelly said in a statement. "It will be one of the highlights of not only my career but my life. I can't wait to perform in front of my fans in Africa — who have been some of the best in the world."
on June 11, 2010.
On July 13, 2010, a song called "Tongues" surfaced, reportedly the lead single from Kelly's upcoming album Zodiac. The song is produced by Bangladesh
and features Ludacris
. The first single from Love Letter is called "When a Woman Loves". The music video for the song was released in August 2010.
In an interview in the September 2010 issue of XXL
magazine, Kelly mentioned that he is currently working on three new albums entitled "Epic", Love Letter, and Zodiac".
On September 13, 2010, Kelly released one of his three new albums, Epic
. A collection of Kelly's most "epic" ballads, including five new songs; the compilation was only released in Europe.
Kelly's latest album Love Letter
was released on December 14, 2010 worldwide. The album includes 15 songs, the latter being a bonus track which is a cover of Michael Jackson's "You Are Not Alone", which was written and produced by Kelly as well. The next single, "Love Letter" and "A Love Letter Christmas", the Christmas remix to "Love Letter", were released as singles on November 22, 2010. Love Letter has been critically acclaimed by music critics and highly-praised by critics and fans alike. The first single "When a Woman Loves" was nominated for a Grammy for Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards. In promotion of "Love Letter" he performed at the 2010 Soul Train Music Awards
and on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
. All songs on the album were written and produced by Kelly.
Recently, Kelly collaborated with several African musicians forming a supergroup known as One8. The group features 2Face
from Nigeria, Alikiba from Tanzania, Congo
lese singer Fally Ipupa, 4X4 from Ghana, hip-hop artist Movaizhaleine from Gabon, Zambia's JK, Ugandan hip-hop star Navio and Kenya's Amani
, the only female in the group. The first release from the group is "Hands Across the World" written and produced by Kelly.
In March 2011, Kelly was named the #1 R&B artist of the last 25 years by Billboard.
Kelly is presently working on his memoirs entitled Soulacoaster, expected be released in the fall of 2011. The book is said to be an intimate look at the events of his life and shed some light on how he dealt with life-shaping events like the child molestation charges and being blacklisted by several urban radio stations.
health club involving bodyguard William Robert Savy, Kelly was placed on a year's unsupervised probation starting August 13, 1997. One of the victims, Christopher Mahoney, needed 110 facial stitches.
Kelly was arrested on April 8, 1998 on three misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct, including one charge on violating noise ordinance for playing loud music from his car. Prosecutors from the district attorney's office dropped the first two charges on May 7 and the noise charge on July 22 that year.
On February 3, 2002, a video allegedly showing Kelly engaging in sex with, and urinating on
, an underage girl surfaced. The girl defended R. Kelly, later saying that she consented. The story, that was released by an unknown source, was sent to the Chicago Sun-Times
; the newspaper that broke the story. Kelly denied that he was the man in the video. Bootleg copies of that tape became widely available on the black market and over file sharing
networks. In June 2002, Kelly was indicted in Chicago on 21 counts of having sex with a minor, which were later reduced to soliciting a minor for child pornography
, seven counts of videotaping the acts, and seven counts of producing child pornography. After a number of delays, on October 27, 2006, a Cook County, Illinois
, court hearing for pre-trial motions set the date of the actual trial to February 7, 2007. On the date of the trial, Kelly's lawyer informed the court that his client was unable to attend because he was "undergoing surgery for a burst appendix". He also announced that Kelly was "in good condition and was expected to be released from the hospital later in the day." His attorney stated that Kelly (who pleaded not guilty) would be in attendance on the next trial date of February 21, 2007. It had previously been announced by the court that the videotape that allegedly showed Kelly performing sex acts with an underage girl would be publicly shown as evidence in the trial. The trial, however, was delayed due to disputes over when the tape was made and to give medical recuperation time to the sitting judge following a fall resulting in broken bones. Later the case was set for a September 17 date. It took more than six years for the case to go to trial. Jury selection began on May 9, 2008, and the trial officially started on May 20 with opening statements from the prosecution and defense. After two weeks, the prosecution's case wrapped on June 3 while the defense's wrapped six days later, on June 9. After less than a day of deliberations, on June 13, 2008, a Chicago jury found Kelly not guilty of all 14 counts.
On October 4, 2006, former employee Henry "Love" Vaughn (who claims to have been a "mentor and guide" to Kelly since he was a teenager) filed a lawsuit against Kelly accusing him of assault
, false imprisonment
, and a breach of contract that defrauded him of songwriting royalties. Vaughn falsely claimed Kelly and his associates dragged him to the basement of Kelly’s Olympia Fields home on February 19, 2006, and Kelly "repeatedly struck him about the face and body with his fists." Vaughn also claims he gave Kelly the "concept" for the song "Steppin". Kelly's spokesman declared that Vaughn was merely trying to extort
money and told reporters that a police investigation found no evidence to Vaughn's assault allegations. Olympia Fields police confirmed that they had investigated the matter but would not comment beyond saying "We didn't file any charges on this case."
Collaboration albums
Compilation albums
Unreleased albums
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
and record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
. A native of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Kelly began performing during the late 1980s and debuted in 1992 with the group Public Announcement
Public Announcement
Public Announcement is an R&B and hip hop group, which was formed in 1990 in Chicago, Illinois, originally backing singer R. Kelly on his first album.-1990-1994: Born Into The 90's:...
. In 1993, Kelly went solo with the album 12 Play
12 Play
-Personnel:* All songs were written and arranged by R. Kelly* Executive Producer: Barry HankersonCo-ProducerTimmy Allen-External links:* at Discogs* at 12Play.net...
. He is known for a collection of major hit singles including "Bump n' Grind
Bump n' Grind
"Bump n' Grind" is a song written, produced and performed by R&B musician R. Kelly. It was the second single released from his first solo album 12 Play in 1994. The track became a number one single on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 , and it also spent twelve weeks at number one on the U.S...
", "Your Body's Callin'
Your Body's Callin'
"Your Body's Callin" is a 1994 single by R. Kelly from his album 12 Play. Kelly also released a remix as a b-side to the single featuring his protege Aaliyah called the "Your Body's Calling His N Hers Mix". Norman Brown covers the song in 1996 in his album Better Days Ahead...
", "I Believe I Can Fly
I Believe I Can Fly
"I Believe I Can Fly" is a 1996 song by R&B singer R. Kelly. The song was written, produced and performed by Kelly and was featured on the soundtrack to the 1996 film Space Jam. The song later appeared on Kelly's 1998 album R.....
", "Gotham City
Gotham City (song)
"Gotham City" is a song by R&B singer R. Kelly based on the fictional city of the same name. It was featured on the soundtrack to the film, Batman & Robin, and reached number nine on both the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts....
", "Ignition (Remix)", "If I Could Turn Back the Hands of Time
If I Could Turn Back the Hands of Time
"If I Could Turn Back the Hands of Time" is a song by R. Kelly, released as the fifth single from his 1998 album, R.. The song is a sweeping ballad about a man wishing he could go back in time and repair his relationship with his girlfriend...
", "The World's Greatest
The World's Greatest (song)
"The World's Greatest" is a song written and recorded by R&B singer R. Kelly. The song was originally featured on the soundtrack to the film Ali, and also appeared on bootleg copies of Kelly's unreleased album, Loveland, which later became a bonus disc to Chocolate Factory.- Reception and awards...
", "I'm a Flirt
I'm a Flirt
"I'm a Flirt" is a song by Bow Wow featuring R. Kelly. The song was scheduled to be the second single released from Bow Wow's fifth album The Price of Fame but the decision was changed to "Outta My System". Instead, it appears as a bonus track on the album. The remix of "I'm a Flirt" became the...
", and the hip-hopera
Rap opera
A rap opera or hip hopera is a series of hip hop songs in the form of an opera, inspired by the concept of rock opera.Like its predecessor, rap opera tells a story through consecutive pieces of music involving the same character or characters. Rap opera may be a purely auditory experience, or it...
"Trapped in the Closet
Trapped in the Closet
"Trapped in the Closet" is a series of songs by American contemporary R&B singer R. Kelly. The song set consists of 22 chapters, which were released from 2005 to 2007. The first five chapters of the set are included on his seventh studio album TP.3 Reloaded, with the first chapter being released as...
". In 1998, Kelly won three Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
s for "I Believe I Can Fly".
Kelly has also written, produced and remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
ed songs for many artists including Ronald Isley
Ronald Isley
Ronald Isley is an American singer and is known as the lead singer and founding member of the family music group The Isley Brothers.-Career:...
and The Isley Brothers
The Isley Brothers
The Isley Brothers are a highly influential, successful and long-running American music group consisting of different line-ups of six brothers, and a brother-in-law, Chris Jasper...
