R. Kelly
Robert Sylvester Kelly (born January 8, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is credited with prolific commercial success in R&B, hip hop, and pop music recordings, earning nicknames such as "the King of R&B", "the King of Pop-Soul",[4][5] and "the Pied Piper of R&B".[6] Kelly's career ended in 2019 following his arrest and subsequent convictions on federal racketeering and sex trafficking charges involving sexual abuse of minors, for which he is currently serving a 31-year prison sentence.
For the album, see R. Kelly (album).
R. Kelly
- Pied Piper
- Kellz
- Singer
- songwriter
- multi-instrumentalist
- record producer
- actor
1989–2023
3
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
- Vocals
- piano
- keyboards
- guitar
Kelly has released 18 studio albums which yielded a number of hit singles, including "I Believe I Can Fly", "Bump N' Grind", "Your Body's Callin'", "Fiesta (Remix)", "Ignition (Remix)", "Step in the Name of Love (Remix)", "If I Could Turn Back the Hands of Time", "The World's Greatest", "I'm a Flirt (Remix)", and the hip hopera Trapped in the Closet. In 1998, he won three Grammy Awards for "I Believe I Can Fly".[7]
In addition to his own music, Kelly's extensive writing credits and production discography include songs for famous artists such as Michael Jackson, Britney Spears, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, Justin Bieber, Snoop Dogg, Janet Jackson, Chris Brown, The Notorious B.I.G., Lady Gaga, Aaliyah, Usher, Ciara, Toni Braxton, Luther Vandross, Mary J. Blige, and Ty Dolla $ign. Kelly received a Grammy Award nomination for his songwriting and production on Jackson's 1996 single, "You Are Not Alone", which also earned a Guinness World Record as the first song to debut atop the Billboard Hot 100 in the chart's history.[7] Kelly's 1998 collaboration with Dion, "I'm Your Angel" did so once more.
Kelly has sold over 75 million albums and singles worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time,[8][9] and the most successful R&B male artist of the 1990s. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has recognized Kelly as one of the best-selling music artists in the United States with 40 million albums sold.[10] In March 2011, Kelly was named the most successful R&B artist of the last 25 years by Billboard.[11][12][13] Throughout his career, Kelly has been awarded Grammy Awards, BET Awards, Soul Train Music Awards, Billboard Music Awards, NAACP Image Awards, and American Music Awards.
Kelly had long been the subject of accusations of sexual misconduct with minors, dating back to the 1990s. Following leaked video recordings, Kelly was prosecuted on child pornography charges in 2002, leading to a controversial trial that ended with his acquittal in 2008 on all charges. The 2019 documentary Surviving R. Kelly reexamined Kelly's alleged sexual misconduct with minors, prompting RCA Records to terminate his contract. Renewed interest in the allegations resulted in additional investigations by law enforcement beginning in 2019, which led to multiple convictions and Kelly's arrest. In 2021 and 2022, he was convicted on multiple charges involving child sexual abuse. As of 2023, he is serving a 31-year combined sentence at FCI Butner Medium I.
Artistry
Musical style and influences
Kelly's music took root in R&B, hip hop and soul. He was influenced by listening to his mother, Joanne Kelly, sing. She played records by Stevie Wonder, Donny Hathaway and Marvin Gaye, inspirations for Kelly.[173][174][175] In reference to Hathaway, Kelly stated: "A guy like Donny Hathaway had a focused, sexual texture in his voice that I always wanted in mine. He had smooth, soulful tones, but he was spiritual at the same time.[173] In his autobiography, Kelly stated that he was heavily influenced by Marvin Gaye's R&B Lothario image. "I had to make a 'baby-makin'' album. If Marvin Gaye did it, I wanted to do it", Kelly said.[23]
While Kelly created a smooth, professional mixture of hip-hop beats, soulman crooning and funk, the most distinctive element of his music is its explicit sensuality. "Sex Me", "Bump n' Grind", "Your Body's Callin'", and "Feelin' on Yo Booty" are considered to be examples, as their productions were seductive enough to sell such blatant come-ons. Kelly's crossover appeal was also sustained by his development of a flair for pop balladry.[49]
Vocal style and lyrical themes
Writing for the New York Daily News in 1997, Nunyo Demasio stated "With a voice that easily shifts from booming baritone to seductive alto, Kelly has gained international celebrity by combining streetwise rhythms with sexually explicit lyrics."[60] Love and sex are the topics of the majority of Kelly's lyrical content, although he has written about a wide variety of themes such as inspiration and spirituality. Chicago Sun-Times reporters Jim DeRogatis and Abdon Pallasch observed about the contrasting themes: "... the image he liked to project was that of the "R&B Thug"... bringing the streetwise persona of the gangsta rapper into the more polite world of R&B."[176]
Kelly expressed that he writes from everyday experiences and prides himself on being versatile. Larry Khan, senior vice president of Jive's urban marketing and promotion, said that Kelly's musical compass is second to none.[177] DeRogatis and Pallasch reported that at concerts where Kelly would go from singing "Like a Real Freak" to "I Wish": "Many fans found these abrupt shifts between the transcendent and the venal, the inspirational and the X-rated jarring."[176]
Influence
Kelly is considered to be one of the most successful R&B artists since the mid-1980s.[12] He is also one of the bestselling music artists in the United States, with over 30 million albums sold, as well as only the fifth black artist to enter the top 50 of the same list.[10] Rolling Stone magazine called him "arguably the most important R&B figure of the 1990s and 2000s".[178] Music executive Barry Weiss described Kelly as "the modern-day Prince, although there's a bit of Marvin Gaye in him, and a bit of Irving Berlin".[179] R. Kelly has also been compared to artists like Sam Cooke and Bobby Brown.[179][180]
In addition to his solo and collaboration success, Kelly has also written and produced several hit songs, such as "Age Ain't Nothing but a Number" for Aaliyah, "Fortunate" for Maxwell, "You Are Not Alone" for Michael Jackson, "G.H.E.T.T.O.U.T." for Changing Faces, "Bump, Bump, Bump" for B2K, and many more.
Solo studio albums
Collaborative studio albums
Kelly toured extensively as a live musician. His concert tours included: