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Wikipedia

R. Kelly

April 29, 2023

For the album, see R. Kelly (album).

Robert Sylvester Kelly (born January 8, 1967), better known as R. Kelly, is an American musician, convicted felon, racketeer, and sex offender.[3][4] Kelly sold more than 75 million records worldwide.[5][6] He won three Grammys for his song "I Believe I Can Fly", and was also nominated for his song "You Are Not Alone" recorded by Michael Jackson.[7] Critics dubbed him "the King of R&B"[8][9][10] while he billed himself the "Pied Piper of R&B".[11]

R. Kelly
Kelly's Polk County mugshot in July 2002
Born
Robert Sylvester Kelly

(1967-01-08) January 8, 1967 (age 56)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Other names
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • record producer
Years active1989–2019
Spouses
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 1994; ann. 1995)​
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 1996; div. 2009)​
Children3
AwardsFull list
Criminal information
Criminal statusIncarcerated at FCI Butner Medium I in Butner, North Carolina
Conviction(s)
Criminal penalty31 years imprisonment[2]
Date apprehended
February 22, 2019
Musical career
Genres
Labels
Websiter-kelly.com

Investigations by law enforcement and journalists revealed that Kelly used his fame to seek out underage fans for sex.[12][13][14][15] Video recordings of these encounters led the Cook County State's Attorney to prosecute him for child pornography.[16] Kelly won acquittal in 2008.[17][18] Testifying years later, a victim depicted in the video testified to Kelly using bribes and threats to stop her and her family from pressing charges.[19] Kelly's lawyer, Ed Genson, told the Chicago Sun-Times Kelly was "guilty as hell".[20]

The 2019 documentary television series Surviving R. Kelly reexamined accusations of Kelly's sexual misconduct with minors, triggering a backlash and leading RCA Records to terminate their contract with him.[21] Law enforcement pursued new criminal cases in multiple jurisdictions, resulting in Kelly's arrest on July 2019. [22][23][24][25] A 2021 trial in Brooklyn federal court convicted Kelly for violations of the Mann Act and racketeering.[26] A 2022 trial in Chicago federal court convicted him for three child pornography charges and three charges of enticing a minor.[27][28][29] He was sentenced to serve 31 years imprisonment in a combination of concurrent and consecutive sentences.[30][31] As of 2023, he is an inmate of Metropolitan Correctional Center, Chicago. He continues to challenge his two convictions.[32][33][34]

Early life

Robert Sylvester Kelly was born on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois,[35] on January 8, 1967[36] at Chicago Lying-In Hospital (now University of Chicago Medical Center) in the city's Hyde Park neighborhood. He has five siblings (three of which are half),[37] two older sisters[38] and brother, along with a younger brother and sister.[39][40] His mother, Joanne, was a schoolteacher and devout Baptist.[41] She was born in Arkansas.[37] The identity of his father, who was absent from Kelly's life and later raised two children,[38] is not known.[41] His family lived in the Ida B. Wells Homes public housing project in the Black Metropolis–Bronzeville District of Chicago's Douglas neighborhood, also on the city's south side.[42] Around the time he was five years old, Kelly's mother married his stepfather, Lucious, who reportedly worked for an airline.[37] Kelly began singing in the church choir at age eight.[39]

Trauma and abuse

Kelly described having a girlfriend, Lulu, at age eight, in his autobiography. He stated that their last play date turned tragic when, after fighting with older children over a play area by a creek, she was pushed into the water, swept downstream by a fast-moving current, and drowned. Kelly called Lulu his first musical inspiration.[43]

Kelly said members of his household would act differently when his mother and grandparents were not home.[44][41] From age 8 to 14, he was sexually abused by an older female family member.[37][45] Kelly's younger brother, Carey, stated that he suffered from years of sexual abuse at the hands of his older sister, Theresa, who was entrusted with babysitting her siblings.[46][47] Carey stated that although their older brother, Bruce, was spared and allowed to play outside, both him and Kelly were punished at separate times indoors by Theresa, who refused to acknowledge the abuse when confronted years later.[46][47]

Explaining why he never told anyone, Kelly wrote in his 2012 autobiography, Soulacoaster: The Diary of Me, that he was "too afraid and too ashamed".[43] Around age 10, Kelly was also sexually abused by an older male who was a friend of the family.[37] In his autobiography, Kelly described being shot in the shoulder, at age 11, by boys who were attempting to steal his bike,[43] although a family friend later stated that Kelly had shot himself while attempting suicide.[37]

Turn toward music

 
As a teenager, Kelly began busking at Chicago "L" stations on the Red Line (CTA)

In September 1980, Kelly entered Kenwood Academy in the city's Hyde Park-Kenwood district, where he met music teacher Lena McLin, who encouraged Kelly to perform the Stevie Wonder classic "Ribbon in the Sky" in the high school talent show.[48] A shy Kelly put on sunglasses, was escorted onto the stage, sang the song and won first prize.[41][49][50] McLin encouraged Kelly to leave the high school basketball team and concentrate on music. She said he was furious at first, but after his performance in the talent show, he changed his mind.[51] Kelly was diagnosed with dyslexia,[52] which left him unable to read or write.[53][45] Kelly dropped out of high school after attending Kenwood Academy for one year.[54] He began performing in the subway under the Chicago "L" tracks.[54] He regularly busked at the "L" stop on the Red Line's Jackson station in the Loop.[37]

In his youth, Kelly played basketball with Illinois state champion basketball player Ben Wilson[37] and later sang "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday" at Wilson's funeral.[55]

Musical career

See also: R. Kelly discography, R. Kelly production discography, and R. Kelly videography

During his recording career, Kelly sold over 75 million records worldwide, making him the most commercially successful male R&B artist of the 1990s and one of the world's best-selling music artists.[5][6] He won three Grammys for his song "I Believe I Can Fly", and was also nominated for his song "You Are Not Alone" recorded by Michael Jackson.[7] Critics dubbed him "the King of R&B"[8][9][10] while he billed himself the "Pied Piper of R&B".[11]

1989–1996: Born into the 90's, 12 Play and R. Kelly

Main articles: Public Announcement (group), Born into the 90's, and 12 Play

MGM (Musically Gifted Men or Mentally Gifted Men)[37] was formed in 1989 with Robert Kelly, Marc McWilliams, Vincent Walker and Shawn Brooks. In 1990, MGM were offered a contract with an independent label, Tavdash Records.[56] Shortly after, they recorded and released one single, "Why You Wanna Play Me."[57] Kelly gained national recognition when MGM participated on the talent TV show Big Break, hosted by Natalie Cole.[58] MGM performed "All My Love", which would become a demo for Kelly's song "She's Got That Vibe."[59] The group went on to win the $100,000 grand prize in 1991 before they disbanded.[60][61]

In 1991, Kelly signed with Jive Records.[57] Kelly's debut album, Born into the 90's, was released in early 1992 (credited as R. Kelly and Public Announcement). The album, released during the new jack swing period of the early 1990s, yielded the R&B hits "She's Got That Vibe", "Honey Love", "Dedicated", and "Slow Dance (Hey Mr. DJ)", with Kelly singing lead vocals.[62] During late 1992, Kelly and Public Announcement embarked on a tour entitled "60653" after the zip code of their Chicago neighborhood.[39] This would be the only album co-credited with Public Announcement. Kelly separated from the group in 1993.[41]

"When I create a song for myself or another artist, I see the entire thing— what the song should be like, how it should be produced, how the video should look, the image of the artist for the single— it's a package deal."

— R. Kelly (1994)[63]

Kelly's first solo album, 12 Play, was released on November 9, 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: "Your Body's Callin'" (U.S. Hot 100: #13, U.S. R&B: #2) and "Sex Me" (U.S. Hot 100: #20, U.S. R&B: #8). Both singles sold 500,000 copies in the United States and were certified Gold by the RIAA.[62] In 1994, 12 Play was certified Gold by the RIAA, eventually going six times platinum.[64]

In 1994, Kelly established himself as a leading producer by producing songs for various artists, including Aaliyah, Janet Jackson and Changing Faces.[65] He co-headlined a tour with Salt-N-Pepa and headlined the Budweiser Superfest tour.[66][63]

1995–1996 R. Kelly and "I Believe I Can Fly"

Main articles: R. Kelly (album) and I Believe I Can Fly

In 1995, Kelly garnered his first Grammy nominations; two for writing, producing, and composing Michael Jackson's last number-one hit, "You Are Not Alone".[7][67]

Kelly's success continued with the November 14, 1995, release of R. Kelly, his eponymous second studio album. Critics praised him for his departure from salacious bedroom songs to embracing vulnerability. New York Times contributor Stephen Holden described Kelly as "The reigning king of pop-soul sex talks a lot tougher than Barry White, the father of such fluffed-up pillow talks and along with Marvin Gaye and Donny Hathaway, [both] major influences for Kelly."[68] In December 1995, Professor Michael Eric Dyson critiqued Kelly's self-titled album "R. Kelly" for VIBE. Dyson described Kelly's growth from the 12 Play album: "Kelly reshapes his personal turmoil to artistic benefit" and noted that Kelly is "reborn before our very own ears".[69]

The album reached number one on the Billboard 200 chart, becoming Kelly's first number one album on the chart, and reached number one on the R&B album charts; his second. The R. Kelly album spawned three platinum hit singles: "You Remind Me of Something" (U.S. Hot 100: #4, U.S. R&B: #1), "I Can't Sleep Baby (If I)" (U.S. Hot 100: #5, U.S. R&B: #1), and "Down Low (Nobody Has To Know)" (U.S. Hot 100: #4, U.S. R&B: #1); a duet with Ronald Isley. Kelly's self-titled album sold four million copies, receiving 4× platinum certification from the RIAA.[64] He promoted the album with a 50-city "Down Low Top Secret Tour" with LL Cool J, Xscape, and Solo.[70]

On November 26, 1996, Kelly released "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.[7][62] In that same year, he contributed to "Freak Tonight" for the A Thin Line Between Love and Hate soundtrack.

1997–2001: Basketball, R., TP-2.COM, and Rockland Records

Main articles: Rockland Records, R. (R. Kelly album), and TP-2.com

In 1997, Kelly signed a contract to play professional basketball with the Atlantic City Seagulls of the USBL.[71] He wore the number 12 in honor of his album 12 Play.[72] 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."[73] 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", said Ken Gross, the Seagulls owner who signed Kelly, "he would be able to leave the team to do that and come back". "It wasn't a gimmick", Gross continued, "he's a ballplayer. He can play."[74]

In the same year, Kelly collaborated with American rapper The Notorious B.I.G. for the song "Fuck You Tonight" on the posthumous album Life After Death.[75]

In 1998, he launched his own label, Rockland Records, in a distribution deal with Jimmy Iovine's Interscope Records. The label's roster included artists Sparkle, Boo & Gotti, Talent, Vegas Cats, Lady, Frankie, Secret Weapon, and Rebecca F.[76][77] That May, Sparkle, Rockland's first signed artist, released her eponymous debut album. In addition to producing and writing the project, Kelly made vocal contribution to the hit duet "Be Careful", which became a serious factor as to why the album was certified platinum in December 2000.[78]

On November 17, 1998, Kelly released his fourth studio and first double album, R. Musically, the album spans different genres from pop (Celine Dion), street rap (Nas and Jay-Z) to Blues ("Suicide"). Dave Hoekstra of the Los Angeles Times described the album as "easily the most ambitious project of his career".[79] In the summer of 1999, he wrote and produced a majority of the soundtrack to the Martin Lawrence and Eddie Murphy film, Life, which features tracks from K-Ci & JoJo, Maxwell, Mýa, and Destiny's Child, among others. The soundtrack was also released on the Rockland imprint.[80]

In early 2000, Kelly received multiple awards reflecting his status as an established R&B superstar. In January 2000, he won Favorite Male Soul/R&B Artist at the American Music Awards and, in February, was nominated for several Grammy Awards, including Best Male R&B Vocal Performance ("When a Woman's Fed Up"), Best R&B Album (R.), and Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group ("Satisfy You") with P. Diddy.[7][81]

On November 7, 2000, he released his fifth studio album, TP-2.com, a project aligned with his breakthrough album, 12 Play. Unlike R., all songs on TP-2.com were written, arranged, and produced by Kelly. AllMusic's Jason Birchmeier gave TP-2.com 4 stars and stated: "Kelly knows how to take proven formulas and funnel them through his own stylistic aesthetic, which usually means slowing down the tempo, laying on lush choruses of strings and background vocals, taming down the lyrics for radio, and catering his pitch primarily to wistful women.[82]

In 2001, Kelly won the Outstanding Achievement Award at the Music of Black Origin or MOBO Awards and Billboard magazine ranked TP-2.com number 94 on the magazine's Top 200 Albums of the Decade.[83] Kelly's song, "The World's Greatest", from the soundtrack to the 2001 autobiographical film, Ali, was a hit.[84]

2002–2003: The Best of Both Worlds and Chocolate Factory

Main articles: The Best of Both Worlds (Jay-Z and R. Kelly album) and Chocolate Factory

On January 24, 2002, at a press conference announcing the completion of Kelly and Jay-Z's first collaborative album, The Best of Both Worlds, celebrities such as Johnnie Cochran, Russell Simmons, Luther Vandross, and Sean Combs praised the album, with Jay-Z stating that he hoped the collaboration represents "more unity for black people on a whole".[85] MTV's Shaheem Reid wrote: "And if Jay and Kelly can put their egos to the side long enough to wrap up and promote their album, then their labels—Def Jam and Jive, respectively—can surely figure out a way to join forces and make cheddar together."[85]

On February 8, 2002, Kelly performed at the closing ceremony of the 2002 Winter Olympics at the same time a news scandal broke of a sex tape that appeared to show Kelly with an underage girl.[86]