, The Winans
The Winans
The Winans are an American Gospel music quartet from Detroit, Michigan consisting of brothers Marvin, Carvin, Michael and Ronald Winans.-Members:Please refer to the Winans family page for more detail on the individual members.-Origins:...
, Charlie Wilson (singer), Quincy Jones
Quincy Jones
Quincy Delightt Jones, Jr. is an American record producer and musician. A conductor, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend...
, Luther Vandross
Luther Vandross
Luther Ronzoni Vandross was an American singer-songwriter and record producer. During his career, Vandross sold over twenty-five million albums and won eight Grammy Awards including Best Male R&B Vocal Performance four times...
, K-Ci & JoJo, Hi-Five
Hi-Five
Hi-Five is an American R&B quintet based out of Waco, Texas, who had a #1 hit on Billboard's Hot 100 in the early 1990s with "I Like the Way ". Hi-Five was formed in 1990, and consisted of the late Tony Thompson, Roderick "Pooh" Clark, Marcus Sanders, Russell Neal, and Toriano Easley...
, N-Phase, Aaliyah
Aaliyah
Aaliyah Dana Haughton , who performed under the mononym Aaliyah , was an American R&B recording artist, actress and model. She was born in Brooklyn, New York, and was raised in Detroit, Michigan. At the age of 10, she appeared on the television show Star Search and performed in concert alongside...
, Janet Jackson
Janet Jackson
Janet Damita Jo Jackson is an American recording artist and actress. Known for a series of sonically innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows, television and film roles, she has been a prominent figure in popular culture for over 25 years...
, Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston is an American singer, actress, producer and a former model. Houston is the most awarded female act of all time, according to Guinness World Records, and her list of awards include 1 Emmy Award, 6 Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among...
, Toni Braxton
Toni Braxton
Toni Michelle Braxton is an American R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Braxton has won six Grammy Awards, seven American Music Awards, and five Billboard Music Awards and has sold over 60 million records worldwide...
, Celine Dion
Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record...
, Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
, Maxwell
Maxwell (musician)
Maxwell , is an American R&B, funk and neo soul musician. He played an important role in the development of the soul sub-genre, neo-soul.-Early life:...
, Kelly Price
Kelly Price
Kelly Price is an American R&B and soul singer, formerly on the Def Soul label.-Life and music career:Kelly Cherelle Price was born in Queens, New York. She was first discovered by Mariah Carey in February 1992 and subsequently introduced to Sony Columbia's then CEO Tommy Mottola...
, Gerald LeVert
Gerald Levert
Gerald Levert was an American R&B singer. Gerald Levert sang with his brother, Sean Levert, and friend Marc Gordon in the R&B trio LeVert. He was also a part of LSG, an R&B supergroup comprising Keith Sweat, Johnny Gill, and Levert...
, Jaheim
Jaheim
Jaheim Hoagland is an American R&B singer and formerly a rapper performing under the mononymous name of Jaheim. He was signed by Naughty by Nature's Kaygee to Divine Mill Records in 2000, and released his debut album Ghetto Love in 2001. His second effort, Still Ghetto, was released a year later,...
, Raheem DeVaughn
Raheem DeVaughn
Raheem DeVaughn is an American singer and songwriter. His debut album, The Love Experience , reached No. 46 on the Billboard 200 album chart. It featured the singles "Guess Who Loves You More" and "You". His second album Love Behind the Melody was released in January 2008...
, Tamia
Tamia
Tamia Hill , and known professionally as Tamia, is a four-time Grammy-nominated Canadian R&B and soul singer, songwriter, record producer, composer, model, entrepreneur and philanthropist, as well as an occasional actress.She is best known for her 2000 hit "Stranger In My House" and Fabolous' 2003...
, Syleena Johnson
Syleena Johnson
Syleena Johnson is a Grammy award-nominated American R&B and soul singer-songwriter and actress.-Biography:...
, Britney Spears
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...
, Usher
Usher (entertainer)
Usher Terry Raymond IV , who performs under the mononym Usher, is an American singer-songwriter, and actor. He is considered around the world to be the reigning King of R&B. Usher rose to fame in the late 1990s with the release of his second album My Way, which spawned his first Billboard Hot 100...
, Ray J
Ray J
William Ray Norwood Jr. , better known by his stage name Ray J, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer and actor.-Early life:...
, Ginuwine
Ginuwine
Elgin Baylor Lumpkin , better known by his stage name Ginuwine is an American singer-songwriter and actor. Signed to Epic Records since the mid-1990s, Ginuwine had released a number of multi-platinum and platinum-selling albums and singles, becoming one of R&B's top artists during the late 1990's...
, Tyrese
Tyrese
Tyrese Darnell Gibson , also known simply as Tyrese, is an American R&B singer, rapper, actor, author, former fashion model and MTV VJ. After releasing several albums, he transitioned into films, with lead roles in several Hollywood releases.-Early life:Gibson was born in Los Angeles, California,...
, Marques Houston
Marques Houston
Marques Barrett Houston is an American R&B singer, songwriter, rapper, and actor. A member of the R&B singing group Immature/IMx until 2002, he went solo in 2003. He is also the cousin of J-Boog, former member of the R&B/Hip-Hop group B2K....
, B2K
B2K
B2K was an American R&B music group. The group met in 1998, established in 2001, and managed by music producer Chris Stokes with Lil' Fizz, J-Boog, Raz-B, and Omarion as members. The group disbanded in 2004 due to internal disagreements.-2001-2002: B2K:...
, Twista
Twista
Carl Terrell Mitchell , better known by his stage name Twista, is an American rapper. He is known for once holding the title of fastest rapper in the world according to Guinness World Records in 1992, being able to pronounce 598 syllables in 55 seconds...
, Ciara
Ciara
Ciara Princess Harris , known mononymously as Ciara, is an American singer-songwriter, dancer, actress and fashion model. Born in Austin, Texas, she traveled around the world during her childhood, only to land in Atlanta, Georgia where she met music producer, Jazze Pha...
, Nivea
Nivea
Nivea is a global skin- and body-care brand that is owned by the German company Beiersdorf. The company was founded on March 28 1882 by pharmacist Carl Paul Beiersdorf. In 1900, the new owner Oskar Troplowitz developed a water-in-oil emulsion as a skin cream with Eucerit, the first stable emulsion...
, Nick Cannon
Nick Cannon
Nicholas Scott "Nick" Cannon is an American actor, comedian, rapper, entrepreneur, record producer, radio, and television personality. On television, Cannon began as a teenage sketch comedian on All That before going on to host The Nick Cannon Show, Wild 'N Out, and America's Got Talent...
, Jennifer Hudson
Jennifer Hudson
Jennifer Kate Hudson is an American recording artist, actress and spokesperson. She came to prominence in 2004 as one of the finalists on the third season of American Idol coming in seventh place...
, Mary J. Blige
Mary J. Blige
Mary Jane Blige is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and occasional actress. She is a recipient of nine Grammy Awards and four American Music Awards, and has recorded eight multi-platinum albums. She is the only artist with Grammy Award wins in Pop, Rap, Gospel, and R&B. Blige has...
, and Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lynn Lopez is an American actress, singer, record producer, dancer, television personality, and fashion designer. Lopez began her career as a dancer on the television comedy program In Living Color. Subsequently venturing into acting, she gained recognition in the 1995 action-thriller...
among others.
Early life
Born and raised on the South Side of ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, Kelly was the third of four children. Kelly's single mother, Joanne, was a singer and a Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
. Kelly's father was absent throughout most of Kelly's life. Kelly began singing in church at age eight. In Chicago, Kelly's family lived in the projects at 63rd Street before relocating to a small house at 107th and Parnell Streets. Kelly entered Kenwood Academy
Kenwood Academy
Kenwood Academy is a public 4-year high school located in the Kenwood neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois, USA. Kenwood Academy accepts high school students living in its attendance area: From Lake Michigan to Cottage Grove Avenue east to west, and 47th to the Midway Plaisance north to south...
in Chicago's Hyde Park
Hyde Park, Chicago
Hyde Park, located on the South Side of the City of Chicago, in Cook County, Illinois, United States and seven miles south of the Chicago Loop, is a Chicago neighborhood and one of 77 Chicago community areas. It is home to the University of Chicago, the Hyde Park Art Center, the Museum of Science...
neighborhood in the fall of 1980 where he met his music teacher Lena McLin, who encouraged Kelly to perform the Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
classic Ribbon in the Sky in a highschool talent show. As a teenager, Kelly began street performing (or busking
Busking
Street performance or busking is the practice of performing in public places, for gratuities, which are generally in the form of money and edibles...
) under the Chicago 'L'
Chicago 'L'
The L is the rapid transit system serving the city of Chicago and some of its surrounding suburbs. It is operated by the Chicago Transit Authority...
trains before he eventually formed a group with his friend Marc McWilliams. In 1989, Kelly and McWilliams formed the group MGM (Musically Gifted Men). Along with Vincent Corey Walker and Shawnth Brooks, Kelly performed on the TV talent show Big Break, hosted by Natalie Cole
Natalie Cole
Natalie Maria Cole , is an American singer, songwriter and performer. The daughter of jazz legend Nat King Cole, Cole rode to musical success in the mid-1970s as an R&B artist with the hits "This Will Be ", "Inseparable" and "Our Love"...
, and went on to win the $100,000 grand prize.
1992–2000: Born into the 90's, 12 Play, R. Kelly, R., and TP-2.com
Kelly and the group Public AnnouncementPublic Announcement
Public Announcement is an R&B and hip hop group, which was formed in 1990 in Chicago, Illinois, originally backing singer R. Kelly on his first album.-1990-1994: Born Into The 90's:...
released their debut album, Born into the 90's, in early 1992. Released during the new jack swing
New jack swing
New jack swing or swingbeat is a fusion genre spearheaded by Teddy Riley and Bernard Belle which became extremely popular from the late-1980s into the mid-1990s. Its influence, along with hip-hop, seeped into pop culture and was the definitive sound of the inventive Black New York club scene...
period of the early nineties, the album yielded the hits "She's Got That Vibe", "Honey Love", "Dedicated", and "Slow Dance (Hey Mr. DJ)", all of which were led by Kelly. During late 1992, Kelly and Public Announcement embarked on a tour called "60653", whose title was the zip code
ZIP Code
ZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...
of Kelly's neighborhood. Kelly left Public Announcement in January 1993.
Kelly's solo album, 12 Play
12 Play
-Personnel:* All songs were written and arranged by R. Kelly* Executive Producer: Barry HankersonCo-ProducerTimmy Allen-External links:* at Discogs* at 12Play.net...
, was released in the fall of 1993 and yielded the singer's first number-one hit, "Bump n' Grind
Bump n' Grind
"Bump n' Grind" is a song written, produced and performed by R&B musician R. Kelly. It was the second single released from his first solo album 12 Play in 1994. The track became a number one single on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 , and it also spent twelve weeks at number one on the U.S...
", which spent a record-breaking 12 weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart. Subsequent hit singles were "Your Body's Callin'
Your Body's Callin'
"Your Body's Callin" is a 1994 single by R. Kelly from his album 12 Play. Kelly also released a remix as a b-side to the single featuring his protege Aaliyah called the "Your Body's Calling His N Hers Mix". Norman Brown covers the song in 1996 in his album Better Days Ahead...
" and "Sex Me". 12 Play was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
(RIAA) in 1994, eventually going six times platinum. Kelly also produced Age Ain't Nothing But a Number
Age Ain't Nothing but a Number
Age Ain't Nothing But a Number received generally favorable reviews from music critics. Some writers noted that Aaliyah's "silky vocals" and "sultry voice" blended with Kelly's new jack swing helped define R&B in the 1990s. Her sound was also compared to that of female quartet En Vogue...
, the 1994 debut album by R&B singer Aaliyah
Aaliyah
Aaliyah Dana Haughton , who performed under the mononym Aaliyah , was an American R&B recording artist, actress and model. She was born in Brooklyn, New York, and was raised in Detroit, Michigan. At the age of 10, she appeared on the television show Star Search and performed in concert alongside...
. Kelly was attributed to writing "You Are Not Alone
You Are Not Alone
"You Are Not Alone", released on the 10th of August 1995, is the second single from Michael Jackson's album HIStory. The R&B ballad's composition has been attributed R. Kelly in response to difficult times in his personal life. He then forwarded a bare demo tape to Jackson, who liked the song and...
" for Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
for Jackson's 1995 album, HIStory
HIStory
HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I is the ninth studio album by American songwriter and recording artist Michael Jackson, released on June 16, 1995 by Epic Records. The majority of the album's tracks were written and produced by Jackson...
, but has been faced with allegations of plagiarism. During this time, as well as writing and producing, Kelly also became known for his remixes. He remixed his own songs, "Bump N Grind", "Your Body's Callin" featuring Aaliyah, and "Sex Me", as well as songs for other artists including Aaliyah, Changing Faces, and Toni Braxton. He also produced a remix for Janet Jackson
Janet Jackson
Janet Damita Jo Jackson is an American recording artist and actress. Known for a series of sonically innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows, television and film roles, she has been a prominent figure in popular culture for over 25 years...
's 1994 hit "Any Time, Any Place
Any Time, Any Place
"Any Time, Any Place" is a song by American singer Janet Jackson from her fifth studio album, janet. . Released as the album's fifth single on May 23, 1994 it reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and became another R&B chart-topper for Jackson.Jackson has performed the song on some of her...
" Kelly's success continued with the release of his second solo album, R. Kelly
R. Kelly (album)
-Critical Response:R. Kelly received mostly positive reviews from music critics. Jim Derogatis of Rolling Stone wrote, Kelly "has grown out of his unthinking misogyny to the point where he makes a plea in 'As I Look Into My Life' to 'brothers in the ghetto' to 'love and respect that woman and bring...
, popular for the singles "You Remind Me of Something
You Remind Me of Something
"You Remind Me of Something" is the title of a number-one R&B single by singer R. Kelly. As the lead single from his self-titled album, the hit song was the fourth song from Kelly to reach number-one on the US R&B chart where it stayed for a week, and peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100...
", "I Can't Sleep (Baby If I)", and "Down Low", a duet with Ronald Isley
Ronald Isley
Ronald Isley is an American singer and is known as the lead singer and founding member of the family music group The Isley Brothers.-Career:...
. Kelly's self-titled album sold four million copies, thus receiving 4× platinum certification from the RIAA. Kelly promoted the album with a 50-city "Down Low Top Secret Tour" with LL Cool J
LL Cool J
James Todd Smith , better known as LL Cool J , is an American rapper, entrepreneur, and actor...
, Xscape
Xscape (band)
Xscape, was a female American R&B group that originally started out as a quintet and then became a quartet. The group had a string of hit songs during the 1990s...
, and Solo. In May 1996 Kelly was featured on the cover of Ebony Man (EM) magazine with the headline proclaiming "R. Kelly The new King of R&B" where he discussed touring, working with Quincy Jones
Quincy Jones
Quincy Delightt Jones, Jr. is an American record producer and musician. A conductor, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend...
, Toni Braxton
Toni Braxton
Toni Michelle Braxton is an American R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Braxton has won six Grammy Awards, seven American Music Awards, and five Billboard Music Awards and has sold over 60 million records worldwide...
, and Janet Jackson ("When I first met them, I could tell they liked my albums. There was always a certain song they named off my album. They said they wanted something like that." Braxton liked "My Body's Calling".), as well as his influences Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. , better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye, was an American singer-songwriter and musician with a three-octave vocal range....
, Donny Hathaway
Donny Hathaway
Donny Edward Hathaway was an American soul singer-songwriter and musician. Hathaway contracted with Atlantic Records in 1969 and with his first single for the Atco label, "The Ghetto, Part I" in early 1970, Rolling Stone magazine "marked him as a major new force in soul music."His collaborations...
("The way he approached the woman he loved in his songs. He didn't hold back" he says of Hathaway. "He was raw with what he had to say. And Marvin Gaye was the same.") and Michael Jackson's dedication to music ("He's another person that I feel is married to his music. That's why we related so well.")
In 1996, Kelly released one of his most successful singles with "I Believe I Can Fly
I Believe I Can Fly
"I Believe I Can Fly" is a 1996 song by R&B singer R. Kelly. The song was written, produced and performed by Kelly and was featured on the soundtrack to the 1996 film Space Jam. The song later appeared on Kelly's 1998 album R.....
", an inspirational song originally released on the soundtrack for the film Space Jam
Space Jam
Aside from Jordan, a number of NBA players and coaches appeared in the film. Larry Bird portrays a friend of Jordan who joins him for a game of golf. When the Monstars steal the NBA players' talent, they invade a game between the Phoenix Suns and the New York Knicks, causing the Knicks' Patrick...
