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R. Kelly (born Robert Sylvester Kelly on January 8, 1967 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American R&B and pop singer, songwriter, record producer, and occasional rapper. He first appeared on the music scene as the founder and lead singer of Public Announcement whose smooth mixture of hip hop beats, soul, and funk propelled the group's 1992 debut album Born into the '90s to platinum status. After leaving the group in 1993, he became one of the top-selling musical acts of the nineties.

Kelly's songs often include explicit sexual references, such as "Bump N' Grind", "Feelin' on Yo Booty", and "Ignition" (Remix). Kelly has also had hits such as "I Believe I Can Fly", "I'm Your Angel" (the Grammy Award-nominated duet with Céline Dion), "If I Could Turn Back the Hands of Time", "I Wish", "Rise Up", and "Step in the Name of Love" (Remix). Kelly released the rap soap opera mini-opera/film "Trapped in the Closet". Kelly has released twelve LPs, sold 35 million albums in the U.S., 15 million singles and more than 50 million albums worldwide making him one of the most successful R&B male artists of the 1990s. R. Kelly released his eighth solo album Double Up on May 29, 2007.

On June 6, 2002, Kelly was indicted on 21 counts of having sexual intercourse with a minor. The charges, which were later reduced to soliciting a minor for child pornography, stemmed from a video tape allegedly showing Kelly having sex with a 14-year-old girl. To date, Kelly still faces 14 of the original charges.

Biography

Late 1980s and 1990s

In 1989, Kelly formed the group MGM with friend Marc McWilliams and released his first single "Why You Wanna Play Me" on Tavdash Records. The following year, the group appeared on the TV talent show Big Break (hosted by Natalie Cole) and won. Kelly was discovered by Wayne Williams (current senior vice-president of A&R at Jive/BMG), and Kelly's manager Eric Payton agreed to let Kelly sign with Jive. In late 1991, the 24-year-old songwriter and his group Public Announcement recorded much of what would become their first release Born Into the '90s. Released January 14, 1992, the album had two Billboard Top 40 hits including "Honey Love", and "Slow Dance (Hey Mr. DJ)." "Dedicated" was the groups biggest pop hit, spending two weeks at number one on the Billboard R&B Singles chart.

Template:Sample box start variation 2 Template:Multi-listen start Template:Multi-listen item Template:Multi-listen end Template:Sample box end By 1993, Kelly had left the group to forge a solo career. Kelly's solo debut, 12 Play, yielded three top 40 singles: "Sex Me (Pt. 1)", "Your Body's Callin Me", and the chart-topping "Bump N' Grind." In 1994, he completed singer Aaliyah's debut album, Age Ain't Nothing But a Number. Released that summer, the album eventually sold more than 3 million copies in the U.S on the strength of the singles "Back and Forth" and "At Your Best."

Kelly returned to the studio to record his third album, his second solo effort. His 1995 self-titled album "R. Kelly" was another big success, selling moe than 5 million copies and spawning hit singles such as "You Remind Me of Something", "I Can't Sleep (Baby If I)" and his collaboration with legendary R&B group The Isley Brothers featuring Ronald Isley, "Down Low (Nobody Has To Know)". The album was hailed by some as the singer's most mature to date. In 1995, Kelly found success as a songwriter, penning hits for the R&B group Changing Faces and pop and R&B music stars Janet Jackson (producing the remix for Jackson's 1994 smash, "Any Time, Any Place") and Michael Jackson (penning and co-producing the single, "You Are Not Alone" for Jackson's HIStory). SABAM, Belgian right society, however, confirmed that the melody for "You Are Not Alone" was originally composed in 1993 by Eddy & Danny Van Passel, veteran Belgian songwriters, producers and music publishers.

In 1996, "I Believe I Can Fly" was released from the Space Jam soundtrack. R. Kelly has stated Michael Jordan asked him to write the song, and it was composed while touring with The Notorious B.I.G. in Detroit. "I Believe I Can Fly" was a cross-genre hit, reaching No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, and No. 1 on the UK Pop Charts. The single was a huge worldwide success and is R. Kelly's most famous song to date. Rolling Stone Magazine named it as the 408th of its top 500 songs of all time. Following his 1997 Grammy performance of "I Believe I Can Fly," he received a standing ovation. In 1997 he also had a hit with "Gotham City." In 1998, the double disc "R." was released to enormous success. The duet "I'm Your Angel" with Céline Dion topped the Billboard Hot 100 for 6 weeks. Other singles included the Sam Cooke inspired "If I Could Turn Back The Hands Of Time," "When A Woman's Fed Up" and "Home Alone." The "R." album has since been certified eight times platinum by RIAA.