When the joint album leaked on February 22, 2002, it caused Jay-Z and Damon Dash's label, Def Jam-distributed Roc-A-Fella, and Jive to modify the album's release date in March.[87] Jay-Z expressed frustration about the album leak to MTV News: "It's the gift and the curse. It's an honor that everybody wants your music fast, but on the other hand, it's another thing when the music gets out before you [want it to]. Because that's your art. You feel attached to it. You feel a certain way and you want people to go out and support it. The time that you take, it's like a piece of your life. You take parts of your life and you put it on these records and then for it to just be traded and moved around [is frustrating].[87] Upon release on March 19, 2002, The Best of Both Worlds sold 285,000 copies in its opening week and debuted at number two on the Billboard 200.[88] It was a critical and commercial disappointment.[89]

In May 2002, Kelly's initial sixth studio album, Loveland, leaked and was delayed for releasing in November.[90] Kelly restructured the album which was later packaged as a deluxe edition bonus disc of the now-renamed Chocolate Factory.[91] In October of that year, Kelly released the remix to its single, "Ignition". It charted at number two on the Billboard Hot 100.[92][93]

On February 18, 2003, Kelly released the album, Chocolate Factory. It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, ending the first two-week run of rapper 50 Cent's Get Rich or Die Tryin'.[94] It sold 532,000 copies in its first week.[95] The album was also supported by its follow-up singles, "Snake" and the remix of "Step in the Name of Love"; the latter of which peaked at number nine on the Hot 100. Later that year, in September, Kelly's first greatest hits album, The R. in R&B Collection, Vol. 1, was released which included "Thoia Thoing" and two other previously unreleased songs.[96]

2004–2005: Unfinished Business, Happy People/U Saved Me and TP.3 Reloaded

Main articles: Unfinished Business (Jay-Z and R. Kelly album), Happy People/U Saved Me, and TP.3 Reloaded

Between mid-2003 and early 2004, Kelly began work on a double CD album, one with "happy" tracks and another with "inspirational" tracks. The double album, Happy People/U Saved Me, was released on August 24, 2004. It debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, with first week sales of 264,000 copies.[97] Both of the album's titled tracks respectively performed underwhelmingly; "Happy People" charted at number twenty-nine on the Adult R&B song chart while "U Saved Me" peaked at number fifty-two on the Billboard Hot 100.[98][99]

Two months later, Kelly and Jay-Z reunited to release their second collaborative album, Unfinished Business. The album received criticism and, as with the pair's previous collaboration, it was also a commercial failure, despite debuting at number one on the Billboard 200. Album promotion and its Best of Both Worlds tour were both plagued by tension between the stars, with Kelly reportedly showing up late or not at all to gigs.[100] Kelly complained that the touring lights were not directed towards him and allegedly assaulted the tour's lighting director.[100]

Jay-Z eventually removed Kelly halfway through the tour, after a member of Jay-Z's entourage pepper sprayed Kelly[101] on October 29, 2004.[102] Tyran "Ty Ty" Smith was charged with assault, but took a plea deal for disorderly conduct.[102] Kelly bounced back commercially after appearing on Ja Rule's single, "Wonderful" alongside Ashanti. The song charted at number five on the Billboard Hot 100, topped the UK Singles Chart and went platinum in the summer of 2005.[103]

After finishing Happy People/U Saved Me and Unfinished Business in 2004,[104] Kelly released TP.3 Reloaded in July 2005.[105] It became Kelly's fifth consecutive number-one album in his career. TP.3 Reloaded was heavily cross-promoted by the first five chapters of Kelly's musical serial, Trapped in the Closet.[106]

2006–2009: Double Up and Untitled, Africa

Main articles: Double Up (R. Kelly album) and Untitled (R. Kelly album)

In December 2006, Kelly built momentum for his eighth solo studio album, Double Up, after guest-appearing on Bow Wow's "I'm a Flirt".[107] Three months later, Kelly's remix of "I'm a Flirt" was released, but instead of Bow Wow, it featured T.I. and T-Pain. On May 29, 2007, the album was released. It became Kelly's sixth and final album in his career to chart at number one on the Billboard 200.[108] Kelly's other singles from Double Up titled "Same Girl" was a duet of Kelly and Usher,[109] while "Rise Up" was a tribute to the victims of the Virginia Tech shooting that occurred earlier that year in April, a month before the album was released.[110] The song was previously released as a digital download on May 15, 2007. Proceeds were donated to the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund to help family members of the victims of the shootings.[111]

Kelly began his Double Up tour with Ne-Yo, Keyshia Cole and J. Holiday opening for him. One week into the tour, 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.[112] Ne-Yo won a lawsuit that he filed against Rowe Entertainment in 2008.[113] Kelly was not mentioned in the lawsuit. In December 2007, Kelly failed to appear at another preliminary court hearing on his case due to his tour bus being held up in Utah.[114] The judge threatened to revoke Kelly's bond, but eventually decided against it. In 2008, Kelly released a rap track titled "I'm a Beast" in which he coarsely attacked his detractors, yet did not name the subjects of the song.[115]

In 2008, before and after being acquitted on charges of producing child sexual abuse material, 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 named Kelly among the most successful artists ever for its 50th Anniversary List.[116] In the spring, the promotional single "Hair Braider", peaked at No. 56 on Billboard's R&B chart. On July 28, the entire album leaked online, causing the title to be scrapped.[117]

In February 2009, Kelly announced that he was working on a new album called Untitled[118] with a projected release date of September 29, but it had been delayed to December.[119] In June 2009, he released his first mixtape, The "Demo" Tape, presented by DJ Skee and DJ Drama.[120]

Kelly headlined the Arise African Fashion Awards in Johannesburg, South Africa, on June 20, 2009.[121] He performed in Cape Town, followed by Nigeria as part of the annual ThisDay music and fashion festival in July. That same month, he released "Number One", featuring singer-songwriter Keri Hilson. Then, on December 1, Kelly's untitled ninth solo album was released.[122] It charted on the Billboard 200 at number four.[123][124] More singles from the album include "Echo", "Supaman High" and "Be My #2". In January 2010, Kelly performed in Kampala, Uganda. "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."[125]

2010–2012: Epic, Love Letter, throat surgery, and Write Me Back

Main articles: Epic (R. Kelly album), Love Letter (R. Kelly album), and Write Me Back

Kelly performed at the 2010 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony on June 11, 2010.[126] In an interview in the September 2010 issue of XXL magazine, Kelly said he was working on three new albums (Epic, Love Letter, and Zodiac) which he described as "remixing himself".[127] Epic, a compilation filled with powerful ballads including "The World's Greatest" and "Sign of a Victory", only saw a European release on September 21, 2010.[128] However, it is also available for streaming worldwide.[129]

In November 2010, Kelly collaborated with several African musicians forming a supergroup known as One8. The group featured 2Face from Nigeria, Ali Kiba from Tanzania, Congolese 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 was "Hands Across the World" written and produced by Kelly.[130][131]

Kelly's tenth album Love Letter, released on December 14, 2010, included 15 songs, one of which was Kelly singing "You Are Not Alone", a track Kelly originally wrote for Michael Jackson. 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.[7]

At the 2011 Pre-Grammy Gala in Los Angeles, Kelly performed a medley of hits and in March 2011, Kelly was named the No. 1 R&B artist of the last 25 years by Billboard.[132][133]

On July 19, 2011, Kelly was admitted to the Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago to undergo emergency throat surgery to drain an abscess on one of his tonsils, and was released on July 21, 2011.[134] He cancelled his performance at the Reggae Sumfest in Jamaica that was scheduled for the following Friday. Johnny Gourzong, Sumfest Productions executive director, commented, "We are truly going to miss his presence on the festival."[135][136] On September 23, 2011, Variety confirmed that Kelly had signed on to write original music for the Sparkle soundtrack.[137]

In 2011, Kelly worked with writer David Ritz on an autobiography entitled Soulacoaster: The Diary of Me, which was later released in the summer of 2012.[138]

On October 7, 2011, after Sony's RCA Music Group announced the consolidation of Jive, Arista and J Records into RCA Records,[139][140] Kelly was set to release music under the RCA brand.[141][142]

Following his throat surgery, Kelly released "Shut Up" to generally favorable reviews: Spin magazine said, "Kelly taking aim at the haters who said "he's washed up, he's lost it." He hasn't. Dude's voice is in prime smooth R&B form".[143] On December 21, 2011, Kelly made a live appearance on The X Factor and gave his first performance after the surgery. Kelly revealed to Rolling Stone that he felt like he was "just starting out" and how the performance was a "wake up call" for him.[144]

In 2012, Kelly made a series of announcements including a follow-up to the Love Letter album titled Write Me Back, which was released on June 26 to little fanfare,[145] as well as a third installment of Trapped in the Closet[146] and The Single Ladies Tour featuring R&B singer, Tamia.[147][148][149] In February 2012, Kelly performed "I Look to You", a song he wrote for Whitney Houston, at Houston's homegoing.[150]

2013–2017: Black Panties, The Buffet, and 12 Nights of Christmas

Main articles: Black Panties, The Buffet (R. Kelly album), and 12 Nights of Christmas

During 2013, Kelly continued his "The Single Ladies Tour". He performed at music festivals across North America, including Bonnaroo, Pitchfork, and Macy's Music Festival. On June 30, 2013, R. Kelly performed live at BET Awards Show singing hits as well as his new track "My Story" featuring Atlanta rapper 2 Chainz. The song was the lead single for Kelly's twelfth studio album Black Panties.[151] released on December 10, 2013.[152] Writing for New York magazine, David Marchese stated that Black Panties "was like a dare to the world: After all that he'd been accused of, after avoiding conviction, could R. Kelly still get away with making sex-obsessed music?"[53]

In 2013, Kelly collaborated with several artists including Celine Dion, Mariah Carey,[153] Mary J. Blige,[154] and Jennifer Hudson.[155] In an interview with Global Grind in November, he described follow up work with Celine Dion after their number one single "I'm Your Angel" from 1998.[156] Kelly worked with singer Mariah Carey for her album "The Art of Letting Go".[153]

Kelly co-wrote and sang on Lady Gaga's song "Do What U Want" from her 2013 album Artpop, performing the duet with her on Saturday Night Live on November 16, 2013,[157] and at the 2013 American Music Awards.[158][53] "Do What U Want" had since been removed from streaming services and re-releases of Gaga's Artpop album following sexual misconduct allegations against Kelly in early 2019.[159][160][161] He also collaborated with Birdman and Lil Wayne on "We Been On", a single from the Cash Money Records compilation, Rich Gang. He also appeared on Twista's first single on his new album "Dark Horse".[162][163] On November 17, 2013, Kelly and Justin Bieber debuted a collaboration entitled "PYD".[164][165]

Kelly was featured on the soundtrack album of the film The Best Man Holiday with his song "Christmas, I'll Be Steppin'".[166]

Kelly stated his intention to tour with R&B singer Mary J. Blige on "The King & Queen Tour" prior to the Black Panties Tour while continuing to create segments of the hip hopera Trapped in the Closet.[167]

In July 2014, Kelly announced that he was working on a house music album.[168]

In November 2015, Kelly released "Switch Up" featuring fellow Chicagoan Jeremih and Lil Wayne, followed by "Wake Up Everybody", "Marching Band" and "Backyard Party". The following month, the album containing those singles, The Buffet, was released. It charted poorly on the Billboard 200 at number sixteen with first-week sales of 39,000 album-equivalent copies.[169] During November 2015, R. Kelly released a song with Ty Dolla $ign called "Actress" off the album Free TC.

The following year, after a two-and-a-half-year delay, Kelly presented his only Christmas album, also his fourteenth and final studio album in his career thus far, 12 Nights of Christmas, which was released on October 21, 2016.[170]

2017–2022: Guest appearances, "I Admit"

Main article: I Admit (R. Kelly song)

On March 17, Pitbull released the song "Dedicated" off his album Climate Change and features guest appearances from American singers R. Kelly and Austin Mahone.

Kelly released the 19-minute-long "I Admit" on SoundCloud on July 23, 2018, as a response to his accusers.[171][172] The song does not contain any criminal admissions despite its title and chorus, which repeats the lyric "I admit it, I did it".[173][174] In "I Admit", Kelly denies allegations of domestic violence and pedophilia, asserting that they are matters of opinion.[174] Kelly also denounces Jim DeRogatis and repudiates his investigative report's claim of Kelly operating a "sex cult".[171] Addressing the Mute R. Kelly social media campaign, Kelly sings, "only God can mute me".[175][176]

The song was criticized by reviewers, who described it as an act of trolling.[177][178] Many outlets compared the song to that of his "Heaven I Need a Hug" extended version, Trapped in the Closet opera, "I Believe I Can Fly" concert remix, and O. J. Simpson's autobiographical novel If I Did It.[179][180] Andrea Kelly and Carey Killa Kelly (R. Kelly's ex-wife and brother, respectively) responded to "I Admit" with songs that contain additional allegations against R. Kelly.[181][182]

An album credited to Kelly titled I Admit It after and including the 19-minute song from 2018 was released on streaming services on December 9, 2022, but was taken down after it was not approved by Sony or R. Kelly's team. The album was credited to Sony's Legacy Recordings but actually uploaded by Real Talk Entertainment, who had released the album through a sub-label also named Legacy Recordings. This resulted in the credited distributor, Universal Music Group-owned Ingrooves, cutting ties with Real Talk Entertainment.[183]

Touring career

Kelly toured extensively as a live musician. His concert tours included:

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 Donny Hathaway and Marvin Gaye, inspirations for Kelly.[185][186] 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.[185] 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.[44]

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.[62]

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."[73] 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."[187]

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.[188] 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."[187]

Influence

Kelly is considered to be one of the most successful R&B artists since the mid-1980s.[133] He is also one of the best-selling 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.[189] Rolling Stone magazine called him "arguably the most important R&B figure of the 1990s and 2000s".[190] 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".[191]

In addition to his solo and collaboration success, Kelly has also written and produced several hit songs, such as "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. R. Kelly has been compared to artists like Sam Cooke and Marvin Gaye.[191]

Honors and awards

See also: List of awards and nominations received by R. Kelly

Kelly has received and been nominated for multiple awards, as a songwriter, producer, and singer. He won three Grammy Awards for his song "I Believe I Can Fly": Best Male R&B Vocal Performance, Best Rhythm and Blues Song, and Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television.[7] After Kelly's federal conviction in New York, The Recording Academy received major backlash in 2021 for refusing to strip Kelly of his awards.[192]