. "I Believe I Can Fly" reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, and No. 1 on the UK charts for three weeks and won three Grammy Awards in 1998. Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine named it as the 406th of its top 500 songs of all time. For the film Batman & Robin, Kelly recorded the top ten single "Gotham City".
In 1997, Kelly fulfilled a longtime dream of his and signed a contract to al basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
with the Atlantic City Seagulls of the USBL. Kelly wore the number 12 in honor of his album 12 Play. Kelly said "I love basketball enough to not totally let go of my music, but just put it to the side for a minute, and fulfill some dreams of mine that I've had for a long time." Kelly's USBL contract contained a clause that would allow him to fulfill a music obligation when necessary. "If Whitney Houston needs a song written", Gross said, "he would be able to leave the team to do that and come back". Kelly is believed to be the first music artist to play professional basketball.
In 1998, Kelly released R., his is the fourth studio album and first double album. It was released in the United States on November 17, 1998 (see 1998 in music
1998 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1998.-Events:*January 28 – "Weird Al" Yankovic gets LASIK surgery to cure his myopia...
). It was the first time that Kelly allowed other record producers to produce or co-produce on his album, as opposed to producing the entire album himself, and his first time collaborating with various artists on his album. It is currently Kelly's biggest selling album to date, selling 8 million copies in the US according to RIAA.
R. went to number one on the R&B albums chart as the third album to do so, and went second place on the Billboard 200 chart. It spawned Kelly's second number one U.S. pop hit, "I'm Your Angel", a duet with Celine Dion
Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record...
. The album also contains the number one R&B hit, "I Believe I Can Fly", which had been released two years earlier on the Space Jam soundtrack.
In 1998, Kelly wrote and produced the debut album of his new female artist Sparkle
Sparkle (singer)
Stephanie Edwards , better known as Sparkle is an American R&B singer. She began her career in 1998 as a protégé of R. Kelly.-Career:...
, which was released on his Rockland label
Rockland Records
Rockland Records was a vanity label conceived by R. Kelly. Having distribution from Interscope Records, Rockland's artists included Sparkle, rappers Boo & Gotti, Talent, and Vegas Cats among others...
, distributed through Interscope. The album went platinum due to the success of the first single, "Be Careful", a duet featuring Kelly and Sparkle. Kelly also found success with soundtracks such as "Gotham City" from Batman & Robin, and "The World's Greatest" from Ali
Ali (film)
Ali is a 2001 American biographical film directed by Michael Mann. The film tells the story of boxing icon Muhammad Ali, played by Will Smith, from 1964 to 1974 featuring his capture as of the heavyweight title from Sonny Liston , his conversion to Islam, criticism of the Vietnam War, banishment...
. In 1999, Kelly wrote and produced, along with Wyclef Jean
Wyclef Jean
Wyclef Jean is a Haitian musician, record producer, and politician. At age nine, Jean moved to the United States with his family and has spent much of his life in the country...
, the majority of the soundtrack to the Eddie Murphy
Eddie Murphy
Edward Regan "Eddie" Murphy is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, singer, director, and musician....
and Martin Lawrence
Martin Lawrence
Martin Fitzgerald Lawrence is an American actor, film director, film producer, screenwriter, and stand up comedian. He came to fame during the 1990s, establishing a Hollywood career as a leading actor, most notably the films Bad Boys, Blue Streak, and Big Momma's House...
film Life
Life (film)
Life is a 1999 American comedy-drama film directed by Ted Demme, and starring Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence. The supporting cast includes Obba Babatundé, Bernie Mac, Anthony Anderson, Miguel A. Núñez Jr. and Bokeem Woodbine...
. Kelly composed ten songs on the soundtrack, while Jean composed five. Kelly also contributed two songs, "Bad Man" and "Up and Outta Here," to the updated Samuel L. Jackson
Samuel L. Jackson
Samuel Leroy Jackson is an American film and television actor and film producer. After becoming involved with the Civil Rights Movement, he moved on to acting in theater at Morehouse College, and then films. He had several small roles such as in the film Goodfellas before meeting his mentor,...
movie Shaft
Shaft (2000 film)
Shaft is a 2000 American action-crime film directed by John Singleton, and starring Samuel L. Jackson, Jeffrey Wright, Christian Bale, Pat Hingle, Toni Collette, Busta Rhymes, Vanessa L. Williams, and Mekhi Phifer. This film is not a remake of the 1971 film of the same name, but rather a sequel,...
. In 2000, Kelly released TP-2.com
TP-2.com
-Critical response:TP-2.com received mostly positive reviews from music critics. Sonicnet wrote, "TP-2.com isn't the masterpiece Kelly seems capable of, but it's as strong an R&B album as any since, well, since R., balancing the carnal and the spiritual as convincingly as anyone's done it since...
, which yielded the hits "I Wish" and the remix to "Fiesta", which featured Jay-Z
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...
. Because of the success of that song and another Kelly/Jay-Z collaboration, "Guilty 'Til Proven Innocent", from Jay-Z's Dynasty album, it was announced in early 2002 that the duo would collaborate on a joint album and tour entitled The Best of Both Worlds
The Best of Both Worlds (R. Kelly & Jay-Z album)
- Charts :...
. Due to controversy surrounding Kelly at the time, however, there was little promotion for the album when it was finally released and Kelly instead refocused his attention on his solo work as both a recording artist and producer.
During late 2001 and early 2002, Kelly began working on the follow-up to his album TP-2.com
TP-2.com
-Critical response:TP-2.com received mostly positive reviews from music critics. Sonicnet wrote, "TP-2.com isn't the masterpiece Kelly seems capable of, but it's as strong an R&B album as any since, well, since R., balancing the carnal and the spiritual as convincingly as anyone's done it since...
, titled Loveland. The album was scheduled to be released in November 2002, but as with Best of Both Worlds before it, heavy bootlegging
Bootleg recording
A bootleg recording is an audio or video recording of a performance that was not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority. The process of making and distributing such recordings is known as bootlegging...
led to its being delayed. The singer then rerecorded the entire album, titled Chocolate Factory
Chocolate Factory
Chocolate Factory is the fifth studio album by American R&B and soul musician R. Kelly, released February 18, 2003 on Jive Records. Recording sessions for the album took place mainly at Rockland Studios and Chicago Recording Company in Chicago, Illinois during 2001 to 2003. It was primarily...
, which featured several of the bootlegged tracks on the bonus Loveland disc.
2003–06: Chocolate Factory, Happy People/U Saved Me, and Unfinished Business
In early 2003, Chocolate Factory became a runaway success for Kelly, selling over three million copies due to the success of singles such as "Ignition". "Snake" and "Step in the Name of Love" were also popular singles. "Snake", incidentally, became the basis of the dancehall reggae riddimRiddim
Riddim is the Jamaican Patois pronunciation of the English word "rhythm," but in dancehall/reggae parlance it refers to the instrumental accompaniment to a song. Thus, a dancehall song consists of the riddim plus the "voicing" sung by the deejay. The resulting song structure may be taken for...
known as Baghdad. Later that year Kelly followed that success by releasing his first greatest hits collection The R in R&B Collection Volume 1, the album as well as a DVD collection. In 2004, Kelly released the ambitious two-disc set Happy People/U Saved Me
Happy People/U Saved Me
Happy People/U Saved Me is the sixth studio album and the second double album by R&B singer R. Kelly, where he mixed feel-good danceable soul records with gospel anthems . Released in 2004, it peaked at #2 on the pop albums chart and went on to be certified three times Platinum. This is R. Kelly's...
, with the first disc including feel-good, stepping-inspired tracks, while focusing on gospel
Gospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
and inspirational material on the second disc. That same year, Kelly performed The Star-Spangled Banner
The Star-Spangled Banner
"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States of America. The lyrics come from "Defence of Fort McHenry", a poem written in 1814 by the 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet, Francis Scott Key, after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by the British Royal Navy ships...
during the introduction of the world championship boxing fight between Bernard Hopkins
Bernard Hopkins
Bernard Hopkins Jr, known as The Executioner is an American boxer and the current Ring Magazine and WBC light heavyweight champion...
and Jermain Taylor
Jermain Taylor
Jermain Taylor is an American professional boxer and former undisputed middleweight champion. He made his professional boxing debut in 2001 and won his first 25 bouts, which included victories over former champions Raúl Márquez and William Joppy...
. His performance, which included a line of dancers doing the "stepping" routine and a prerecorded instrumental track set to the sound of "Happy People", was met with a mixed reaction. In October 2004, Kelly reunited with Jay-Z to do a follow-up to their Best of Both Worlds album shortly after announcing a tour to coincide with the project after the duo performed together during Jay-Z's "farewell" concert at Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
a year before. The duo's Unfinished Business album was released and peaked at number one on the Billboard chart.