Early 2000s

After being noted for singing hooks on hip-hop tunes by The Notorious B.I.G., Nas, Puff Daddy and Jay-Z, there were talks that his collaborations with the latter rapper led to what was supposed to be a memorable project as the rapper and the singer teamed up to record an album together. Released in 2002, The Best of Both Worlds debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard pop albums chart, but no music videos were shot for the album. Commercially, the album was a disappointment for both R. Kelly himself and for Jay-Z, though its sales increased with Kelly's later commercial success.

During late 2001 and early 2002, Kelly began working on the follow up to his album TP-2.com entitled Loveland. The album was scheduled to be released in November 2002, but like the BOBW (The Best of Both Worlds) project before it, it was affected by heavy bootlegging. Due to this, Kelly went back to the studio and recorded another album Chocolate Factory which was released February 28, 2003, to great anticipation and success. The album did feature several of the bootlegged tracks - and many have cropped up elsewhere, as seen below. it also came as a six track bonus disc with the initial pressings of Chocolate Factory. Other tracks including "Loveland," "Heaven I Need A Hug," "Raindrops," "What Do I Do" and "Apologies of a Thug" may have also been part of the album, but were released on the bonus Loveland disc of Chocolate Factory (Bootlegged tracks are listed in this footnote).

After the Loveland controversy, Kelly released the critically-acclaimed Chocolate Factory in 2003. The album became a big success yielding the number two hit remix of "Ignition" and the top 10 single, "Step In the Name Of Love," as well as the top 20 single, "Snake." Kelly's success continued not only with his own projects but also with now-defunct boy band B2K when he produced the No. 1 hit "Bump, Bump, Bump." He produced an album by frequent collaborators The Isley Brothers, titled Body Kiss, which became the group's first album in their career to debut at the top spot of the Billboard Top 200 album charts. In 2004, he released a two-CD set, Happy People/U Saved Me. Happy People showcased sex-free secular dance tracks while U Saved Me was an inspirational album. Due to the album being released as a double CD set, the album sold more than 3 million copies, despite the modest charting of singles "Happy People", "U Saved Me" and "Red Carpet (Pause, Flash)".

Kelly and Jay-Z released a follow up to the album The Best of Both Worlds in October 2004, Unfinished Business, which included eleven previously unreleased tracks by the duo. It debuted at No. 1 on the US Billboard 200 albums chart. This release was timed to coincide with The Best Of Both Worlds Tour. The tour was troubled almost from the start with Kelly often arriving a couple of hours late. The singer, according to Jay-Z, often complained that the touring lights weren't directed towards him and often left during the middle of sets. Another night during the concert, Kelly stayed in his tour bus for two hours before finally coming out to perform an uninspired set.

Mid-2000s

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 childhood friend, 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. A Kelly rep said that Kelly's $16 million lawsuit against Jay-Z and Smith is close to a settlement. 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.

Kelly had a pop hit with rapper Ja Rule and singer Ashanti titled "Wonderful." He released a new album titled TP-3: Reloaded in August 2005, which heralded back to his classic 12 Play period. In April 2005, Kelly released the long-awaited "In the Kitchen", well-known among fans attending his live shows. The song was intended to be the album's lead single and received major radio airplay for a couple of months, but Kelly eventually decided to leave it as a buzz single after the song's failure to top the R&B charts. It was quickly followed just weeks later with his "Trapped In The Closet" mini-opera, which rapidly climbed, and then quickly vanished from, the R&B and urban charts nationwide.

After the novelty success of the five-chapter song, which Kelly had likened to an audio version of Desperate Housewives before its release, Kelly revealed that he was working on parts six through ten of the song. They were released to radio later in the summer, in a similar fashion to how the first five were released, and Kelly promised to tie up some loose ends that the first five left. Later that year, he released audio and DVD versions of chapters 6-12, which concluded with yet another cliffhanger. Another song off the album was a duet with rapper The Game titled "Playas Only", which despite an earlier climb failed to ignite the charts, quickly dropping off as fast as it peaked. At the MTV Video Music Awards on August 28, Kelly notably gave a six-minute-long lip-synched performance of his "Trapped in the Closet" suite, which was given mixed reviews.

Kelly was confirmed to be on a charity single hosted by singer Michael Jackson on the single, "I Have This Dream", which was to pay tribute to Hurricane Katrina victims. Several articles stated Kelly was producing the track while other articles said that he's one of the performers. It was never released. Kelly was recently on his own solo "Mr. Show Biz Presents: The Light It Up Tour", which concluded on Mother's Day 2006 in Atlanta. Trapped In The Closet 13-22 is set to release July 24, 2007.

Filmed in Oakland, California on one of the last few days of his "Mr. Show Biz Presents: The Light It Up Tour", this DVD is the first live concert feature from R. Kelly. The musical genius performs his most-loved hits for a packed crowd at the Paramount Theatre. The DVD is over 60 minutes long and includes special features with behind the scenes footage as well as a bonus disc with more behind the scenes footage that lets you into the mind, heart, and soul of R. Kelly. The DVD was released on March 20, 2007 and was directed by Jim Swaffield. Kelly released his brand new album 'Double Up' on May 29, 2007. It was leaked onto P2P networks on May 21, 2007.