Kelly was given a key to the city of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in 2013 as "an artist whose music brings generations together".[193] On September 30, 2021, following his New York conviction of multiple sex crimes, the key was rescinded.[194][195]

Abuse scandals and court cases

Kelly has repeatedly faced allegations of sexual abuse that have resulted in multiple civil suits and criminal trials, activities culminating in a 2021 conviction for violations of the Mann Act and Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. Defenders of Kelly maintain that he is merely a "playboy" and a "sex symbol."[196] Judge Ann Donnelly, who presided over Kelly's 2021 trial, summarized Kelly's actions as having "[used] his fame and organization to lure young people into abusive sexual relationships—a racketeering enterprise that the government alleged spanned about 25 years."[197]

Early sexual abuse accusations (1990s–2000s)

First reports

In December 2000, the Chicago Sun-Times first reported that police had made two investigations that Kelly was having sex with an underage female but had to drop the investigations due to lack of cooperation by the girls accusing him.[198] A civil suit filed in 1996 by Tiffany Hawkins detailed allegations that, starting in 1991 when she was age 15, 24-year-old Kelly had sexual relations with her as an underage high school student, encouraged her to recruit her school friends, and pressured her into engaging in group sex with other underage girls.[199][200] In 1998, Kelly settled the lawsuit with Hawkins for $250,000.[201][198]

Illegal marriage (1994)

Further information: Marriage age in the United States

In 1991, Barry Hankerson introduced his niece Aaliyah to Kelly when she was 12 years old.[202][198] "I saw her as a star the minute I heard her sing and dance," Kelly said.[45] A witness later testified that Kelly had sexual contact with Aaliyah starting when she was "13 or 14 years old."[203][204] Kelly wrote and produced Aaliyah's debut album, Age Ain't Nothing but a Number, which was released in May 1994.[205]

On August 31, 1994, Kelly, then 27, married Aaliyah, then 15, in a secret ceremony at Sheraton Gateway Suites in Rosemont, Illinois.[206][198] Reportedly, Kelly married Aaliyah after he found out she was pregnant.[207][208] Their marriage certificate was published in the Dec. 1994 / Jan. 1995 issue of Vibe magazine.[209] Their marriage was annulled in February 1995 at the behest of Aaliyah's family by a Michigan judge.[210] In May 1997, Aaliyah filed a lawsuit in Cook County to have the marriage record expunged, stating that she was underage at the time of marriage, had lied by signing the marriage certificate as an 18-year-old, and that she could not legally enter into marriage without parental consent.[198]

Kelly and Aaliyah both denied that their relationship had moved beyond friendship.[211] In 2016, Kelly told GQ magazine: "Well, because of Aaliyah's passing ... I will never have that conversation with anyone. Out of respect for Aaliyah, and her mother and father who has asked me not to personally. But I can tell you I loved her, I can tell you she loved me, we was very close. We were, you know, best best best best friends."[45]

In 2019, federal prosecutors in the state of New York charged Kelly with bribery related to the 1994 purchase of a fake identification card for Aaliyah in order to obtain a marriage license.[212] Kelly's former tour manager, Demetrius Smith, testified that he facilitated the wedding by obtaining falsified identification for Aaliyah, which listed her as 18 years old.[208][213] Kelly, through his lawyers, admitted in 2021 to having had 'underage sexual contact' with Aaliyah.[214]

Exposure of child sexual abuse material and indictment (2002)

On February 3, 2002, a video began circulating allegedly depicting Kelly's sexual abuse of a girl known to be underage. The abuse included Kelly urinating on her. The video was released by an unknown source and sent to the Chicago Sun-Times. The publisher broke the story on February 8, 2002, the same day Kelly performed at the opening ceremony of the 2002 Winter Olympics.[215] Kelly has said in interviews that he was not the man in the video.[216][217] In June 2002, Kelly was indicted in Chicago on 21 counts of child pornography.[218] That same month on June 5, 2002, Kelly was arrested by the Miami Police Department on a Chicago arrest warrant at his Florida vacation home.[219] He was released after one night in jail, the following day after posting bail of $750,000.[220]

While investigating the photographs reported in the Chicago Sun-Times, Polk County Sheriff's Office conducted a search of Kelly's residence in Davenport, Florida. During the search, officers recovered 12 images of an alleged underage girl on a digital camera – wrapped in a towel in a duffel bag – which allegedly depicted Kelly "involved in sexual conduct with the female minor".[221] According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the girl in the images obtained from Kelly's Florida home also appears in the videotape; which got Kelly indicted in Chicago.[222]

Police investigators from Polk County and Miami-Dade County arrested Kelly on January 22, 2003, at Miami's Wyndham Grand Bay Hotel for 12 counts of possession of child pornography.[223] Kelly posted bail of $12,000 bond and was released three hours later from Miami-Dade county jail.[223][224][225] In March 2004, these charges were dropped due to a lack of probable cause for the search warrants.[226][227]

The alleged victim refused to testify at the trial,[228] and a Chicago jury found Kelly not guilty on all 14 counts of child pornography in June 2008.[229][48] Kelly's own defense lawyer, Ed Genson, questioned the acquittal and Kelly's public proclamations of innocence.[230]

Allegations of child molestation (2009)

In a divorce court filing unsealed in 2020, R. Kelly's former wife Andrea claims that R. Kelly was accused of molesting a preteen girl in 2009.[231]

Second series of accusations (2010s–present)

Huffington Post Live interview (2015)

In December 2015, Kelly appeared on Huffington Post Live in an interview with journalist Caroline Modarressy-Tehrani. The interview was conducted so that he could promote the release of his thirteenth solo album, The Buffet.

During the interview, Modarressy-Tehrani quizzed Kelly about the sexual abuse allegations being leveled against him and wanted to gauge his reaction. This resulted in Kelly growing angry and defensive. He continually shouted over Modarressy-Tehrani, asked her whether she drank and threatened to leave and go to McDonald's. Kelly stormed out of the interview before it ended.[232]

The incident was one of the first occasions where Kelly was concretely asked about the allegations against him on a public platform. Following Kelly's New York conviction in late-September 2021, Modarressy-Tehrani tweeted: "Now, with this verdict, hopefully, his survivors get some peace and feel this justice."[233]

Alleged sex cult (2010s)

Jim DeRogatis reported for BuzzFeed News on July 17, 2017, that Kelly was accused by three sets of parents of holding their daughters in an "abusive cult".[234] Kelly and the alleged victims denied the allegations.[235][236]

In March 2018, BBC World Service aired a documentary entitled R Kelly: Sex, Girls and Videotapes presented by reporter Ben Zand that explored the 2017 allegations.[237] This was followed up in May with the BBC Three documentary R Kelly: The Sex Scandal Continues, which included interviews with the Savage family.[238]

Kelly was again accused of misconduct on April 17, 2018, by a former partner of his who claimed that Kelly "intentionally" infected her with a sexually transmitted disease. A representative for Kelly stated that he "categorically denies all claims and allegations".[239]

In a January 2019 BBC News article, a woman named Asante McGee whom Kelly had met in 2014 and taken to live with him some months later, said that she lived with not only Kelly alone, but with other women. She said: "He controlled every aspect of my life, while I lived with him." McGee later moved out on her own accord.[240]

Boycott and industry response

In May 2018, the Women of Color branch of the Time's Up movement called for a boycott of Kelly's music and performances over the many allegations against him. The boycott was accompanied by a social media campaign called Mute R. Kelly. In response, his management said that Kelly supports the movement in principle, but targeting him was "the attempted lynching of a black man who has made extraordinary contributions to our culture".[241]

Music streaming service Spotify announced on May 10, 2018, that it was going to stop promoting or recommending music by Kelly, and XXXTentacion[242] stating, "We don't censor content because of an artist's or creator's behavior, but we want our editorial decisions—what we choose to program—to reflect our values."[243] Two days later, Apple Music and Pandora also announced that they would cease to feature or promote Kelly's music.[244] Spotify was criticized by members of the music industry with concerns the decision would create a "slippery slope" of muting artists accused of criminal activity. Spotify ultimately reversed this decision, following initial backlash[245] including that of Top Dawg Entertainment, which threatened to remove its musical catalog from streaming service.[246][247][248]

In early-January 2019, Kelly was dropped from RCA Records following the airing of Surviving R. Kelly, which detailed numerous sexual assault allegations against the singer for decades.[249] A number of musicians who collaborated with Kelly expressed regret for working with him, including Celine Dion ("I'm Your Angel"), Nick Cannon ("Gigolo"), Chance the Rapper ("Somewhere in Paradise"), Lady Gaga ("Do What U Want"), and Jennifer Hudson ("It's Your World"). Some went the extent of having streaming services remove their own songs that feature his vocals or credit him for songwriting or production.[250]

As of October 2021, following his New York conviction, Kelly's YouTube channel was terminated,[251] but his catalogue remained available on YouTube Music.[252]

Alleged music industry complicity

In May 2018, The Washington Post reporter Geoff Edgers wrote "The Star Treatment", a lengthy article alleging music industry executives' willful blindness to Kelly's sexually abusive behavior toward underage girls. Edgers reported that as early as 1994, Kelly's tour manager urged Jive Records founder Clive Calder to tell Kelly he would not release the singer's records if he continued to have "incidents" with young women after every concert he gave. Calder told the Post that he regretted not having done more at the time, saying "Clearly, we missed something."[213]

Former Jive president Barry Weiss told the newspaper that during twenty years with the label he never concerned himself with Kelly's private life and was unaware of two lawsuits filed against Kelly and the label by young women alleging sexual misconduct while they were minors. Jive Records had, in fact, successfully argued it was not liable. Larry Khan, another Jive executive who worked closely with the singer even after viewing the sex tape, likewise implied it was not the label's responsibility, and pointed to Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis as musicians whose labels continued to release and promote their records despite public awareness that they were involved with underage girls.[213]

According to Post, executives at Epic Records also took a similarly relaxed attitude towards allegations of Kelly's sexual misconduct. In 2002, after Kelly signed with the label, executive David McPherson allegedly avoided viewing a copy of a tape purportedly showing the singer having sex with an underage girl; he simultaneously warned Kelly's assistant that if it turned out to be Kelly on that tape, the label would drop him. McPherson did not respond to the Post's requests for comment.[213]

An intern with the label whose work suffered after she began a relationship with Kelly, ultimately costing her the position, settled with Epic for $250,000. Cathy Carroll, the executive she worked for, regularly rebuked her former subordinate for having an affair with a married man whenever the two met at social functions for years afterwards, and the damage to the woman's reputation led her to abandon her career in the music industry. Carroll told the newspaper the woman was "starstruck ... A lot of times it's not really the men."[213]

The Washington Post also suggested the labels were complicit in the sex-cult allegations from the previous summer's BuzzFeed piece. Employees at the studios where Kelly recorded were required to sign non-disclosure agreements and not enter certain rooms, which they said they believed were where Kelly made the young women and underage girls stay while he worked. Despite the agreements, the newspaper was able to publish screenshots of text exchanges where young women and underage girls in the rooms asked Kelly's assistants to let them out so they could go to the bathroom or get food. The newspaper also published pictures taken after Kelly had concluded a six-week session at a Los Angeles studio, paid for by his former record label, RCA Records, showing a cup of urine sitting on a piano and urine stains on the wooden floor of another room.[213]

Surviving R. Kelly (2019–2020)

Main article: Surviving R. Kelly

In January 2019, Lifetime began airing a six-part documentary series titled Surviving R. Kelly detailing sexual abuse and misconduct allegations against Kelly.[253] Writing for the Los Angeles Times, Loraine Ali observed that the series covered a range of in-depth interviews that "paint a picture of a predator whose behavior was consistently overlooked by the industry, his peers and the public while his spiritual hit was sung in churches and schools."[254]

Within two weeks, Kelly launched a Facebook page where he sought to discredit the accusers who appeared in the docuseries. Facebook removed the page for violating their standards as it appeared to contain personal contact information for his accusers.[255] The second season titled Surviving R. Kelly Part II: The Reckoning premiered on January 2, 2020.[256] January 2–3, 2023 commences the dates of the final season titled Surviving R. Kelly: The Final Chapter, as confirmed on a December 14, 2022 trailer uploaded on Lifetime's YouTube account.[257][258]

Following airing of the Surviving R. Kelly documentary, Kelly was listed in Guinness World Records as the most searched for male musician on Google in 2019.[259] He ranked 8th overall on Google's list of the 10 most search for people for the year.[259]

CBS This Morning interview with Gayle King (2019)

On March 6, 2019, Gayle King interviewed Kelly on CBS This Morning.[260] Kelly insisted on his innocence and blamed social media for the allegations.[261] During the interview, Kelly had an emotional outburst where he stood up, pounded his chest, and yelled.[262] Asked by King about John Legend and Lady Gaga denouncing him, Kelly called them "not professional".[263][264]

The CBS This Morning segment also included two women whose parents claimed were brainwashed captives of Kelly. They described themselves as "girlfriends" of Kelly, defending and declaring their love for him, while also denouncing their parents.[265] Afterward, King would debrief with colleagues on the recording on the segment. She recalled that a condition for recording the segment with the "girlfriends" was that Kelly would not be in the room with them. Kelly had nevertheless stayed nearby during the recording and, according to King, Kelly would "cough really loudly" to remind the women of his presence.[266]

2019 Cook County arrest and indictments

On February 22, 2019, the Cook County State's Attorney's Office in Illinois charged Kelly with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse.[267] The charges allege that from 1998 to 2010, Kelly sexually abused four females, three of whom were teen minors at the time,[268] with evidence including a video provided by Michael Avenatti of an alleged new crime.[228] After Kelly turned himself in the day the charges were announced, he was arrested by the Chicago Police Department and taken into custody.[269]

The judge set bond at $1 million and ordered Kelly to have no contact with any minor under 18 or alleged victim.[270] Kelly pleaded not guilty to all charges, which he called lies. He was released on bail after three nights at Cook County Jail.[271]

On January 30, 2023, the Cook County District Attorney's office announced that several Illinois-specific charges against Kelly had been dropped, due to "him already being served justice in extensive federal sentences", preventing him to face more maximum prison time for state-related charges.[272][273][274]

Federal indictments and pretrial detention (2019–present)

The first grand jury indictment from the Eastern District of New York was handed down June 20, 2019.[275] On July 11, 2019, Kelly was arrested on federal charges alleging sex crimes and obstruction of justice by U.S. Homeland Security investigators and NYPD detectives in Chicago.[276][277][278][279][280][281] A day later, following his re-arrest, federal prosecutors from New York and Chicago indicted Kelly on 18 charges, including child sexual exploitation, child pornography production, sex trafficking, kidnapping, forced labor, racketeering, and obstruction of justice.