The Unfinished Business tour was plagued by a rivalry between the two stars and Kelly reportedly showing up late or not at all to gigs. The singer, according to Jay-Z, often complained that the touring lights were not directed towards him and often left during the middle of sets. Another night during the concert, Kelly stayed on his tour bus for two hours before finally coming out to perform an uninspired set. Jay-Z eventually removed R. Kelly halfway through the tour, after a member of Jay-Z's entourage attacked R. Kelly with Mace
Mace (spray)
Chemical Mace is a tear gas in the form of an aerosol spray which propels a lachrymatory agent mixed with a volatile solvent. It is sometimes used as a self-defense device...
or pepper spray
Pepper spray
Pepper spray, also known as OC spray , OC gas, and capsicum spray, is a lachrymatory agent that is used in riot control, crowd control and personal self-defense, including defense against dogs and bears...
. On April 25, 2006, it was confirmed that Jay-Z's younger cousin, Tyran (Ty-Ty) Smith confessed in a Manhattan Criminal Court to pepper-spraying R. Kelly and four of his bodyguards at Madison Square Garden in October 2004. Smith had been charged with assault, but was allowed to plead guilty to disorderly conduct for four days of community service. After the original incident, Jay-Z made Smith an executive of Def Jam Records. Kelly also launched a $75 million lawsuit against Jay-Z for removing him from the tour, which received a countersuit by Jay-Z which was thrown out by the judge.
2007–08: Double Up
On May 29, 2007, R Kelly released his eighth studio album Double Up included the hit single "I'm a Flirt (Remix)", featuring T.I.T.I.
Clifford Joseph Harris, Jr. , better known by his stage name T.I., is an American rap artist, film and music producer, actor and author. He is also the founder and co-chief executive officer of Grand Hustle Records....
and T-Pain
T-Pain
Faheem Rasheed Najm , better known by his stage name T-Pain, is an American singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer, and actor, currently signed to Young Money Entertainment. His debut album, Rappa Ternt Sanga, was released in 2005. In 2007, T-Pain released his second studio album Epiphany,...
. The original track entitled "I'm a Flirt", also produced and co-written by R. Kelly, appeared as a hidden track on Bow Wow's The Price of Fame
The Price of Fame
The Price of Fame is the fifth studio album by American rapper Bow Wow, released on December 19, 2006 .The first single from the album is "Shortie Like Mine" featuring Chris Brown and Johntá Austin. The second single from the album is "Outta My System". The third single was "I Don't Know About That"...
(2006). However, Kelly never gave the rights for the song to be released as a formal single, although it was played by many radio stations before the remix version. Kelly's first single from Double Up was "I'm a Flirt (Remix)", Bow Wow was not featured on this version of the song. In Kelly's video for "I'm a Flirt (Remix)", he encourages fans to call a number which flashes up quickly on the screen. Fans who called the number were greeted by a recording of Kelly talking about his upcoming album and playing snippets of new songs in the studio. "I'm a Flirt (Remix)" was successful for Kelly. The song peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also reached number one on the Billboard Hot Rap Tracks. Another hit on the album, "Same Girl
Same Girl
"Same Girl" is a song released by R&B singer R. Kelly, from his 2007 album Double Up, with R&B singer, Usher. The song was originally recorded over a year before by upcoming R&B group Nephu. R. Kelly and Usher's version leaked to the Internet on May 2, 2007 and later leaked to radio stations...
", was a collaboration between Kelly and Usher
Usher (entertainer)
Usher Terry Raymond IV , who performs under the mononym Usher, is an American singer-songwriter, and actor. He is considered around the world to be the reigning King of R&B. Usher rose to fame in the late 1990s with the release of his second album My Way, which spawned his first Billboard Hot 100...
. The single peaked at number 20 on the Hot 100 and peaked at number four on the R&B chart. Other singles such as "Rock Star" featuring Ludacris
Ludacris
Christopher Brian Bridges , better known by his stage name Ludacris, is an American rapper and actor. Along with his manager, Chaka Zulu, Ludacris is the co-founder of Disturbing tha Peace, an imprint distributed by Def Jam Recordings...
and Kid Rock
Kid Rock
Robert James "Bob" Ritchie , known by his stage name Kid Rock, is an American singer-songwriter, musician and rapper with five Grammy Awards nominations...
, "Sex Planet" and "Freaky in the Club" were R&B charters, although the latter two were not officially released as singles, nor was the title track featuring Snoop Dogg
Snoop Dogg
Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. , better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Snoop is best known as a rapper in the West Coast hip hop scene, and for being one of Dr. Dre's most notable protégés. Snoop Dogg was a Crip gang member while in high school...
.
Kelly's other single from Double Up titled "Rise Up" was a tribute to the victims of the Virginia Tech massacre
Virginia Tech massacre
The Virginia Tech massacre was a school shooting that took place on April 16, 2007, on the campus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States. In two separate attacks, approximately two hours apart, the perpetrator, Seung-Hui Cho, killed 32 people...
. The song was officially released as a digital download May 15, 2007. Proceeds were donated to the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund, a fund that helped family members of the victims of the shootings.
Kelly began his Double Up tour with Ne-Yo
Ne-Yo
Shaffer Chimere Smith, Jr. , better known by his stage name Ne-Yo, is an American pop and R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, dancer and actor. Beginning his career as a songwriter, Ne-Yo penned the hit "Let Me Love You" for singer Mario...
, Keyshia Cole
Keyshia Cole
Keyshia Myeshia Cole Gibson born October 15, 1981) is an American singer–songwriter and actress. She gained nationwide acclaim when her 2005 debut album, The Way It Is went platinum. Her sophomore album Just Like You went into production shortly after that and was released in September 2007...
and J. Holiday
J. Holiday
Nahum Grymes better known by his stage name J. Holiday, is an American R&B singer-songwriter. He came into prominence in 2007 with his breakthrough hit "Bed" peaking at number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100.-Discography:...
opening for him. After two shows, promoter Leonard Rowe had Ne-Yo removed from the tour because of a contract dispute. However, Ne-Yo alleges that the reason for the dropout was because Ne-Yo believes he received a better response from critics and fans, even though he only performed at two shows. Ne-Yo filed a lawsuit against Rowe Entertainment. It was shown that Kelly was not mentioned in the lawsuit. In December 2007, Kelly was showing up to another preliminary court hearing on his case due to his tour bus being held up in Utah. The judge threatened to revoke Kelly's bond, but the judge eventually decided not to. In 2008, Kelly released a rap track titled "I'm a Beast" in which he coarsely attacked his detractors, though Kelly himself never mentioned by name who the song was directed to.
In 2008, Billboard reported that Kelly had plans to release his newest album titled 12 Play: Fourth Quarter in the summer of that year but the album was postponed. Billboard also named Kelly among the most successful artists ever for its 50th Anniversary List. In the spring, the first promotional single "Hair Braider
Hair Braider
"Hair Braider" was the first promotional single released from R. Kelly's album 12 Play: 4th Quarter, which was never released, due to the album being leaked to the internet about a month before its planned release date and bootlegging. The song is about having sexual relations with a lady who...
", peaked at No. 56 on Billboard's R&B chart. On July 28, the entire album leaked online. The album was then pushed back to be released in the fall. On September 18, Kelly released the video to the second promotional single "Skin". However, the album still has no official release date. Though Kelly has not released an album, he has kept busy in the studio doing featured guest spots on numerous remixes including "Lookin Boy
Lookin Boy
"Lookin' Boy is the first single released by the rap group Hotstylz from their album Yo Mamma Got A Mustache. The single features Yung Joc. The song is a game that derives from The dozens, but instead replaces the classic "Your Mama" opening references, with quips ending with the closing reference...
" remix by Hotstylz
Hotstylz
Hotstylz is a rap group based out of Chicago, Illinois, USA, and signed to Yung Joc's label Swagg Team Entertainment, distributed by Jive/RCA Records...
, Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...
's "Touch My Body
Touch My Body
"Touch My Body" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey, taken from her eleventh studio album, E=MC² . It was written and produced by Carey, along with Christopher "Tricky" Stewart, Crystal "Cri$tyle" Johnson and Terius "The Dream" Nash, and was released as the album's lead single on...
" remix, a verse for a remix to Kanye West's
Kanye West
Kanye Omari West is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and...
single "Love Lockdown
Love Lockdown
"Love Lockdown" is a song by American hip hop artist Kanye West, released September 18, 2008 as the lead single of his studio album 808s & Heartbreak. Written and produced by West and musician Jeff Bhasker, it was premiered by West at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards prior to its release as a single...
", Raheem DeVaughn
Raheem DeVaughn
Raheem DeVaughn is an American singer and songwriter. His debut album, The Love Experience , reached No. 46 on the Billboard 200 album chart. It featured the singles "Guess Who Loves You More" and "You". His second album Love Behind the Melody was released in January 2008...
's "Customer
Customer (song)
"Customer", produced by Carvin & Ivan, is the second single from singer Raheem DeVaughn's from his album Love Behind the Melody. It is also Raheem's most popular single and highest charting single on the Billboard 100, peaking at number 76.-Charts:...
" remix, Beyoncé Knowles
Beyoncé Knowles
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles , often known simply as Beyoncé, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child...
' "If I Were a Boy
If I Were a Boy
"If I Were a Boy" is a pop song recorded by American R&B singer Beyoncé Knowles. It was composed by Toby Gad and BC Jean. Jean initially recorded her version of the song which was rejected by Jean's record company. Knowles then recorded a new version for her third studio album, I Am... Sasha Fierce...
" remix, T-Pain
T-Pain
Faheem Rasheed Najm , better known by his stage name T-Pain, is an American singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer, and actor, currently signed to Young Money Entertainment. His debut album, Rappa Ternt Sanga, was released in 2005. In 2007, T-Pain released his second studio album Epiphany,...
's "Chopped 'n' Skrewed" remix, among others. A recent track was leaked on the internet titled "I Believe". Kelly states on his official MySpace page that Obama's election inspired him to write the song, which contains an excerpt from Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
's presidential acceptance speech. This song was available on iTunes as a free download the first week it was released.
2009: Untitled
On June 3, 2009, Kelly released his first ever mixtapeMixtape
A Mix Tape or Mixed Tape is a compilation of songs recorded in a specific order, traditionally onto an audio Compact Cassette.A Mix Tape, which usually reflects the musical tastes of its compiler, can range from a casually selected list of favorite songs, to a conceptual mix of songs linked by a...
, The Demo Tape (Gangsta Grillz)
The Demo Tape (Gangsta Grillz)
The "Demo" Tape is the first mixtape released by R. Kelly in June 2009. The mixtape originally was to keep fans over until Kelly's forthcoming album was released. Hosted by DJ Drama and DJ Skee and released under each of their mixtape brands, Gangsta Grillz and Skeetox. R...
presented by DJ Skee
DJ Skee
Scott Keeney , better known by his stage name DJ Skee, is a DJ and entrepreneur operating out of Los Angeles. Skee manages his own new media music, marketing, and production company, Skee.TV...
and DJ Drama
DJ Drama
Tyree Cinque Simmons better known as DJ Drama is an American hip hop artist and the official DJ for Grand Hustle/Atlantic recording artist T.I.....
as a way to reintroduce himself to fans.
While at the Velvet Room in Atlanta in February 2009, Kelly announced that he was out there working on the album and that it would be called Untitled
Untitled (R. Kelly album)
Untitled is the ninth studio album by American R&B recording artist R. Kelly, released November 30, 2009 in the United Kingdom and December 1, 2009 in the United States, through Jive Records and Sony Music. It was entirely produced by R. Kelly and features prominently carnal lyrical themes...
. The album was given a September 29, 2009 release date, but was delayed until October 13, 2009. The album release was again delayed and was released under Jive Records
Jive Records
Jive Records was a record label based in New York City, operating under RCA Music Group. Jive was primarily known for a string of successes with hip hop artists in the 1980s, and in teen pop and boy bands in the late 1990s. The word "jive" was inspired by Township Jive, a form of South African...
on December 1, 2009. It got mixed to positive reviews from critics. The single "Number One
Number One (R. Kelly song)
"Number One" is the first single featuring Keri Hilson from American R&B singer R. Kelly's 2009 album, Untitled. The song was released digitally on July 28, 2009.-Music video:...
", which features Keri Hilson
Keri Hilson
Keri Lynn Hilson is an American R&B singer-songwriter. Born and raised in Decatur, Georgia, Hilson began her music career as a songwriter, penning tracks for several artists in the mid-2000s as part of the five-person production and songwriting team, The Clutch...
, peaked at #8 on the US R&B Chart.
Kelly performed for the first time in Africa headlining the Arise African Fashion Awards in Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
, South Africa on June 20, 2009. Kelly scheduled to perform in Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
before heading to Nigeria as part of the annual ThisDay music and fashion festival in July. Kelly also performed in Kampala, Uganda in January 2010. He also scheduled to perform in London as part of his first international tour in eight years, but he did not make his London concert. "I'm very excited about my first visit to Africa, I've dreamed about this for a long time and it's finally here," Kelly said in a statement. "It will be one of the highlights of not only my career but my life. I can't wait to perform in front of my fans in Africa — who have been some of the best in the world."
2010-present: Epic, Love Letter and Zodiac
Kelly performed the inspirational song "Sign of a Victory" at the 2010 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony2010 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony
The opening ceremony took place on 11 June at the Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg, two hours before the opening match of the tournament. It lasted 40 minutes, and included 1500 performers, including Thandiswa Mazwai, Timothy Moloi, Hugh Masekela, Khaled, Femi Kuti, Osibisa, R...
on June 11, 2010.
On July 13, 2010, a song called "Tongues" surfaced, reportedly the lead single from Kelly's upcoming album Zodiac. The song is produced by Bangladesh
Bangladesh (producer)
Shondrae Crawford, better known as Bangladesh or Mr. Bangladesh, is a Grammy Award winning American record producer and disc jockey and rapper, who was born and raised in Des Moines, Iowa, and now lives in Atlanta, Georgia.- Life and career :...
and features Ludacris
Ludacris
Christopher Brian Bridges , better known by his stage name Ludacris, is an American rapper and actor. Along with his manager, Chaka Zulu, Ludacris is the co-founder of Disturbing tha Peace, an imprint distributed by Def Jam Recordings...
. The first single from Love Letter is called "When a Woman Loves". The music video for the song was released in August 2010.
In an interview in the September 2010 issue of XXL
XXL (magazine)
XXL is a Hip-Hop magazine, published by Harris Publications.In 1997, XXL was founded by former Source staffers as well as other Harris Publication employees, who wanted to create their own magazine about the hip-hop music and culture using the model developed by the founders of The Source...
magazine, Kelly mentioned that he is currently working on three new albums entitled "Epic", Love Letter, and Zodiac".
On September 13, 2010, Kelly released one of his three new albums, Epic
Epic (R. Kelly album)
Epic is a compilation album by American R&B musician R. Kelly, released September 13, 2010 in Europe, through Jive Records and Sony Music. It is yet to be released in the United States. The album is a collection of Kelly's most "epic" ballads such as the hits "The World's Greatest", "If I Could...
. A collection of Kelly's most "epic" ballads, including five new songs; the compilation was only released in Europe.
Kelly's latest album Love Letter
Love Letter (R. Kelly album)
Love Letter is the tenth studio album by American R&B recording artist R. Kelly, released December 14, 2010 on Jive Records. It was written and produced entirely by Kelly...
was released on December 14, 2010 worldwide. The album includes 15 songs, the latter being a bonus track which is a cover of Michael Jackson's "You Are Not Alone", which was written and produced by Kelly as well. The next single, "Love Letter" and "A Love Letter Christmas", the Christmas remix to "Love Letter", were released as singles on November 22, 2010. Love Letter has been critically acclaimed by music critics and highly-praised by critics and fans alike. The first single "When a Woman Loves" was nominated for a Grammy for Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards. In promotion of "Love Letter" he performed at the 2010 Soul Train Music Awards
Soul Train Music Awards
The Soul Train Music Awards is an annual award show which previously aired in national television syndication, and honors the best in Black music and entertainment...
and on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon on NBC. The show premiered on March 2, 2009, as the third incarnation of the Late Night franchise originated by David Letterman....
. All songs on the album were written and produced by Kelly.
Recently, Kelly collaborated with several African musicians forming a supergroup known as One8. The group features 2Face
2face
2face may refer to:*2face Idibia - Nigerian musician*Two-Face - DC Comics supervillain...
from Nigeria, Alikiba from Tanzania, Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
lese singer Fally Ipupa, 4X4 from Ghana, hip-hop artist Movaizhaleine from Gabon, Zambia's JK, Ugandan hip-hop star Navio and Kenya's Amani
Amani (musician)
Cecilia Wairimu , better known for her stage name Amani, is a pop musician from Kenya. She has won various awards, including the Best Female category at the 2009 MTV Africa Music Awards.- Career :...