'Double Up' will include the latest single "I'm a Flirt (Remix)", featuring T.I. 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 released. Bow Wow is not featured on the remix. 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 called the number and were greeted by a recording of Kelly talking about his upcoming album and playing snippets of new songs in the studio.

During the recording, Kelly revealed that the album is set to feature guest appearances & production by The Neptunes, The Runners, Mysto & Pizzi, Kanye West, Young Jeezy, Snoop Dogg, Rick Ross, T.I. & T-Pain. He explains that due to the success of his current collaborations with rappers like Young Jeezy and Ludacris, he thought, "why not put some of that magic on my album?" Well, Kelly didn't just put some of what he calls "magic" on the album, during the phone recording, he says 70 percent of the record will be up tempo but he assures fans that "there will be some slow jams on there." According to MTV News , Usher collaborates with R. Kelly on a song called Same Girl.

R. Kelly recorded a song called "Rise Up" in tribute of the victims of the Virginia Tech massacre. The song was officially released on May 15, 2007 via download and proceeds will be donated to the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund, a fund that is helping family members of the victims of the shootings and also provides counselling and support for those who were affected.

Legal cases, lawsuits, and controversies

Allegations of Kelly's sexual activity with underage girls go as far back as 1991, when several women claimed to have had sex with him. In 1994, rumors surfaced that Kelly had married fellow singer Alex Shipton, which both singers had denied. In 1995, a rumor surfaced that 15-year-old Aaliyah and 27-year-old R. Kelly had secretly married. Both camps initially denied the rumor, but VIBE magazine published a copy of their marriage license, which showed that Aaliyah's age had been falsely listed as 18. The marriage was annulled a few months later.

None of the prior reports reached the level of publicity that followed the release of a video tape in February 2002 that allegedly showed Kelly and a 14-year-old daughter of an associate, and niece of Sparkle, a former Kelly protégé, engaging in sex. The tape, released by an unknown source, was sent to the Chicago Sun-Times, the newspaper that broke the story. While witnesses have identified the alleged victim, the girl and her parents have denied that she is the person shown on the tape. Kelly has also denied that he is the man in the video.

Bootleg copies of that tape became widely available on the black market and over file sharing networks. The tape showed numerous sex acts, including the girl being urinated upon. In June 2002, Kelly was indicted in Chicago for 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. These charges came after viewing the tapes showed that there was no actual sexual intercourse involved. Kelly still faces 14 of the charges.

In addition to the charges in Illinois, Kelly was being considered for further charges in Polk county Florida on January 23, 2003 on 12 counts of possession of child pornography when authorities alleged to have found a digital camera containing 12 pictures of an underage female with three of them showing Kelly and her engaged in intercourse. These claims were never proven, and the charges were dropped after the search that led to them was ruled illegal.

In 2004, allegations emerged that among Kelly's tapes was one including gospel singer Deleon Richards, the wife of Detroit Tigers baseball player Gary Sheffield. There have been several other lawsuits against R. Kelly. A dancer sued for invasion of privacy because tapes of her private acts with him were circulated, alleging that he allowed distribution of copies without her consent. The dancer later alleged that the taping was without her consent and was not properly protected. Two other sex suits by underage girls were settled and he denied any relationship with either of them, stating that the settlement was strictly to protect his emerging career. Another woman sued him claiming that he seduced her at age 16, got her pregnant, and forced her to get an abortion.

During the pornography controversy, Kelly's problems carried over into his own family. His future wife, Andrea, sought a restraining order against him on September 2, 2005 claiming he physically and verbally attacked her on two occasions but rescinded her request on September 26. Andrea had been a backup dancer and became pregnant by him. They then married and she is the mother of his son and two daughters. R.Kelly and his wife are legally separated, but are in the process of getting a divorce.

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 pled 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 shows Kelly performing sex acts with an underage girl will 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. Kelly will go on trial September 17, 2007, facing child pornography charges.

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) has filed a lawsuit against Kelly accusing him of assault, false imprisonment, and a breach of contract that defrauded him of songwriting royalties. Vaughn claims 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 is 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 in the case.”

In the spring 2007 edition of the Hip-Hop Soul magazine, while promoting his new album and one week before his latest court date, R. Kelly compared himself to Muhammad Ali, Marvin Gaye, Bob Marley and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr;

"I'm the Ali of today. I'm the Marvin Gaye of today. I'm the Bob Marley of today. I'm the Martin Luther King, or all the other greats that have come before us. And a lot of people are starting to realize that now."

An R. Kelly spokesman suggested that the quote was taken out of context.

