R Kelly
Controversial producer, singer, and writer R Kelly was born Robert Sylvester Kelly on January 8, 1967 in Chicago, Illinois. R Kelly grew up in impoverished conditions and sought music and sports as a form of escape. At the encouragement of his teachers, in high school R. Kelly performed at his high school talent show, singing Stevie Wonder's Ribbon in the Sky.
In his early 20s, R Kelly began playing his keyboard as a street performer before forming the group MGM and releasing their first single Why You Wanna Play Me. They followed up with Born Into the '90s (1992) which eventually went platinum, selling over one million copies. In 1993, R. Kelly left the group to pursue a solo career, releasing his solo debut 12 Play which also went platinum.
By 1994, Kelly had begun to produce for other artists, such as the songs Back and Forth and Age Ain't Nothing but a Number for R&B prodigy, Aaliyah. That same year, Kelly married Aaliyah, who claimed to be 18 on the marriage documents although she was actually only 15 years old. Once the illegal union was revealed in the press, the couple annulled their marriage and also parted professionally.
In 1995, R Kelly released his self-titled album, which sold over five million copies and boasted several top-ten hits. He also continued to work with other artists, writing songs for R&B group Changing Faces as well as Janet and Michael Jackson. The single You are Not Alone, which R Kelly wrote for Michael Jackson’s 1995 HIStory album, became the first in music history to debut at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. By 1996, R Kelly had released his most successful single to date, the inspirational I Believe I Can Fly from the basketball movie, Space Jam. The song garnered three Grammy Awards for R Kelly, including Best R&B Song.
In 1998, R Kelly released his next album, R, which included a duet with Canadian Chanteuse Celine Dion, I'm Your Angel. The album went on to sell over eight million copies in the United States. Also that year, R. Kelly produced, wrote, and arranged an album for singer, Sparkle. In 2000, he released TP-2.com, a sequel to his 1993 album 12 Play.
In 2002, R Kelly teamed up to record an album with Jay-Z, The Best of Both Worlds. The album, which debuted at Number two on the Billboard charts and had no videos to accompany it, was a disappointment commercially, and would receive no further promotion due to the next scandal that was about to hit.
In February 2002, a video surfaced which purportedly showed R Kelly engaged in sexual acts with a 14-year-old girl. The tape was circulated on the internet, and R Kelly was indicted for seven counts of soliciting a minor for child pornography, seven counts of videotaping the acts, as well as seven counts of producing child pornography. R Kelly resurfaced from the scandal to release Chocolate Factory in 2003. That same year, he also collaborated with the Isley Brothers, the Big Tymers, Cassidy, and Jennifer Lopez. The following year, he released a two-sided double-album, Happy People/U Saved Me. In 2005, the self-proclaimed “Pied Piper of R&B” released his next album, TP-3: Reloaded, which featured a five-chapter song, Trapped in the Closet. The song’s melodramatics and unintentionally funny nature coined a new term – “hip-hopera”.
In May 2008 Kelly's trial, for underage sex with a girl who was depicted on a video, began in Chicago. Several witnesses were called many of whom identified the singer even though the defense denies it is Kelly on the video. ABB |