, the only female in the group. The first release from the group is "Hands Across the World" written and produced by Kelly.
In March 2011, Kelly was named the #1 R&B artist of the last 25 years by Billboard.
Kelly is presently working on his memoirs entitled Soulacoaster, expected be released in the fall of 2011. The book is said to be an intimate look at the events of his life and shed some light on how he dealt with life-shaping events like the child molestation charges and being blacklisted by several urban radio stations.
Legal issues
After a July 1996 brawl at a Lafayette, LouisianaLafayette, Louisiana
Lafayette is a city in and the parish seat of Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, United States, on the Vermilion River. The population was 120,623 at the 2010 census...
health club involving bodyguard William Robert Savy, Kelly was placed on a year's unsupervised probation starting August 13, 1997. One of the victims, Christopher Mahoney, needed 110 facial stitches.
Kelly was arrested on April 8, 1998 on three misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct, including one charge on violating noise ordinance for playing loud music from his car. Prosecutors from the district attorney's office dropped the first two charges on May 7 and the noise charge on July 22 that year.
On February 3, 2002, a video allegedly showing Kelly engaging in sex with, and urinating on
Urolagnia
Urolagnia is a paraphilia in which sexual excitement is associated with the sight or thought of urine or urination. The term has origins in the Greek Language .Those who enjoy urolagnia may enjoy urinating on another person or persons, or being urinated upon...
, an underage girl surfaced. The girl defended R. Kelly, later saying that she consented. The story, that was released by an unknown source, was sent to the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
; the newspaper that broke the story. Kelly denied that he was the man in the video. Bootleg copies of that tape became widely available on the black market and over file sharing
File sharing
File sharing is the practice of distributing or providing access to digitally stored information, such as computer programs, multimedia , documents, or electronic books. It may be implemented through a variety of ways...
networks. In June 2002, Kelly was indicted in Chicago on 21 counts of having sex with a minor, which were later reduced to soliciting a minor for child pornography
Child pornography
Child pornography refers to images or films and, in some cases, writings depicting sexually explicit activities involving a child...
, seven counts of videotaping the acts, and seven counts of producing child pornography. After a number of delays, on October 27, 2006, a Cook County, Illinois
Cook County, Illinois
Cook County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois, with its county seat in Chicago. It is the second most populous county in the United States after Los Angeles County. The county has 5,194,675 residents, which is 40.5 percent of all Illinois residents. Cook County's population is larger than...
, court hearing for pre-trial motions set the date of the actual trial to February 7, 2007. On the date of the trial, Kelly's lawyer informed the court that his client was unable to attend because he was "undergoing surgery for a burst appendix". He also announced that Kelly was "in good condition and was expected to be released from the hospital later in the day." His attorney stated that Kelly (who pleaded not guilty) would be in attendance on the next trial date of February 21, 2007. It had previously been announced by the court that the videotape that allegedly showed Kelly performing sex acts with an underage girl would be publicly shown as evidence in the trial. The trial, however, was delayed due to disputes over when the tape was made and to give medical recuperation time to the sitting judge following a fall resulting in broken bones. Later the case was set for a September 17 date. It took more than six years for the case to go to trial. Jury selection began on May 9, 2008, and the trial officially started on May 20 with opening statements from the prosecution and defense. After two weeks, the prosecution's case wrapped on June 3 while the defense's wrapped six days later, on June 9. After less than a day of deliberations, on June 13, 2008, a Chicago jury found Kelly not guilty of all 14 counts.
On October 4, 2006, former employee Henry "Love" Vaughn (who claims to have been a "mentor and guide" to Kelly since he was a teenager) filed a lawsuit against Kelly accusing him of assault
Assault
In law, assault is a crime causing a victim to fear violence. The term is often confused with battery, which involves physical contact. The specific meaning of assault varies between countries, but can refer to an act that causes another to apprehend immediate and personal violence, or in the more...
, false imprisonment
False imprisonment
False imprisonment is a restraint of a person in a bounded area without justification or consent. False imprisonment is a common-law felony and a tort. It applies to private as well as governmental detention...
, and a breach of contract that defrauded him of songwriting royalties. Vaughn falsely claimed Kelly and his associates dragged him to the basement of Kelly’s Olympia Fields home on February 19, 2006, and Kelly "repeatedly struck him about the face and body with his fists." Vaughn also claims he gave Kelly the "concept" for the song "Steppin". Kelly's spokesman declared that Vaughn was merely trying to extort
Extortion
Extortion is a criminal offence which occurs when a person unlawfully obtains either money, property or services from a person, entity, or institution, through coercion. Refraining from doing harm is sometimes euphemistically called protection. Extortion is commonly practiced by organized crime...
money and told reporters that a police investigation found no evidence to Vaughn's assault allegations. Olympia Fields police confirmed that they had investigated the matter but would not comment beyond saying "We didn't file any charges on this case."
Discography
Studio albums- Born into the 90's (1992) (with Public AnnouncementPublic AnnouncementPublic Announcement is an R&B and hip hop group, which was formed in 1990 in Chicago, Illinois, originally backing singer R. Kelly on his first album.-1990-1994: Born Into The 90's:...
) - 12 Play12 Play-Personnel:* All songs were written and arranged by R. Kelly* Executive Producer: Barry HankersonCo-ProducerTimmy Allen-External links:* at Discogs* at 12Play.net...
(1993) - R. KellyR. Kelly (album)-Critical Response:R. Kelly received mostly positive reviews from music critics. Jim Derogatis of Rolling Stone wrote, Kelly "has grown out of his unthinking misogyny to the point where he makes a plea in 'As I Look Into My Life' to 'brothers in the ghetto' to 'love and respect that woman and bring...
(1995) - R.R. (album)-Commercial performance:R. debuted at #2 on the Billboard top 100 with 1st weeks sales of 741,000 coppies in the 1st week.in the second week the album fell to #3 with 567,000 coppies.the album was eventually rewarded a 8x plantium award with more than 8 million copies sold in the United States to...
(1998) - TP-2.comTP-2.com-Critical response:TP-2.com received mostly positive reviews from music critics. Sonicnet wrote, "TP-2.com isn't the masterpiece Kelly seems capable of, but it's as strong an R&B album as any since, well, since R., balancing the carnal and the spiritual as convincingly as anyone's done it since...
(2000) - Chocolate FactoryChocolate FactoryChocolate Factory is the fifth studio album by American R&B and soul musician R. Kelly, released February 18, 2003 on Jive Records. Recording sessions for the album took place mainly at Rockland Studios and Chicago Recording Company in Chicago, Illinois during 2001 to 2003. It was primarily...
(2003) - Happy People/U Saved MeHappy People/U Saved MeHappy People/U Saved Me is the sixth studio album and the second double album by R&B singer R. Kelly, where he mixed feel-good danceable soul records with gospel anthems . Released in 2004, it peaked at #2 on the pop albums chart and went on to be certified three times Platinum. This is R. Kelly's...
(2004) - TP.3 Reloaded (2005)
- Double UpDouble Up (R. Kelly album)Double Up is the eighth studio album by R&B singer R. Kelly, released on May 29, 2007. The first single off the album, "I'm a Flirt Remix", which features T.I., and T-Pain, attained prominence on the Billboard Top 40 charts, peaking at #1 on the Hot Rap Tracks chart.The album features guest...
(2007) - UntitledUntitled (R. Kelly album)Untitled is the ninth studio album by American R&B recording artist R. Kelly, released November 30, 2009 in the United Kingdom and December 1, 2009 in the United States, through Jive Records and Sony Music. It was entirely produced by R. Kelly and features prominently carnal lyrical themes...
(2009) - Love LetterLove Letter (R. Kelly album)Love Letter is the tenth studio album by American R&B recording artist R. Kelly, released December 14, 2010 on Jive Records. It was written and produced entirely by Kelly...
(2010) - Black PantiesBlack PantiesBlack Panties is the upcoming eleventh studio album by R&B singer R. Kelly. It will be released in 2012, via RCA Music Group. Jive Records released all of R. Kelly's previous albums, but after Sony Music Entertainment dissolved it along with Arista and J, every artist, including Kelly, signed to...
(2011)
Collaboration albums
- The Best of Both WorldsThe Best of Both Worlds (R. Kelly & Jay-Z album)- Charts :...
(2002) (with Jay-ZJay-ZShawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...
) - Unfinished Business (2004) (with Jay-ZJay-ZShawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...
)
Compilation albums
- The R. In R&B Collection, Vol. 1The R. in R&B Collection, Vol. 1The R. In R&B Collection, Vol. 1 was the first compilation album released by R&B superstar R. Kelly celebrating his 11-year career which saw him go from the lead singer of the new jack swing group, Public Announcement, to becoming the leader of contemporary R&B throughout the 1990s and today...
(2003) - Remix City, Volume 1Remix City, Volume 1Remix City, Volume 1 is a remix album by R&B Singer, R.Kelly & it was released on November 15, 2005, through Jive Records and Zomba Label Group. Unlike Kelly's first greatest hits release, The R. in R&B Collection, Vol. 1 , this album features remixed versions of his greatest hits.- Track listing...
(2005) - My Diary (2005)
- Playlist: The Very Best of R. KellyPlaylist: The Very Best of R. KellyPlaylist: The Very Best of R. Kelly is a compilation album by American R&B singer R. Kelly. The album features some of Kelly's released and unreleased songs over the course of his career...
(2010) - EpicEpic (R. Kelly album)Epic is a compilation album by American R&B musician R. Kelly, released September 13, 2010 in Europe, through Jive Records and Sony Music. It is yet to be released in the United States. The album is a collection of Kelly's most "epic" ballads such as the hits "The World's Greatest", "If I Could...
(2010)
Unreleased albums
- Loveland (2002)Loveland (2002)Loveland is an unreleased album recorded in 2002 by R. Kelly. It is not to be confused with the bonus disc included with some editions of Chocolate Factory.-Track listing:...
- 12 Play: 4th Quarter (2008)12 Play: 4th Quarter (2008)12 Play: 4th Quarter is an unreleased 2008 album by R. Kelly, which was supposed to be the singer's ninth album. However, the album was leaked, so Kelly decided to scrap the project and record his Untitled album instead....
Filmography
- Trapped in the ClosetTrapped in the Closet"Trapped in the Closet" is a series of songs by American contemporary R&B singer R. Kelly. The song set consists of 22 chapters, which were released from 2005 to 2007. The first five chapters of the set are included on his seventh studio album TP.3 Reloaded, with the first chapter being released as...
(1–12) (2005) - Trapped in the Closet (13–22) (2007)
- Trapped in the Closet (1–22) The Big Package (2007)
- R. Kelly Live the Light It Up Tour (2007)
- Trapped in the Closet (22-TBA) (TBA)
Official tours
- The 12 Play Very Necessary Tour (w/ Salt-N-PepaSalt-N-PepaSalt-N-Pepa is an American hip hop trio from Queens and Brooklyn, New York, that was formed in 1985. The group, consisting of Cheryl "Salt" Renee James, Sandra "Pepa" Denton, and Deidra "DJ Spinderella" Roper, was one of the first all-female rap crews....
) (1994) - The Budweiser Superfest (w/ CoolioCoolioArtis Leon Ivey Jr. , better known by the stage name Coolio, is an American musician, rapper, actor and record producer.-Late 80s:He recorded two singles in the late 80s, titled "Watcha Gonna Do" and "You're Gonna Miss Me"...
, Warren GWarren GWarren G , is an American West Coast rapper and hip hop producer. He is also Dr. Dre's half-brother.His biggest hit is the song "Regulate" with Nate Dogg released in 1994...
, & Heavy D) (1995) - The Down Low Top Secret Tour (1996)
- The Get Up on a Room Tour (w/ Kelly Price, NasNasNasir bin Olu Dara Jones, who performs under the name Nas , formerly Nasty Nas, is an American rapper and actor. He is regarded as one of the most important figures in hip hop and one of the most skilled and influential rappers of all-time...
, Foxy Brown, Deborah CoxDeborah CoxDeborah Cox is a Canadian R&B singer-songwriter and actress. Her 1998 song "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here" held the record for longest-running number one single on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart , a record held for nearly eight years. She has achieved ten number-one hits on...
, Sparkle) (1999) - The TP-2.com Tour (w/ Sunshine AndersonSunshine AndersonSunshine Anderson is a female American R&B and soul singer and songwriter.-Beginnings:Anderson was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and later moved to Charlotte as a child and became friends with Narisha Foxx...
& Syleena Johnson) (2001) - The Key in the Ignition Tour (w/ Ashanti (entertainer)) (2003)
- The Best of Both Worlds Tour (w/ Jay Z) (2004)
- The Light It Up Tour (2006)
- The Double Up Tour (w/ J. Holiday & Keyshia Cole) (2007)
- The Ladies Make Some Noise Tour (w/ K. Michelle, Pleasure P) (2009)
- Love Letter TourLove Letter TourLove Letter Tour was a summer tour headlined by R&B artist R. Kelly with special guests Keyshia Cole and Marsha Ambrosius. It started in Southaven, MS at the DeSoto Civic Center on June 2, 2011, and ended on July 14, 2011 at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.R...
(w/ Keyshia ColeKeyshia ColeKeyshia Myeshia Cole Gibson born October 15, 1981) is an American singer–songwriter and actress. She gained nationwide acclaim when her 2005 debut album, The Way It Is went platinum. Her sophomore album Just Like You went into production shortly after that and was released in September 2007...
, Marsha AmbrosiusMarsha AmbrosiusMarsha Ambrosius or Marsha is an English singer/songwriter. A former member of the English Soul/R&B duo Floetry, she released her first solo album Late Nights & Early Mornings on March 1, 2011.-Early career with Floetry:...
) (2011)
Awards
- American Music Award
- 1993: Favorite Soul/R&B Single ("Honey Love")
- 1995: Favorite Soul/R&B Album (12 Play12 Play-Personnel:* All songs were written and arranged by R. Kelly* Executive Producer: Barry HankersonCo-ProducerTimmy Allen-External links:* at Discogs* at 12Play.net...
) - 1997: Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist
- 2000: Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist
- 2005: Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist
- 2007: Favorite Soul/R&B Album (Double UpDouble Up (R. Kelly album)Double Up is the eighth studio album by R&B singer R. Kelly, released on May 29, 2007. The first single off the album, "I'm a Flirt Remix", which features T.I., and T-Pain, attained prominence on the Billboard Top 40 charts, peaking at #1 on the Hot Rap Tracks chart.The album features guest...
)
- BET AwardsBET AwardsThe BET Awards were established in 2001 by the Black Entertainment Television network to celebrate African Americans and other minorities in music, acting, sports, and other fields of entertainment over the past year. The awards are presented annually and broadcast live on BET...
- 2003: Best Male R&B Artist
- Billboard Awards
- 2001: Top R&B/Hip Hop Artist
- 2001: Top R&B/Hip Hop Album (TP2.com)
- 2001: Top R&B/Hip Hop Singles & Tracks ("Fiesta")
- 2001: Top R&B/Hip Hop Artist
- 2001: Top R&B/Hip Hop Album Artist
- 2001: Top R&B/Hip Hop Album Artist – Male
- BMI Awards
- 1998: Pop Songwriter of the Year (for "I Believe I Can Fly", "I Can't Sleep Baby (If I)", and "I Don't Want To" (recorded by Toni BraxtonToni BraxtonToni Michelle Braxton is an American R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Braxton has won six Grammy Awards, seven American Music Awards, and five Billboard Music Awards and has sold over 60 million records worldwide...
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- 1998: Pop Songwriter of the Year (for "I Believe I Can Fly", "I Can't Sleep Baby (If I)", and "I Don't Want To" (recorded by Toni Braxton
- Grammy Awards
- 1998: Best R&B Song ("I Believe I Can Fly")
- 1998: Best Male R&B Vocal Performance ("I Believe I Can Fly")
- 1998: Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media ("I Believe I Can Fly")
- MOBO AwardsMOBO AwardsThe Music of Black Origin Awards, established in 1995 by Kanya King MBE and Andy Ruffell, are held annually in the United Kingdom to recognise artists of any ethnicity or nationality performing black music....
- 2001: MOBO Outstanding Achievement
- NAACP Image Awards
- 2001: Outstanding Male Artist
- 2001: Outstanding Music Video ("I Wish")
- Soul Train Awards
- 1999: Best R&B/Soul Album, Male (R.)
- 1999: Sammy Davis Jr. Entertainer of the Year Award
- 2000: Best R&B/Soul or Rap Album (R.)
- 2001: Best R&B/Soul Single, Male ("I Wish")
- 2001: Best R&B/Soul Album, Male (TP2.com)
- 2004: R&B/Soul Album, Male (Chocolate Factory)
- 2004: Quincy Jones Award for Outstanding Career Achievements
- 2006: Stevie Wonder Award for Outstanding Achievements in Song Writing
- Source Hip Hop Awards
- 1999: R&B Artist of the Year
- 2001: R&B Artist of the Year
- Vibe Awards
- 2003: R&B Vanguard Award