In November 2007, Kelly's longtime publicist, Regina Daniels, issued a statement announcing she had resigned her position. "I have always prided myself on professionalism, respect and loyalty," Daniels said. "I ended my relationship with Kelly because there are some lines you just don't cross." Daniel's husband, music retailer George Daniels, said in a statement, "I have also disassociated myself from Kelly."

Discography

Albums

• 1992: Born into the '90s
• 1993: 12 Play
• 1995: Kelly
• 1998: R.
• 2000: TP-2.com
• 2002: The Best of Both Worlds (with Jay-Z)
• 2003: Chocolate Factory
• 2003: The R. in R&B Collection, Vol. 1
• 2004: Happy People/U Saved Me
• 2004: Unfinished Business (with Jay-Z)
• 2005: TP-3: Reloaded
• 2005: Remix City Vol. 1
• 2007: Double Up

Unreleased albums

• 2002: Loveland
• 2006: Making Babies
• 2006: Musical Virus

Production discography

Singles

Filmography

• 2005: Trapped in the Closet (1-12)
• 2007: Trapped in the Closet (13-22)

Grammy awards

• Best R&B Song ("I Believe I Can Fly")
• Best R&B Male Vocal Performance ("I Believe I Can Fly")
• Best Original Song from A Soundtrack ("I Believe I Can Fly")
• (all were won in 1997)

References

1. Tracks possibly intended for Loveland, which appeared on the bootlegged version include:
   1. "Spirit" (appeared on Happy People/U Saved Me)
   2. "All I" (unreleased, but sampled by Mannie Fresh on his 2004 track "Lady, Lady")
   3. "Leap of Faith" (appeared on Happy People/U Saved Me)
   4. "Make Me" (appeared on Chocolate Factory under the title "You Knock Me Out")
   5. "Fly" (extended opera influenced version of "I Believe I Can Fly" as used on the TP-2 Tour)
   6. "The World's Greatest" (was already released on the Ali OST)
   7. "(Step) In The Name Of Love" (appeared on Chocolate Factory in both original mix and remix versions, which was a No. 1 R&B hit)
   8. "Love For Me" (renamed "Far More" and was available on the bonus Loveland CD with the first pressings of Chocolate Factory)
   9. "Somethings Never Change" (unreleased, a very 1970s Stevie Wonder-like track)
   10. "Forever And Ever" (appeared on Chocolate Factory under the name "Forever")
   11. "You Bring Me Joy" (unreleased, a soulful bedroom ballad)
   12. "Make You My Baby" (track given to Joe, appeared on his 2003 album And Then...)
   13. "Come to Daddy" (originally part of the BOBW tracklisting, unknown if this would have been on Loveland)
   14. "Kiss You In Those Places" (unreleased, appeared on original TP-3: Reloaded tracklisting, but not final album)
   15. "More and More" (track given to Joe, was a single, and appeared on his 2003 album And Then...)
3. Lamb, Bill (2007-05-04). "R. Kelly Records "Rise Up" - An Anthem for Healing in Aftermath of Virginia Tech Shootings". About.com. Retrieved 2007-05-09.
4. ^ "Controversial R. Kelly Sex Case Finally Goes To Trial". 4Control Media. 2006-10-12. Retrieved 2007-02-21. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
5. Grossberg, Josh (June 5, 2002). "R. Kelly Rung Up on Porn Charges". E!. Archived from the original on 2006-05-04. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= and |archivedate= (help)
6. Grossberg, Josh (September 28, 2005). "R. Kelly's Marital Woes". E!. Archived from the original on 2006-04-20. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= and |archivedate= (help)
7. "Update: R. Kelly Hearing Postponed". 4Control Media. Oct. 13, 2006. Retrieved 2007-02-21. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
8. "R. Kelly Misses Court After Surgery". The Associated Press. 2007-02-08. Retrieved 2007-02-21. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
9. http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Music/08/02/pornography.rkelly.reut/index.html?eref=rss_topstories
10. Jolene Petipas (2006-10-05). "R. Kelly Accused of Assault & Stealing Songwriting Royalties". Retrieved 2007-02-21. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
12. Stella Foster (2007-11-15). "Separate Ways". The Chicago Sun-Times. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

External links

• Official Site
• R. Kelly's ARTISTdirect Page
• R. Kelly at IMDb
• R. Kelly Lyrics
• MTV News: The R. Kelly Reports. (with Illinois charges)
• VH1 News.
• Florida charges.
• R.Kelly's Latest News
• R. Kelly at Myspace
• R.Kelly at R&B Kings

• 1967 births
• African-American singer-songwriters
• American dance musicians
• American male singers
• American pop singers
• American record producers
• American rhythm and blues singers
• Chicago musicians
• Falsettos
• Grammy Award winners
• Hip hop singers
• Living people
• Sex scandals