Following his re-arrest on the first superseding indictment, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York filed a letter in support of a permanent order of detention that previewed its case against Kelly, concluding that "preponderance of the evidence that the defendant’s release poses a both a risk of flight and a risk of obstruction of justice".[282] Kelly's first arraignment on the Eastern District case took place before a United States Magistrate Judge Steven Tiscione on August 2, 2019, where he plead not guilty. Judge Tiscione denied bail, on grounds of both dangerousness and flight risk.[283][284]

Kelly's lawyers made a request for pre-trial release October 2019 and were denied. His lawyers tried again to secure pre-trial release in 2020, citing the COVID-19 pandemic; the request was denied.[285][286][287]

Superseding indictments were filed in Chicago on February 13, 2020,[288] and in New York on March 13, 2020,[289] raising the total number of charges to 22. He was incarcerated at Metropolitan Correctional Center, Chicago from July 11, 2019, to June 23, 2021, when he was transferred to Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn.[290][291][292]

Hennepin County indictment (2019)

On August 5, 2019, the State's Attorney Office in Hennepin County, Minnesota charged Kelly with soliciting a minor and prostitution. Prosecutors alleged that in July 2001, following a concert in Minneapolis, Kelly had invited a girl up to his hotel room and paid her $200 to remove her clothing and dance with him.[293][294]

Trial in the Eastern District of New York (2021)

 
Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Superseding Indictment, United States of America v. Robert Sylvester Kelly

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York was the first federal court to indict Kelly; at the time, it was the only jurisdiction to take Kelly to trial following the charges filed in the wake of Surviving R. Kelly.[295] Investigations continued with Kelly indicted, jailed and awaiting trial. Before trial, prosecutors previewed a growing body of evidence including evidence of bribes and recordings of threats. It was a month before trial that prosecutors first accused Kelly of abusing a male victim, an underaged boy he met at McDonald's, as pattern evidence in his trial.[296]

Jury trial

With Judge Ann Donnelly presiding, voir dire in United States v. Robert Sylvester Kelly was held August 9, 2021.[297] The same day, Kelly's lawyers filed a last-second motion to dismiss charges related to his transmission of genital herpes to several of his victims; that Kelly knew of his infection and non-disclosure to his sexual partners is a criminal act under the Public Health Law of New York and was presented as a predicate act for the charge of racketeering as well as the violations of the Mann Act.[298][299] Judge Donnelly denied the motion, releasing a written decision after the trial.[300]

The federal jury trial began on August 18, 2021, with opening statements by prosecution and defense lawyers.[301] The first witness called was Jerhonda Pace, one of the subjects of Surviving R. Kelly whose identity is widely known. She was the first of any of Kelly's accusers to have ever testified against him in court.[302] Pace testified that Kelly's abuse included slapping, choking, and raping her.[303] On cross examination, Pace was asked about signing a statement that she had deceived Kelly about her age and replied that it was a condition of a settlement.[304]

In all, eleven witnesses at Kelly's trial accused him of abuse either sexual or physical, with some accusing him of both. Two accusers were men alleging Kelly had sexually abused them as children; one ("Louis") had recruited the other ("Alex") and testified as a cooperating witness. In addition, eight employees of Kelly's staff testified, corroborating details of Kelly's modus operandi.[305][306][307][308]

Toward the end of the testimony on September 15, 2021, video corroborating accusers' accounts of abuse was shown to the jury, but not the public nor media. The videos were alluded to in later closing arguments as depicting Kelly delivering a painful spanking to one accuser, and a lengthy recording in which Kelly demanded acts of coprophagia and urophagia to humiliate another accuser. As the jury deliberated, the press were allowed to listen to the audio portions to fulfill obligations of access to evidence; accounts confirm that Kelly and his victim's voices are heard narrating the graphic acts of abuse of the latter recording.[309][310] Months after the verdict, prosecutors disclosed that, following Kelly's orders, "[a]t least three women made videos of themselves eating feces and rubbing it over their bodies."[311]

Guilty verdicts

Jacquelyn M. Kasulis, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Peter C. Fitzhugh, Special Agent-in-Charge, Homeland Security Investigations, New York (HSI), announced the guilty verdict on September 27, 2021

After a six-week trial including two days of deliberations, on September 27, 2021, the jury returned a verdict of guilty on all nine counts of the verdict sheet. They include:

As described in a release by the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, the racketeering charge against Kelly specified the following predicate acts:[3]

Racketeering Act One – Bribery

Kelly bribed a state employee to create an identification card for Jane Doe #1, then 15 years old, so that Kelly could marry Jane Doe #1 because he believed she was pregnant and therefore the marriage could keep him out of jail.

Racketeering Acts Two, Seven and Ten – Sexual Exploitation of a Child – Jane Doe #2, Jane Doe #4 and Jane Doe #5

Kelly coerced Jane Doe #2, Jane Doe #4 and Jane Doe #5 to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing video recordings. Over the course of decades, he made these recordings, and other recordings of sexually explicit conduct, using VHS video cameras, Canon camcorders, iPhones and iPads.

Racketeering Acts Six, Eleven and Thirteen – Forced Labor – Jane Doe #4, Jane Doe #5 and Jane Doe #6

Kelly used the threat of physical harm and physical restraint to ensure that his victims, including Jane Doe #4, Jane Doe #5 and Jane Doe #6, performed sexually at his command. As to Jane Doe #4, he slapped her, choked her and spat on her, before demanding she give him oral sex. As to Jane Doe #5, over a period of years, he spanked her, viciously assaulted her, confined her for periods of days and otherwise manipulated her, to ensure that she would perform for him sexually, including with other women and a man. As to Jane Doe #6, he forced her to give him oral sex. When he did that, there was a gun within Kelly’s reach.

Racketeering Acts Five and Nine – Mann Act Violations – Jane Doe #4 and Jane Doe #5

Between May 2009 and January 2010, Kelly regularly spoke with Jane Doe #4 over the telephone to arrange for Jane Doe #4 to come to his residence in Olympia Fields for the purpose of illegal sexual activity, which was illegal because Jane Doe #4 was too young to consent to sex in Illinois. Similarly, between September 2015 and October 2015, Kelly transported Jane Doe #5, who was then 17 years old, from New York City to Oakland, California for the purpose of illegal sexual activity, as she was too young to consent to sex in California.

Racketeering Acts Eight, Thirteen and Fourteen – Mann Act Violations – Jane Doe #5 and Jane Doe #6

In April 2015, Kelly arranged for Jane Doe #5 to fly from her home in Orlando, Florida, to Los Angeles, California, for the purpose of illegal sexual activity, which was illegal because Kelly knew he had an incurable sexually transmitted disease (“STD”) and did not inform Jane Doe #5 about the STD prior to engaging in sexual intercourse with her. In May of 2017 and again in February of 2018, Kelly arranged for Jane Doe #6 to fly from her home in San Antonio, Texas, to La Guardia Airport in Queens, New York, for the purpose of illegal sexual activity, which again was illegal because Kelly failed to disclose that he had an incurable STD and obtain Jane Doe #6’s consent to engage in sexual intercourse under those circumstances.

— United States Department of Justice, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, “R. Kelly” Convicted of All Counts by a Federal Jury in Brooklyn

Post-verdict reaction

United States District Judge Ann Donnelly ordered Kelly to be kept in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn to await sentencing. Kelly faced a sentencing range of 10 years to life in prison,[314] and on June 29, 2022, was sentenced to spend 30 years behind bars.[315] After the jury delivered their verdict, women's rights attorney Gloria Allred, who represented several victims, stated that Kelly was the worst sexual predator she had pursued in her 47-year career of practicing law.[316][317][318][319]

Writing for The New Yorker, longtime Kelly critic Jim DeRogatis asked, "how many more victims are there who we don't know about? This case involved twenty women and two men, but there are likely many more." DeRogatis noted that before the trial, prosecutors had told the judge they would call Susan E. Loggans, a Chicago attorney who had negotiated settlements on behalf of several accusers who testified in the criminal case. Loggans was never actually called to the stand.[320]

On October 29, 2021, Kelly retained the services of Jennifer Ann Bonjean, who has helped overturn rape convictions for Bill Cosby and a victim of Jon Burge.[321] Kelly fired his other lawyers in January 2022.[322] Kelly appealed the verdict for this case in April 2023.[323]

Sentencing

U.S. Attorney Breon Peace and Executive Associate Director Steve Francis of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) deliver remarks after the sentencing of R. Kelly to 30 years in prison.

The sentencing process in the Eastern District of New York began with the presentation of the sealed Presentence Report (PSR) by the Office of Probation to the court on April 5, 2022.[324] Kelly's defense lawyer Jennifer Bonjean lodged several objections to the report's description of Kelly's conduct.[325]

The opposing sides differed sharply in assessments of applicable sentence. Bonjean filed a defense sentencing memorandum arguing that the applicable sentence according to United States Federal Sentencing Guidelines would be 168–210 months imprisonment, and that Kelly should receive less prison time. Arguing for leniency, Bonjean also wrote that a minor victim of Kelly was "a sophisticated 16-year-old".[326] In its own sentencing memorandum, prosecutors supported the application of several enhancements under Sentencing Guidelines, adding up to a sentence of 25 years-to-life imprisonment, and that "[g]iven the need for specific deterrence and incapacitation, the government respectfully submits that a shorter sentence would be insufficient to adequately protect the public."[327][311][328][329]

Kelly's defense submitted several exhibits of their own attesting to mitigating factors in a supplement to the sentencing memorandum. The exhibits were filed under seal.[330] Following an unsealing and redaction process, the court revealed that factors Kelly's defense cited were his history of adverse childhood experiences, including sexual abuse by his sister and his illiteracy. Defense experts diagnosed Kelly with hypersexuality.[331]

In the first half of Kelly's sentencing date of June 29, 2022, seven women were permitted to address court with their victim impact statements. According to Rolling Stone journalists, Kelly refused to look at them.[332] Judge Donnelly ended the day reportedly sentencing Kelly to 30 years imprisonment, admonishing his criminality as "calculated and carefully planned and regularly executed for almost 25 years".[333]

In her written judgment, Donnelly's sentence was apportioned as 30 years for the top charge of racketeering; 20 year sentences for three acts of Mann Act coercion and enticement; a 20-year sentence for one violation of the Mann Act transportation of a minor; and 10 years for three counts of Mann Act transportation across state lines for illegal sexual activity. These prison sentences will be served concurrently. Following Kelly's completing a prison sentence, Judge Donnelly ordered Kelly to serve 5 years of supervised release with conditions typical for sex offenders.[334]

In addition to prison time, Judge Donnelly levied a $100,000 fine plus a statutory $40,000 penalty under the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015.[334] Contesting the assessments, attorney Jennifer Bonjean claimed that Kelly has lost his income and is indigent. Prosecutors countered that Kelly has secretly sold rights to his composition and lyrics royalties for $5 million. On September 28, 2022, Kelly was ordered to pay restitution of $300,000 to one of his victims, with potential for tens of thousands of dollars more to pay for another victim.[335]

According to Bonjean, Kelly was "devastated" by his sentence but would appeal.[336] Following his sentencing, the Federal Bureau of Prisons placed Kelly under suicide watch.[337][338][339] His legal team argued that the measures were unnecessary, punitive and cruel, because he was never suicidal nor had he ever even thought about suicide.[340][341] However, prosecutors defended the placement, claiming it was for his own safety.[342] On Independence Day 2022, authorities removed Kelly from suicide watch.[343][344][345]

On July 13, 2022, Kelly transferred out of Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn to Metropolitan Correctional Center, Chicago in anticipation of a trial in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.[346]

Trial in the Northern District of Illinois (2022)

Parallel to Eastern District of New York prosecution, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago indicted Kelly alongside two alleged co-conspirators: his manager Derrel McDavid and his personal assistant Milton "June" Brown.[347] All pled "not guilty".[348][349][350] The case was tried before Judge Harry Leinenweber, and commenced on August 17, 2022.[27][351]

Allegations

The final superseding indictment of Kelly and his co-conspirators charged him with the following:[352]

  • Counts One through Four: Production of child pornography (18 U.S.C. § 2251(a)) for four videos filmed with "Minor 1" between 1998 and 1999.
  • Count Five: Conspiracy to defraud the United States (18 U.S.C. § 371) for various illegal acts from 2001 until 2015 to cover up offenses in the 2002 Cook County case.
  • Counts Six through Eight: Receipt of child pornography (18 USC § 2252A(a)(2) and § 2252A(b)(1)) conspiracies to obtain videos of child sexual abuse to conceal them.
  • Counts Nine through Thirteen: Child sex trafficking through coercion and enticement (18 U.S.C. § 2422(b)) of five unnamed victims (listed as Minors 1, 3, 4, 5, 6), for acts committed in the time span of 1996 through 2001.

Trial process

Jury selection began August 15, 2022.[353] Over 100 potential jurors were interviewed over two days. The regular jury of twelve persons consisted of four white women, four black women, two white men, and two black men.[354]

On the first day of testimony, the jury heard from a witness who is allegedly depicted in the child sexual abuse material revealed in 2002. Now 37, the alleged victim was allowed by the court to testify under the pseudonym "Jane". She testified that Kelly groomed her for sexual abuse starting when she was 13 years of age, presenting himself as a benevolent "godfather". Jane also told the jury that Kelly induced her to recruit other girls for abuse. Speaking to efforts to thwart law enforcement, Jane told the court that Kelly sent her to travel to the Bahamas and Cancun to keep her away from law enforcement, and coaxed her to lie to a grand jury.[355][356]

Also testifying was an individual who purchased a home previously owned by Kelly. The interior was alleged to match the 2002 video. The individual noted that after his purchase, he discovered a bedroom contained a camera disguised as a smoke detector and a secured door requiring a button to be pressed to leave.[356]

Verdict and sentencing

On September 14, the jury found Kelly guilty on three of thirteen charges of production of child pornography and three charges of enticing a child, but acquitted him and his alleged co-conspirators of trial fixing related to his 2008 state child pornography trial.[357]

Stating a case for leniency in a sentencing memorandum, Kelly's attorneys made a number of technical arguments about the Chicago federal case, but concedes repeated sexual encounters with the testifying victims when they were underage. Arguing for mitigation, the memorandum includes a passage written by expert witness Dr. Renee Sorentino arguing that Kelly is not a pedophile:[358]

I considered the diagnosis of Pedophilia given Mr. Kelly’s alleged history of sexual contact with minors. The diagnosis of Pedophilia is used to refer to individuals who experience recurrent, intense, sexually arousing fantasies or sexual urges involving sexual activity with prepubescent child or children (generally age 13 years of younger). I rejected the diagnosis because Mr. Kelly does not report a history of sexual arousal to prepubescent individual and his sexual behavior has never involved prepubescent individuals.

Dr. Sorentino is co-author of a paper arguing for a distinction beween pedophilia and ephebophilia, and using the term "minor-attracted person." The paper also cites research by the organization Virtuous Pedophiles.[359] Use of the term in a criminal justice context is controversial.[360]


In their own sentencing memorandum, prosecutors requested a 300-month prison sentence, to be served consecutively to the sentence from the Eastern District of New York (in effect life imprisonment). Arguing that Kelly's criminal conduct in Illinois is separate from the conduct of his previous conviction in New York and severe, the memorandum states in its opening paragraph:[361]

Robert Kelly is a serial sexual predator who, over the course of many years, specifically targeted young girls and went to great lengths to conceal his abuse of Jane and other minor victims. To this day, and even following the jury verdict against him, Kelly refuses to accept responsibility for his crimes. To the contrary, Kelly brazenly blames his victims and argues that his abuse of 14, 15, and 16 year-old girls was justified because some of his victims as minors “wanted to pursue a romantic and sexual connection” with him and others remained in contact with him as adults. At the age of 56 years old, Kelly’s lack of remorse and failure to grasp the gravity of his criminal conduct against children demonstrates that he poses a serious danger to society. Kelly goes so far as to insinuate that he—and not the young girls he abused— is the victim, because the federal government elected to prosecute him for egregious conduct that occurred throughout the United States for over 20 years.

Kelly was sentenced in Chicago federal court on February 23, 2023.[362][363] Judge Harry Leinenweber sentenced Kelly to 20 years: 19 concurrent to the 30 year sentence from New York and 1 year consecutively, effectively bringing his sentence to 31 years.[364]

Other court cases

Other than the federal sex abuse cases, Kelly has been involved in several high-profile criminal cases and lawsuits.

Criminal

  • August 13, 1997: Kelly was found guilty of battery and placed on unsupervised probation for one year in Lafayette, Louisiana as a result of a July 1996 brawl which involved the singer and his entourage. One of the victims needed a total of 110 facial stitches.[365]
  • April 8, 1998: Kelly was arrested in Chicago on three misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct, including one charge of violating noise ordinance for playing his music extremely loud from his car, during a test run. He was allegedly confrontational as he was arrested and placed into custody. The vehicle he was testing audio in was impounded and placed on a $500 daily recovery fee.[366] Prosecutors from the district attorney's office dropped the first two charges on May 7,[367] and the noise charge on July 22 that year.[368]
  • March 6, 2019: Kelly was taken to the Cook County Jail after failing to pay child support in the amount of $161,633 to his former wife, Andrea. Three days later, he was released after someone, whose identity was withheld, paid off the child support on his behalf. His lawyer says he could not discuss the payment due to a gag order.[369]

Civil suits

  • November 1, 2004: Kelly launched a $75 million lawsuit against former friend Jay-Z and several concert organizers and/or promoters for removing him from the Best of Both Worlds tour.[370] The lawsuit for breach of contract, which sought $75 million in damages ($60 million in punitive damages and $15 million for lost income) was a result of not being able to tour.[371]
  • January 2005: Jay-Z countersued the singer, claiming Kelly showed erratic behavior including being late or absent attendances, vacating deadlines, and continued demands or requests that led to several cancellations and resulted in loss of gross. Kelly's lawyers challenged it as "inaccurate smears of [Mr. Kelly] that are utterly irrelevant to the issues of the case" but confirmed the rapper's refusal to continue work with Kelly after the Madison Square Garden incident and thus broke the contract.[372] Jay-Z's counter suit was dismissed by a judge that May.[373][374]
  • November 2005: Kelly sued Jay-Z again, claiming that now Roc Nation executive Tyran "Ty Ty" Smith was awarded with the position of vice president at the artist and repertoire department of Def Jam Recordings (which Jay was president of at the time), as a result of the latter pepper-spraying Kelly on October 29, 2004.[375]

Personal life

Kelly's mother, Joanne, died from cancer in 1993.[376] He has given conflicting accounts of where he was during his mother's passing.[45] His oldest daughter, JoAnn (born in 1998), was named after the singer's mother, but is also known as Buku Abi.[377]

In 1996, Kelly married Andrea Kelly (née Lee), his former backup dancer and mother of his three children, the aforementioned JoAnn, as well as Jaah (b. 2000), and Robert, Jr. (b. 2002).[378][379] Andrea filed a restraining order against Kelly in September 2005 after a physical altercation, ultimately filing for divorce in 2006.[380] In January 2009, their divorce was finalized after 13 years of marriage.[210][381] In later years, Andrea accused Kelly of physical, verbal, and mental abuse, including in Surviving R. Kelly (2019).[382][383][384]

Kelly reportedly had a long relationship with gospel singer Deleon Richards in the 1990s. In 2005, a Chicago man was charged for attempting to extort Richards' husband, Gary Sheffield, by allegedly threatening to release a sex tape of Richards with an ex-boyfriend, reportedly Kelly.[385] In January 2006, the man was sentenced to 27 months in prison.[386]

Philanthropy

  • In April 2007, Kelly released the song "Rise Up" for Virginia Tech after the 2007 school shooting and donated the net proceeds to the families of the victims.[387]
  • In 2010, Kelly penned the song "Sign of a Victory" for the FIFA World Cup, with all proceeds benefiting African charities.[388]
  • On April 6, 2011, he performed at a charity event in Chicago benefiting Clara's House, a facility designed to build employment, housing, health care, and education in the projects of Chicago.[389]
  • In 2016, Kelly donated cases of water to the Flint water crisis.[390]

Books

See also

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April 29, 2023
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For the album see R Kelly album Robert Sylvester Kelly born January 8 1967 better known as R Kelly is an American musician convicted felon racketeer and sex offender 3 4 Kelly sold more than 75 million records worldwide 5 6 He won three Grammys for his song I Believe I Can Fly and was also nominated for his song You Are Not Alone recorded by Michael Jackson 7 Critics dubbed him the King of R amp B 8 9 10 while he billed himself the Pied Piper of R amp B 11 R KellyKelly s Polk County mugshot in July 2002BornRobert Sylvester Kelly 1967 01 08 January 8 1967 age 56 Chicago Illinois U S Other namesPied PiperKellzOccupationsSinger songwriter record producerYears active1989 2019SpousesAaliyah m 1994 ann 1995 wbr Andrea Lee m 1996 div 2009 wbr Children3AwardsFull listCriminal informationCriminal statusIncarcerated at FCI Butner Medium I in Butner North CarolinaConviction s Racketeeringsexual exploitation of a childbriberysex traffickingviolation of the Mann Act 1 2021 enticing a childproducing child pornography 2022 Criminal penalty31 years imprisonment 2 Date apprehendedFebruary 22 2019Musical careerGenresR amp B soul gospel hip hopLabelsRockland Jive RCAWebsiter kelly wbr comInvestigations by law enforcement and journalists revealed that Kelly used his fame to seek out underage fans for sex 12 13 14 15 Video recordings of these encounters led the Cook County State s Attorney to prosecute him for child pornography 16 Kelly won acquittal in 2008 17 18 Testifying years later a victim depicted in the video testified to Kelly using bribes and threats to stop her and her family from pressing charges 19 Kelly s lawyer Ed Genson told the Chicago Sun Times Kelly was guilty as hell 20 The 2019 documentary television series Surviving R Kelly reexamined accusations of Kelly s sexual misconduct with minors triggering a backlash and leading RCA Records to terminate their contract with him 21 Law enforcement pursued new criminal cases in multiple jurisdictions resulting in Kelly s arrest on July 2019 22 23 24 25 A 2021 trial in Brooklyn federal court convicted Kelly for violations of the Mann Act and racketeering 26 A 2022 trial in Chicago federal court convicted him for three child pornography charges and three charges of enticing a minor 27 28 29 He was sentenced to serve 31 years imprisonment in a combination of concurrent and consecutive sentences 30 31 As of 2023 he is an inmate of Metropolitan Correctional Center Chicago He continues to challenge his two convictions 32 33 34 Contents 1 Early life 1 1 Trauma and abuse 1 2 Turn toward music 2 Musical career 2 1 1989 1996 Born into the 90 s 12 Play and R Kelly 2 2 1995 1996 R Kelly and I Believe I Can Fly 2 3 1997 2001 Basketball R TP 2 COM and Rockland Records 2 4 2002 2003 The Best of Both Worlds and Chocolate Factory 2 5 2004 2005 Unfinished Business Happy People U Saved Me and TP 3 Reloaded 2 6 2006 2009 Double Up and Untitled Africa 2 7 2010 2012 Epic Love Letter throat surgery and Write Me Back 2 8 2013 2017 Black Panties The Buffet and 12 Nights of Christmas 2 9 2017 2022 Guest appearances I Admit 2 10 Touring career 2 11 Artistry 2 11 1 Musical style and influences 2 11 2 Vocal style and lyrical themes 2 11 3 Influence 2 12 Honors and awards 3 Abuse scandals and court cases 3 1 Early sexual abuse accusations 1990s 2000s 3 1 1 First reports 3 1 2 Illegal marriage 1994 3 1 3 Exposure of child sexual abuse material and indictment 2002 3 1 4 Allegations of child molestation 2009 3 2 Second series of accusations 2010s present 3 2 1 Huffington Post Live interview 2015 3 2 2 Alleged sex cult 2010s 3 2 3 Boycott and industry response 3 2 4 Alleged music industry complicity 3 2 5 Surviving R Kelly 2019 2020 3 2 6 CBS This Morning interview with Gayle King 2019 3 2 7 2019 Cook County arrest and indictments 3 2 8 Federal indictments and pretrial detention 2019 present 3 2 9 Hennepin County indictment 2019 3 3 Trial in the Eastern District of New York 2021 3 3 1 Jury trial 3 3 2 Guilty verdicts 3 3 3 Post verdict reaction 3 3 4 Sentencing 3 4 Trial in the Northern District of Illinois 2022 3 4 1 Allegations 3 4 2 Trial process 3 4 3 Verdict and sentencing 3 5 Other court cases 3 5 1 Criminal 3 5 2 Civil suits 4 Personal life 4 1 Philanthropy 5 Books 6 See also 7 References 8 External linksEarly lifeRobert Sylvester Kelly was born on the South Side of Chicago Illinois 35 on January 8 1967 36 at Chicago Lying In Hospital now University of Chicago Medical Center in the city s Hyde Park neighborhood He has five siblings three of which are half 37 two older sisters 38 and brother along with a younger brother and sister 39 40 His mother Joanne was a schoolteacher and devout Baptist 41 She was born in Arkansas 37 The identity of his father who was absent from Kelly s life and later raised two children 38 is not known 41 His family lived in the Ida B Wells Homes public housing project in the Black Metropolis Bronzeville District of Chicago s Douglas neighborhood also on the city s south side 42 Around the time he was five years old Kelly s mother married his stepfather Lucious who reportedly worked for an airline 37 Kelly began singing in the church choir at age eight 39 Trauma and abuse Kelly described having a girlfriend Lulu at age eight in his autobiography He stated that their last play date turned tragic when after fighting with older children over a play area by a creek she was pushed into the water swept downstream by a fast moving current and drowned Kelly called Lulu his first musical inspiration 43 Kelly said members of his household would act differently when his mother and grandparents were not home 44 41 From age 8 to 14 he was sexually abused by an older female family member 37 45 Kelly s younger brother Carey stated that he suffered from years of sexual abuse at the hands of his older sister Theresa who was entrusted with babysitting her siblings 46 47 Carey stated that although their older brother Bruce was spared and allowed to play outside both him and Kelly were punished at separate times indoors by Theresa who refused to acknowledge the abuse when confronted years later 46 47 Explaining why he never told anyone Kelly wrote in his 2012 autobiography Soulacoaster The Diary of Me that he was too afraid and too ashamed 43 Around age 10 Kelly was also sexually abused by an older male who was a friend of the family 37 In his autobiography Kelly described being shot in the shoulder at age 11 by boys who were attempting to steal his bike 43 although a family friend later stated that Kelly had shot himself while attempting suicide 37 Turn toward music As a teenager Kelly began busking at Chicago L stations on the Red Line CTA In September 1980 Kelly entered Kenwood Academy in the city s Hyde Park Kenwood district where he met music teacher Lena McLin who encouraged Kelly to perform the Stevie Wonder classic Ribbon in the Sky in the high school talent show 48 A shy Kelly put on sunglasses was escorted onto the stage sang the song and won first prize 41 49 50 McLin encouraged Kelly to leave the high school basketball team and concentrate on music She said he was furious at first but after his performance in the talent show he changed his mind 51 Kelly was diagnosed with dyslexia 52 which left him unable to read or write 53 45 Kelly dropped out of high school after attending Kenwood Academy for one year 54 He began performing in the subway under the Chicago L tracks 54 He regularly busked at the L stop on the Red Line s Jackson station in the Loop 37 In his youth Kelly played basketball with Illinois state champion basketball player Ben Wilson 37 and later sang It s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday at Wilson s funeral 55 Musical careerSee also R Kelly discography R Kelly production discography and R Kelly videography During his recording career Kelly sold over 75 million records worldwide making him the most commercially successful male R amp B artist of the 1990s and one of the world s best selling music artists 5 6 He won three Grammys for his song I Believe I Can Fly and was also nominated for his song You Are Not Alone recorded by Michael Jackson 7 Critics dubbed him the King of R amp B 8 9 10 while he billed himself the Pied Piper of R amp B 11 1989 1996 Born into the 90 s 12 Play and R Kelly Main articles Public Announcement group Born into the 90 s and 12 Play MGM Musically Gifted Men or Mentally Gifted Men 37 was formed in 1989 with Robert Kelly Marc McWilliams Vincent Walker and Shawn Brooks In 1990 MGM were offered a contract with an independent label Tavdash Records 56 Shortly after they recorded and released one single Why You Wanna Play Me 57 Kelly gained national recognition when MGM participated on the talent TV show Big Break hosted by Natalie Cole 58 MGM performed All My Love which would become a demo for Kelly s song She s Got That Vibe 59 The group went on to win the 100 000 grand prize in 1991 before they disbanded 60 61 In 1991 Kelly signed with Jive Records 57 Kelly s debut album Born into the 90 s was released in early 1992 credited as R Kelly and Public Announcement The album released during the new jack swing period of the early 1990s yielded the R amp B hits She s Got That Vibe Honey Love Dedicated and Slow Dance Hey Mr DJ with Kelly singing lead vocals 62 During late 1992 Kelly and Public Announcement embarked on a tour entitled 60653 after the zip code of their Chicago neighborhood 39 This would be the only album co credited with Public Announcement Kelly separated from the group in 1993 41 When I create a song for myself or another artist I see the entire thing what the song should be like how it should be produced how the video should look the image of the artist for the single it s a package deal R Kelly 1994 63 Kelly s first solo album 12 Play was released on November 9 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 amp B Singles chart Subsequent hit singles Your Body s Callin U S Hot 100 13 U S R amp B 2 and Sex Me U S Hot 100 20 U S R amp B 8 Both singles sold 500 000 copies in the United States and were certified Gold by the RIAA 62 In 1994 12 Play was certified Gold by the RIAA eventually going six times platinum 64 In 1994 Kelly established himself as a leading producer by producing songs for various artists including Aaliyah Janet Jackson and Changing Faces 65 He co headlined a tour with Salt N Pepa and headlined the Budweiser Superfest tour 66 63 1995 1996 R Kelly and I Believe I Can Fly Main articles R Kelly album and I Believe I Can Fly In 1995 Kelly garnered his first Grammy nominations two for writing producing and composing Michael Jackson s last number one hit You Are Not Alone 7 67 Kelly s success continued with the November 14 1995 release of R Kelly his eponymous second studio album Critics praised him for his departure from salacious bedroom songs to embracing vulnerability New York Times contributor Stephen Holden described Kelly as The reigning king of pop soul sex talks a lot tougher than Barry White the father of such fluffed up pillow talks and along with Marvin Gaye and Donny Hathaway both major influences for Kelly 68 In December 1995 Professor Michael Eric Dyson critiqued Kelly s self titled album R Kelly for VIBE Dyson described Kelly s growth from the 12 Play album Kelly reshapes his personal turmoil to artistic benefit and noted that Kelly is reborn before our very own ears 69 The album reached number one on the Billboard 200 chart becoming Kelly s first number one album on the chart and reached number one on the R amp B album charts his second The R Kelly album spawned three platinum hit singles You Remind Me of Something U S Hot 100 4 U S R amp B 1 I Can t Sleep Baby If I U S Hot 100 5 U S R amp B 1 and Down Low Nobody Has To Know U S Hot 100 4 U S R amp B 1 a duet with Ronald Isley Kelly s self titled album sold four million copies receiving 4 platinum certification from the RIAA 64 He promoted the album with a 50 city Down Low Top Secret Tour with LL Cool J Xscape and Solo 70 On November 26 1996 Kelly released 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 7 62 In that same year he contributed to Freak Tonight for the A Thin Line Between Love and Hate soundtrack 1997 2001 Basketball R TP 2 COM and Rockland Records Main articles Rockland Records R R Kelly album and TP 2 com In 1997 Kelly signed a contract to play professional basketball with the Atlantic City Seagulls of the USBL 71 He wore the number 12 in honor of his album 12 Play 72 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 73 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 said Ken Gross the Seagulls owner who signed Kelly he would be able to leave the team to do that and come back It wasn t a gimmick Gross continued he s a ballplayer He can play 74 In the same year Kelly collaborated with American rapper The Notorious B I G for the song Fuck You Tonight on the posthumous album Life After Death 75 In 1998 he launched his own label Rockland Records in a distribution deal with Jimmy Iovine s Interscope Records The label s roster included artists Sparkle Boo amp Gotti Talent Vegas Cats Lady Frankie Secret Weapon and Rebecca F 76 77 That May Sparkle Rockland s first signed artist released her eponymous debut album In addition to producing and writing the project Kelly made vocal contribution to the hit duet Be Careful which became a serious factor as to why the album was certified platinum in December 2000 78 On November 17 1998 Kelly released his fourth studio and first double album R Musically the album spans different genres from pop Celine Dion street rap Nas and Jay Z to Blues Suicide Dave Hoekstra of the Los Angeles Times described the album as easily the most ambitious project of his career 79 In the summer of 1999 he wrote and produced a majority of the soundtrack to the Martin Lawrence and Eddie Murphy film Life which features tracks from K Ci amp JoJo Maxwell Mya and Destiny s Child among others The soundtrack was also released on the Rockland imprint 80 In early 2000 Kelly received multiple awards reflecting his status as an established R amp B superstar In January 2000 he won Favorite Male Soul R amp B Artist at the American Music Awards and in February was nominated for several Grammy Awards including Best Male R amp B Vocal Performance When a Woman s Fed Up Best R amp B Album R and Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group Satisfy You with P Diddy 7 81 On November 7 2000 he released his fifth studio album TP 2 com a project aligned with his breakthrough album 12 Play Unlike R all songs on TP 2 com were written arranged and produced by Kelly AllMusic s Jason Birchmeier gave TP 2 com 4 stars and stated Kelly knows how to take proven formulas and funnel them through his own stylistic aesthetic which usually means slowing down the tempo laying on lush choruses of strings and background vocals taming down the lyrics for radio and catering his pitch primarily to wistful women 82 In 2001 Kelly won the Outstanding Achievement Award at the Music of Black Origin or MOBO Awards and Billboard magazine ranked TP 2 com number 94 on the magazine s Top 200 Albums of the Decade 83 Kelly s song The World s Greatest from the soundtrack to the 2001 autobiographical film Ali was a hit 84 2002 2003 The Best of Both Worlds and Chocolate Factory Main articles The Best of Both Worlds Jay Z and R Kelly album and Chocolate Factory On January 24 2002 at a press conference announcing the completion of Kelly and Jay Z s first collaborative album The Best of Both Worlds celebrities such as Johnnie Cochran Russell Simmons Luther Vandross and Sean Combs praised the album with Jay Z stating that he hoped the collaboration represents more unity for black people on a whole 85 MTV s Shaheem Reid wrote And if Jay and Kelly can put their egos to the side long enough to wrap up and promote their album then their labels Def Jam and Jive respectively can surely figure out a way to join forces and make cheddar together 85 On February 8 2002 Kelly performed at the closing ceremony of the 2002 Winter Olympics at the same time a news scandal broke of a sex tape that appeared to show Kelly with an underage girl 86 When the joint album leaked on February 22 2002 it caused Jay Z and Damon Dash s label Def Jam distributed Roc A Fella and Jive to modify the album s release date in March 87 Jay Z expressed frustration about the album leak to MTV News It s the gift and the curse It s an honor that everybody wants your music fast but on the other hand it s another thing when the music gets out before you want it to Because that s your art You feel attached to it You feel a certain way and you want people to go out and support it The time that you take it s like a piece of your life You take parts of your life and you put it on these records and then for it to just be traded and moved around is frustrating 87 Upon release on March 19 2002 The Best of Both Worlds sold 285 000 copies in its opening week and debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 88 It was a critical and commercial disappointment 89 In May 2002 Kelly s initial sixth studio album Loveland leaked and was delayed for releasing in November 90 Kelly restructured the album which was later packaged as a deluxe edition bonus disc of the now renamed Chocolate Factory 91 In October of that year Kelly released the remix to its single Ignition It charted at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 92 93 On February 18 2003 Kelly released the album Chocolate Factory It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 ending the first two week run of rapper 50 Cent s Get Rich or Die Tryin 94 It sold 532 000 copies in its first week 95 The album was also supported by its follow up singles Snake and the remix of Step in the Name of Love the latter of which peaked at number nine on the Hot 100 Later that year in September Kelly s first greatest hits album The R in R amp B Collection Vol 1 was released which included Thoia Thoing and two other previously unreleased songs 96 2004 2005 Unfinished Business Happy People U Saved Me and TP 3 Reloaded Main articles Unfinished Business Jay Z and R Kelly album Happy People U Saved Me and TP 3 Reloaded Between mid 2003 and early 2004 Kelly began work on a double CD album one with happy tracks and another with inspirational tracks The double album Happy People U Saved Me was released on August 24 2004 It debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 with first week sales of 264 000 copies 97 Both of the album s titled tracks respectively performed underwhelmingly Happy People charted at number twenty nine on the Adult R amp B song chart while U Saved Me peaked at number fifty two on the Billboard Hot 100 98 99 Two months later Kelly and Jay Z reunited to release their second collaborative album Unfinished Business The album received criticism and as with the pair s previous collaboration it was also a commercial failure despite debuting at number one on the Billboard 200 Album promotion and its Best of Both Worlds tour were both plagued by tension between the stars with Kelly reportedly showing up late or not at all to gigs 100 Kelly complained that the touring lights were not directed towards him and allegedly assaulted the tour s lighting director 100 Jay Z eventually removed Kelly halfway through the tour after a member of Jay Z s entourage pepper sprayed Kelly 101 on October 29 2004 102 Tyran Ty Ty Smith was charged with assault but took a plea deal for disorderly conduct 102 Kelly bounced back commercially after appearing on Ja Rule s single Wonderful alongside Ashanti The song charted at number five on the Billboard Hot 100 topped the UK Singles Chart and went platinum in the summer of 2005 103 After finishing Happy People U Saved Me and Unfinished Business in 2004 104 Kelly released TP 3 Reloaded in July 2005 105 It became Kelly s fifth consecutive number one album in his career TP 3 Reloaded was heavily cross promoted by the first five chapters of Kelly s musical serial Trapped in the Closet 106 2006 2009 Double Up and Untitled Africa Main articles Double Up R Kelly album and Untitled R Kelly album In December 2006 Kelly built momentum for his eighth solo studio album Double Up after guest appearing on Bow Wow s I m a Flirt 107 Three months later Kelly s remix of I m a Flirt was released but instead of Bow Wow it featured T I and T Pain On May 29 2007 the album was released It became Kelly s sixth and final album in his career to chart at number one on the Billboard 200 108 Kelly s other singles from Double Up titled Same Girl was a duet of Kelly and Usher 109 while Rise Up was a tribute to the victims of the Virginia Tech shooting that occurred earlier that year in April a month before the album was released 110 The song was previously released as a digital download on May 15 2007 Proceeds were donated to the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund to help family members of the victims of the shootings 111 Kelly began his Double Up tour with Ne Yo Keyshia Cole and J Holiday opening for him One week into the tour 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 112 Ne Yo won a lawsuit that he filed against Rowe Entertainment in 2008 113 Kelly was not mentioned in the lawsuit In December 2007 Kelly failed to appear at another preliminary court hearing on his case due to his tour bus being held up in Utah 114 The judge threatened to revoke Kelly s bond but eventually decided against it In 2008 Kelly released a rap track titled I m a Beast in which he coarsely attacked his detractors yet did not name the subjects of the song 115 In 2008 before and after being acquitted on charges of producing child sexual abuse material 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 named Kelly among the most successful artists ever for its 50th Anniversary List 116 In the spring the promotional single Hair Braider peaked at No 56 on Billboard s R amp B chart On July 28 the entire album leaked online causing the title to be scrapped 117 In February 2009 Kelly announced that he was working on a new album called Untitled 118 with a projected release date of September 29 but it had been delayed to December 119 In June 2009 he released his first mixtape The Demo Tape presented by DJ Skee and DJ Drama 120 Kelly headlined the Arise African Fashion Awards in Johannesburg South Africa on June 20 2009 121 He performed in Cape Town followed by Nigeria as part of the annual ThisDay music and fashion festival in July That same month he released Number One featuring singer songwriter Keri Hilson Then on December 1 Kelly s untitled ninth solo album was released 122 It charted on the Billboard 200 at number four 123 124 More singles from the album include Echo Supaman High and Be My 2 In January 2010 Kelly performed in Kampala Uganda 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 125 2010 2012 Epic Love Letter throat surgery and Write Me Back Main articles Epic R Kelly album Love Letter R Kelly album and Write Me Back Kelly performed at the 2010 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony on June 11 2010 126 In an interview in the September 2010 issue of XXL magazine Kelly said he was working on three new albums Epic Love Letter and Zodiac which he described as remixing himself 127 Epic a compilation filled with powerful ballads including The World s Greatest and Sign of a Victory only saw a European release on September 21 2010 128 However it is also available for streaming worldwide 129 In November 2010 Kelly collaborated with several African musicians forming a supergroup known as One8 The group featured 2Face from Nigeria Ali Kiba from Tanzania Congolese 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 was Hands Across the World written and produced by Kelly 130 131 Kelly s tenth album Love Letter released on December 14 2010 included 15 songs one of which was Kelly singing You Are Not Alone a track Kelly originally wrote for Michael Jackson The first single When a Woman Loves was nominated for a Grammy for Best Traditional R amp B Vocal Performance at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards 7 At the 2011 Pre Grammy Gala in Los Angeles Kelly performed a medley of hits and in March 2011 Kelly was named the No 1 R amp B artist of the last 25 years by Billboard 132 133 On July 19 2011 Kelly was admitted to the Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago to undergo emergency throat surgery to drain an abscess on one of his tonsils and was released on July 21 2011 134 He cancelled his performance at the Reggae Sumfest in Jamaica that was scheduled for the following Friday Johnny Gourzong Sumfest Productions executive director commented We are truly going to miss his presence on the festival 135 136 On September 23 2011 Variety confirmed that Kelly had signed on to write original music for the Sparkle soundtrack 137 In 2011 Kelly worked with writer David Ritz on an autobiography entitled Soulacoaster The Diary of Me which was later released in the summer of 2012 138 On October 7 2011 after Sony s RCA Music Group announced the consolidation of Jive Arista and J Records into RCA Records 139 140 Kelly was set to release music under the RCA brand 141 142 Following his throat surgery Kelly released Shut Up to generally favorable reviews Spin magazine said Kelly taking aim at the haters who said he s washed up he s lost it He hasn t Dude s voice is in prime smooth R amp B form 143 On December 21 2011 Kelly made a live appearance on The X Factor and gave his first performance after the surgery Kelly revealed to Rolling Stone that he felt like he was just starting out and how the performance was a wake up call for him 144 In 2012 Kelly made a series of announcements including a follow up to the Love Letter album titled Write Me Back which was released on June 26 to little fanfare 145 as well as a third installment of Trapped in the Closet 146 and The Single Ladies Tour featuring R amp B singer Tamia 147 148 149 In February 2012 Kelly performed I Look to You a song he wrote for Whitney Houston at Houston s homegoing 150 2013 2017 Black Panties The Buffet and 12 Nights of Christmas Main articles Black Panties The Buffet R Kelly album and 12 Nights of Christmas During 2013 Kelly continued his The Single Ladies Tour He performed at music festivals across North America including Bonnaroo Pitchfork and Macy s Music Festival On June 30 2013 R Kelly performed live at BET Awards Show singing hits as well as his new track My Story featuring Atlanta rapper 2 Chainz The song was the lead single for Kelly s twelfth studio album Black Panties 151 released on December 10 2013 152 Writing for New York magazine David Marchese stated that Black Panties was like a dare to the world After all that he d been accused of after avoiding conviction could R Kelly still get away with making sex obsessed music 53 In 2013 Kelly collaborated with several artists including Celine Dion Mariah Carey 153 Mary J Blige 154 and Jennifer Hudson 155 In an interview with Global Grind in November he described follow up work with Celine Dion after their number one single I m Your Angel from 1998 156 Kelly worked with singer Mariah Carey for her album The Art of Letting Go 153 Kelly co wrote and sang on Lady Gaga s song Do What U Want from her 2013 album Artpop performing the duet with her on Saturday Night Live on November 16 2013 157 and at the 2013 American Music Awards 158 53 Do What U Want had since been removed from streaming services and re releases of Gaga s Artpop album following sexual misconduct allegations against Kelly in early 2019 159 160 161 He also collaborated with Birdman and Lil Wayne on We Been On a single from the Cash Money Records compilation Rich Gang He also appeared on Twista s first single on his new album Dark Horse 162 163 On November 17 2013 Kelly and Justin Bieber debuted a collaboration entitled PYD 164 165 Kelly was featured on the soundtrack album of the film The Best Man Holiday with his song Christmas I ll Be Steppin 166 Kelly stated his intention to tour with R amp B singer Mary J Blige on The King amp Queen Tour prior to the Black Panties Tour while continuing to create segments of the hip hopera Trapped in the Closet 167 In July 2014 Kelly announced that he was working on a house music album 168 In November 2015 Kelly released Switch Up featuring fellow Chicagoan Jeremih and Lil Wayne followed by Wake Up Everybody Marching Band and Backyard Party The following month the album containing those singles The Buffet was released It charted poorly on the Billboard 200 at number sixteen with first week sales of 39 000 album equivalent copies 169 During November 2015 R Kelly released a song with Ty Dolla ign called Actress off the album Free TC The following year after a two and a half year delay Kelly presented his only Christmas album also his fourteenth and final studio album in his career thus far 12 Nights of Christmas which was released on October 21 2016 170 2017 2022 Guest appearances I Admit Main article I Admit R Kelly song On March 17 Pitbull released the song Dedicated off his album Climate Change and features guest appearances from American singers R Kelly and Austin Mahone Kelly released the 19 minute long I Admit on SoundCloud on July 23 2018 as a response to his accusers 171 172 The song does not contain any criminal admissions despite its title and chorus which repeats the lyric I admit it I did it 173 174 In I Admit Kelly denies allegations of domestic violence and pedophilia asserting that they are matters of opinion 174 Kelly also denounces Jim DeRogatis and repudiates his investigative report s claim of Kelly operating a sex cult 171 Addressing the Mute R Kelly social media campaign Kelly sings only God can mute me 175 176 The song was criticized by reviewers who described it as an act of trolling 177 178 Many outlets compared the song to that of his Heaven I Need a Hug extended version Trapped in the Closet opera I Believe I Can Fly concert remix and O J Simpson s autobiographical novel If I Did It 179 180 Andrea Kelly and Carey Killa Kelly R Kelly s ex wife and brother respectively responded to I Admit with songs that contain additional allegations against R Kelly 181 182 An album credited to Kelly titled I Admit It after and including the 19 minute song from 2018 was released on streaming services on December 9 2022 but was taken down after it was not approved by Sony or R Kelly s team The album was credited to Sony s Legacy Recordings but actually uploaded by Real Talk Entertainment who had released the album through a sub label also named Legacy Recordings This resulted in the credited distributor Universal Music Group owned Ingrooves cutting ties with Real Talk Entertainment 183 Touring career Kelly toured extensively as a live musician His concert tours included 60653 Tour w Public Announcement 1993 39 The 12 Play Very Necessary Tour with Salt N Pepa 1994 The Down Low Top Secret Tour with LL Cool J Xscape and Solo 1996 70 The Get Up on a Room Tour with Kelly Price Nas Foxy Brown and Deborah Cox 1999 The TP 2 com Tour with Sunshine Anderson amp Syleena Johnson 2001 The Key in the Ignition Tour with Ashanti 2003 The Best Of Both Worlds Tour w Jay Z 2004 184 The Light It Up Tour 2006 The Double Up Tour with J Holiday amp Keyshia Cole 2007 The Ladies Make Some Noise Tour with K Michelle 2009 Love Letter Tour with Keyshia Cole amp Marsha Ambrosius 2011 The Single Ladies Tour with Tamia 2012 13 Black Panties Tour 2014 16 The Buffet Tour 2016 Artistry Musical style and influences Kelly s music took root in R amp B hip hop and soul He was influenced by listening to his mother Joanne Kelly sing She played records by Donny Hathaway and Marvin Gaye inspirations for Kelly 185 186 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 185 In his autobiography Kelly stated that he was heavily influenced by Marvin Gaye s R amp B Lothario image I had to make a baby makin album If Marvin Gaye did it I wanted to do it Kelly said 44 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 62 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 73 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 amp B Thug bringing the streetwise persona of the gangsta rapper into the more polite world of R amp B 187 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 188 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 187 Influence Kelly is considered to be one of the most successful R amp B artists since the mid 1980s 133 He is also one of the best selling 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 189 Rolling Stone magazine called him arguably the most important R amp B figure of the 1990s and 2000s 190 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 191 In addition to his solo and collaboration success Kelly has also written and produced several hit songs such as 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 R Kelly has been compared to artists like Sam Cooke and Marvin Gaye 191 Honors and awards See also List of awards and nominations received by R Kelly Kelly has received and been nominated for multiple awards as a songwriter producer and singer He won three Grammy Awards for his song I Believe I Can Fly Best Male R amp B Vocal Performance Best Rhythm and Blues Song and Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television 7 After Kelly s federal conviction in New York The Recording Academy received major backlash in 2021 for refusing to strip Kelly of his awards 192 Kelly was given a key to the city of Baton Rouge Louisiana in 2013 as an artist whose music brings generations together 193 On September 30 2021 following his New York conviction of multiple sex crimes the key was rescinded 194 195 Abuse scandals and court casesKelly has repeatedly faced allegations of sexual abuse that have resulted in multiple civil suits and criminal trials activities culminating in a 2021 conviction for violations of the Mann Act and Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act Defenders of Kelly maintain that he is merely a playboy and a sex symbol 196 Judge Ann Donnelly who presided over Kelly s 2021 trial summarized Kelly s actions as having used his fame and organization to lure young people into abusive sexual relationships a racketeering enterprise that the government alleged spanned about 25 years 197 Early sexual abuse accusations 1990s 2000s First reports In December 2000 the Chicago Sun Times first reported that police had made two investigations that Kelly was having sex with an underage female but had to drop the investigations due to lack of cooperation by the girls accusing him 198 A civil suit filed in 1996 by Tiffany Hawkins detailed allegations that starting in 1991 when she was age 15 24 year old Kelly had sexual relations with her as an underage high school student encouraged her to recruit her school friends and pressured her into engaging in group sex with other underage girls 199 200 In 1998 Kelly settled the lawsuit with Hawkins for 250 000 201 198 Illegal marriage 1994 Further information Marriage age in the United States In 1991 Barry Hankerson introduced his niece Aaliyah to Kelly when she was 12 years old 202 198 I saw her as a star the minute I heard her sing and dance Kelly said 45 A witness later testified that Kelly had sexual contact with Aaliyah starting when she was 13 or 14 years old 203 204 Kelly wrote and produced Aaliyah s debut album Age Ain t Nothing but a Number which was released in May 1994 205 On August 31 1994 Kelly then 27 married Aaliyah then 15 in a secret ceremony at Sheraton Gateway Suites in Rosemont Illinois 206 198 Reportedly Kelly married Aaliyah after he found out she was pregnant 207 208 Their marriage certificate was published in the Dec 1994 Jan 1995 issue of Vibe magazine 209 Their marriage was annulled in February 1995 at the behest of Aaliyah s family by a Michigan judge 210 In May 1997 Aaliyah filed a lawsuit in Cook County to have the marriage record expunged stating that she was underage at the time of marriage had lied by signing the marriage certificate as an 18 year old and that she could not legally enter into marriage without parental consent 198 Kelly and Aaliyah both denied that their relationship had moved beyond friendship 211 In 2016 Kelly told GQ magazine Well because of Aaliyah s passing I will never have that conversation with anyone Out of respect for Aaliyah and her mother and father who has asked me not to personally But I can tell you I loved her I can tell you she loved me we was very close We were you know best best best best friends 45 In 2019 federal prosecutors in the state of New York charged Kelly with bribery related to the 1994 purchase of a fake identification card for Aaliyah in order to obtain a marriage license 212 Kelly s former tour manager Demetrius Smith testified that he facilitated the wedding by obtaining falsified identification for Aaliyah which listed her as 18 years old 208 213 Kelly through his lawyers admitted in 2021 to having had underage sexual contact with Aaliyah 214 Exposure of child sexual abuse material and indictment 2002 On February 3 2002 a video began circulating allegedly depicting Kelly s sexual abuse of a girl known to be underage The abuse included Kelly urinating on her The video was released by an unknown source and sent to the Chicago Sun Times The publisher broke the story on February 8 2002 the same day Kelly performed at the opening ceremony of the 2002 Winter Olympics 215 Kelly has said in interviews that he was not the man in the video 216 217 In June 2002 Kelly was indicted in Chicago on 21 counts of child pornography 218 That same month on June 5 2002 Kelly was arrested by the Miami Police Department on a Chicago arrest warrant at his Florida vacation home 219 He was released after one night in jail the following day after posting bail of 750 000 220 While investigating the photographs reported in the Chicago Sun Times Polk County Sheriff s Office conducted a search of Kelly s residence in Davenport Florida During the search officers recovered 12 images of an alleged underage girl on a digital camera wrapped in a towel in a duffel bag which allegedly depicted Kelly involved in sexual conduct with the female minor 221 According to the Chicago Sun Times the girl in the images obtained from Kelly s Florida home also appears in the videotape which got Kelly indicted in Chicago 222 Police investigators from Polk County and Miami Dade County arrested Kelly on January 22 2003 at Miami s Wyndham Grand Bay Hotel for 12 counts of possession of child pornography 223 Kelly posted bail of 12 000 bond and was released three hours later from Miami Dade county jail 223 224 225 In March 2004 these charges