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| Birth Name(s) : Robert Sylvester Kelly |
Date of Birth: N/A |
| Status:
Single
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Partner:
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| Profession:
Singer, songwriter, record producer |
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Full R. Kelly Biography
R. Kelly (born Robert Sylvester Kelly on January 8, 1967 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American urban R&B singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, 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.
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 #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 #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 over three million copies, despite the modest charting of singles "Happy People", "U Saved Me" and "Red Carpet (Pause, Flash)".
'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.
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.
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. |
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