were dropped due to a lack of probable cause for the search warrants 226 227 The alleged victim refused to testify at the trial 228 and a Chicago jury found Kelly not guilty on all 14 counts of child pornography in June 2008 229 48 Kelly s own defense lawyer Ed Genson questioned the acquittal and Kelly s public proclamations of innocence 230 Allegations of child molestation 2009 In a divorce court filing unsealed in 2020 R Kelly s former wife Andrea claims that R Kelly was accused of molesting a preteen girl in 2009 231 Second series of accusations 2010s present Huffington Post Live interview 2015 In December 2015 Kelly appeared on Huffington Post Live in an interview with journalist Caroline Modarressy Tehrani The interview was conducted so that he could promote the release of his thirteenth solo album The Buffet During the interview Modarressy Tehrani quizzed Kelly about the sexual abuse allegations being leveled against him and wanted to gauge his reaction This resulted in Kelly growing angry and defensive He continually shouted over Modarressy Tehrani asked her whether she drank and threatened to leave and go to McDonald s Kelly stormed out of the interview before it ended 232 The incident was one of the first occasions where Kelly was concretely asked about the allegations against him on a public platform Following Kelly s New York conviction in late September 2021 Modarressy Tehrani tweeted Now with this verdict hopefully his survivors get some peace and feel this justice 233 Alleged sex cult 2010s Jim DeRogatis reported for BuzzFeed News on July 17 2017 that Kelly was accused by three sets of parents of holding their daughters in an abusive cult 234 Kelly and the alleged victims denied the allegations 235 236 In March 2018 BBC World Service aired a documentary entitled R Kelly Sex Girls and Videotapes presented by reporter Ben Zand that explored the 2017 allegations 237 This was followed up in May with the BBC Three documentary R Kelly The Sex Scandal Continues which included interviews with the Savage family 238 Kelly was again accused of misconduct on April 17 2018 by a former partner of his who claimed that Kelly intentionally infected her with a sexually transmitted disease A representative for Kelly stated that he categorically denies all claims and allegations 239 In a January 2019 BBC News article a woman named Asante McGee whom Kelly had met in 2014 and taken to live with him some months later said that she lived with not only Kelly alone but with other women She said He controlled every aspect of my life while I lived with him McGee later moved out on her own accord 240 Boycott and industry response In May 2018 the Women of Color branch of the Time s Up movement called for a boycott of Kelly s music and performances over the many allegations against him The boycott was accompanied by a social media campaign called Mute R Kelly In response his management said that Kelly supports the movement in principle but targeting him was the attempted lynching of a black man who has made extraordinary contributions to our culture 241 Music streaming service Spotify announced on May 10 2018 that it was going to stop promoting or recommending music by Kelly and XXXTentacion 242 stating We don t censor content because of an artist s or creator s behavior but we want our editorial decisions what we choose to program to reflect our values 243 Two days later Apple Music and Pandora also announced that they would cease to feature or promote Kelly s music 244 Spotify was criticized by members of the music industry with concerns the decision would create a slippery slope of muting artists accused of criminal activity Spotify ultimately reversed this decision following initial backlash 245 including that of Top Dawg Entertainment which threatened to remove its musical catalog from streaming service 246 247 248 In early January 2019 Kelly was dropped from RCA Records following the airing of Surviving R Kelly which detailed numerous sexual assault allegations against the singer for decades 249 A number of musicians who collaborated with Kelly expressed regret for working with him including Celine Dion I m Your Angel Nick Cannon Gigolo Chance the Rapper Somewhere in Paradise Lady Gaga Do What U Want and Jennifer Hudson It s Your World Some went the extent of having streaming services remove their own songs that feature his vocals or credit him for songwriting or production 250 As of October 2021 following his New York conviction Kelly s YouTube channel was terminated 251 but his catalogue remained available on YouTube Music 252 Alleged music industry complicity In May 2018 The Washington Post reporter Geoff Edgers wrote The Star Treatment a lengthy article alleging music industry executives willful blindness to Kelly s sexually abusive behavior toward underage girls Edgers reported that as early as 1994 Kelly s tour manager urged Jive Records founder Clive Calder to tell Kelly he would not release the singer s records if he continued to have incidents with young women after every concert he gave Calder told the Post that he regretted not having done more at the time saying Clearly we missed something 213 Former Jive president Barry Weiss told the newspaper that during twenty years with the label he never concerned himself with Kelly s private life and was unaware of two lawsuits filed against Kelly and the label by young women alleging sexual misconduct while they were minors Jive Records had in fact successfully argued it was not liable Larry Khan another Jive executive who worked closely with the singer even after viewing the sex tape likewise implied it was not the label s responsibility and pointed to Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis as musicians whose labels continued to release and promote their records despite public awareness that they were involved with underage girls 213 According to Post executives at Epic Records also took a similarly relaxed attitude towards allegations of Kelly s sexual misconduct In 2002 after Kelly signed with the label executive David McPherson allegedly avoided viewing a copy of a tape purportedly showing the singer having sex with an underage girl he simultaneously warned Kelly s assistant that if it turned out to be Kelly on that tape the label would drop him McPherson did not respond to the Post s requests for comment 213 An intern with the label whose work suffered after she began a relationship with Kelly ultimately costing her the position settled with Epic for 250 000 Cathy Carroll the executive she worked for regularly rebuked her former subordinate for having an affair with a married man whenever the two met at social functions for years afterwards and the damage to the woman s reputation led her to abandon her career in the music industry Carroll told the newspaper the woman was starstruck A lot of times it s not really the men 213 The Washington Post also suggested the labels were complicit in the sex cult allegations from the previous summer s BuzzFeed piece Employees at the studios where Kelly recorded were required to sign non disclosure agreements and not enter certain rooms which they said they believed were where Kelly made the young women and underage girls stay while he worked Despite the agreements the newspaper was able to publish screenshots of text exchanges where young women and underage girls in the rooms asked Kelly s assistants to let them out so they could go to the bathroom or get food The newspaper also published pictures taken after Kelly had concluded a six week session at a Los Angeles studio paid for by his former record label RCA Records showing a cup of urine sitting on a piano and urine stains on the wooden floor of another room 213 Surviving R Kelly 2019 2020 Main article Surviving R Kelly In January 2019 Lifetime began airing a six part documentary series titled Surviving R Kelly detailing sexual abuse and misconduct allegations against Kelly 253 Writing for the Los Angeles Times Loraine Ali observed that the series covered a range of in depth interviews that paint a picture of a predator whose behavior was consistently overlooked by the industry his peers and the public while his spiritual hit was sung in churches and schools 254 Within two weeks Kelly launched a Facebook page where he sought to discredit the accusers who appeared in the docuseries Facebook removed the page for violating their standards as it appeared to contain personal contact information for his accusers 255 The second season titled Surviving R Kelly Part II The Reckoning premiered on January 2 2020 256 January 2 3 2023 commences the dates of the final season titled Surviving R Kelly The Final Chapter as confirmed on a December 14 2022 trailer uploaded on Lifetime s YouTube account 257 258 Following airing of the Surviving R Kelly documentary Kelly was listed in Guinness World Records as the most searched for male musician on Google in 2019 259 He ranked 8th overall on Google s list of the 10 most search for people for the year 259 CBS This Morning interview with Gayle King 2019 On March 6 2019 Gayle King interviewed Kelly on CBS This Morning 260 Kelly insisted on his innocence and blamed social media for the allegations 261 During the interview Kelly had an emotional outburst where he stood up pounded his chest and yelled 262 Asked by King about John Legend and Lady Gaga denouncing him Kelly called them not professional 263 264 The CBS This Morning segment also included two women whose parents claimed were brainwashed captives of Kelly They described themselves as girlfriends of Kelly defending and declaring their love for him while also denouncing their parents 265 Afterward King would debrief with colleagues on the recording on the segment She recalled that a condition for recording the segment with the girlfriends was that Kelly would not be in the room with them Kelly had nevertheless stayed nearby during the recording and according to King Kelly would cough really loudly to remind the women of his presence 266 2019 Cook County arrest and indictments On February 22 2019 the Cook County State s Attorney s Office in Illinois charged Kelly with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse 267 The charges allege that from 1998 to 2010 Kelly sexually abused four females three of whom were teen minors at the time 268 with evidence including a video provided by Michael Avenatti of an alleged new crime 228 After Kelly turned himself in the day the charges were announced he was arrested by the Chicago Police Department and taken into custody 269 The judge set bond at 1 million and ordered Kelly to have no contact with any minor under 18 or alleged victim 270 Kelly pleaded not guilty to all charges which he called lies He was released on bail after three nights at Cook County Jail 271 On January 30 2023 the Cook County District Attorney s office announced that several Illinois specific charges against Kelly had been dropped due to him already being served justice in extensive federal sentences preventing him to face more maximum prison time for state related charges 272 273 274 Federal indictments and pretrial detention 2019 present The first grand jury indictment from the Eastern District of New York was handed down June 20 2019 275 On July 11 2019 Kelly was arrested on federal charges alleging sex crimes and obstruction of justice by U S Homeland Security investigators and NYPD detectives in Chicago 276 277 278 279 280 281 A day later following his re arrest federal prosecutors from New York and Chicago indicted Kelly on 18 charges including child sexual exploitation child pornography production sex trafficking kidnapping forced labor racketeering and obstruction of justice Following his re arrest on the first superseding indictment the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York filed a letter in support of a permanent order of detention that previewed its case against Kelly concluding that preponderance of the evidence that the defendant s release poses a both a risk of flight and a risk of obstruction of justice 282 Kelly s first arraignment on the Eastern District case took place before a United States Magistrate Judge Steven Tiscione on August 2 2019 where he plead not guilty Judge Tiscione denied bail on grounds of both dangerousness and flight risk 283 284 Kelly s lawyers made a request for pre trial release October 2019 and were denied His lawyers tried again to secure pre trial release in 2020 citing the COVID 19 pandemic the request was denied 285 286 287 Superseding indictments were filed in Chicago on February 13 2020 288 and in New York on March 13 2020 289 raising the total number of charges to 22 He was incarcerated at Metropolitan Correctional Center Chicago from July 11 2019 to June 23 2021 when he was transferred to Metropolitan Detention Center Brooklyn 290 291 292 Hennepin County indictment 2019 On August 5 2019 the State s Attorney Office in Hennepin County Minnesota charged Kelly with soliciting a minor and prostitution Prosecutors alleged that in July 2001 following a concert in Minneapolis Kelly had invited a girl up to his hotel room and paid her 200 to remove her clothing and dance with him 293 294 Trial in the Eastern District of New York 2021 Wikisource has original text related to this article Superseding Indictment United States of America v Robert Sylvester Kelly The United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York was the first federal court to indict Kelly at the time it was the only jurisdiction to take Kelly to trial following the charges filed in the wake of Surviving R Kelly 295 Investigations continued with Kelly indicted jailed and awaiting trial Before trial prosecutors previewed a growing body of evidence including evidence of bribes and recordings of threats It was a month before trial that prosecutors first accused Kelly of abusing a male victim an underaged boy he met at McDonald s as pattern evidence in his trial 296 Jury trial With Judge Ann Donnelly presiding voir dire in United States v Robert Sylvester Kelly was held August 9 2021 297 The same day Kelly s lawyers filed a last second motion to dismiss charges related to his transmission of genital herpes to several of his victims that Kelly knew of his infection and non disclosure to his sexual partners is a criminal act under the Public Health Law of New York and was presented as a predicate act for the charge of racketeering as well as the violations of the Mann Act 298 299 Judge Donnelly denied the motion releasing a written decision after the trial 300 The federal jury trial began on August 18 2021 with opening statements by prosecution and defense lawyers 301 The first witness called was Jerhonda Pace one of the subjects of Surviving R Kelly whose identity is widely known She was the first of any of Kelly s accusers to have ever testified against him in court 302 Pace testified that Kelly s abuse included slapping choking and raping her 303 On cross examination Pace was asked about signing a statement that she had deceived Kelly about her age and replied that it was a condition of a settlement 304 In all eleven witnesses at Kelly s trial accused him of abuse either sexual or physical with some accusing him of both Two accusers were men alleging Kelly had sexually abused them as children one Louis had recruited the other Alex and testified as a cooperating witness In addition eight employees of Kelly s staff testified corroborating details of Kelly s modus operandi 305 306 307 308 Toward the end of the testimony on September 15 2021 video corroborating accusers accounts of abuse was shown to the jury but not the public nor media The videos were alluded to in later closing arguments as depicting Kelly delivering a painful spanking to one accuser and a lengthy recording in which Kelly demanded acts of coprophagia and urophagia to humiliate another accuser As the jury deliberated the press were allowed to listen to the audio portions to fulfill obligations of access to evidence accounts confirm that Kelly and his victim s voices are heard narrating the graphic acts of abuse of the latter recording 309 310 Months after the verdict prosecutors disclosed that following Kelly s orders a t least three women made videos of themselves eating feces and rubbing it over their bodies 311 Guilty verdicts source source source source source source source source Jacquelyn M Kasulis Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York and Peter C Fitzhugh Special Agent in Charge Homeland Security Investigations New York HSI announced the guilty verdict on September 27 2021After a six week trial including two days of deliberations on September 27 2021 the jury returned a verdict of guilty on all nine counts of the verdict sheet They include One count of Racketeering 18 U S C 1962 c Eight Mann Act violations Three counts of transportation across state lines for illegal sexual activity 18 U S C 2421 a Four counts coercion and enticement 18 U S C 2422 a One count of transportation of a minor 18 U S C 2423 a 312 26 313 As described in a release by the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York the racketeering charge against Kelly specified the following predicate acts 3 Racketeering Act One BriberyKelly bribed a state employee to create an identification card for Jane Doe 1 then 15 years old so that Kelly could marry Jane Doe 1 because he believed she was pregnant and therefore the marriage could keep him out of jail Racketeering Acts Two Seven and Ten Sexual Exploitation of a Child Jane Doe 2 Jane Doe 4 and Jane Doe 5Kelly coerced Jane Doe 2 Jane Doe 4 and Jane Doe 5 to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing video recordings Over the course of decades he made these recordings and other recordings of sexually explicit conduct using VHS video cameras Canon camcorders iPhones and iPads Racketeering Acts Six Eleven and Thirteen Forced Labor Jane Doe 4 Jane Doe 5 and Jane Doe 6Kelly used the threat of physical harm and physical restraint to ensure that his victims including Jane Doe 4 Jane Doe 5 and Jane Doe 6 performed sexually at his command As to Jane Doe 4 he slapped her choked her and spat on her before demanding she give him oral sex As to Jane Doe 5 over a period of years he spanked her viciously assaulted her confined her for periods of days and otherwise manipulated her to ensure that she would perform for him sexually including with other women and a man As to Jane Doe 6 he forced her to give him oral sex When he did that there was a gun within Kelly s reach Racketeering Acts Five and Nine Mann Act Violations Jane Doe 4 and Jane Doe 5Between May 2009 and January 2010 Kelly regularly spoke with Jane Doe 4 over the telephone to arrange for Jane Doe 4 to come to his residence in Olympia Fields for the purpose of illegal sexual activity which was illegal because Jane Doe 4 was too young to consent to sex in Illinois Similarly between September 2015 and October 2015 Kelly transported Jane Doe 5 who was then 17 years old from New York City to Oakland California for the purpose of illegal sexual activity as she was too young to consent to sex in California Racketeering Acts Eight Thirteen and Fourteen Mann Act Violations Jane Doe 5 and Jane Doe 6In April 2015 Kelly arranged for Jane Doe 5 to fly from her home in Orlando Florida to Los Angeles California for the purpose of illegal sexual activity which was illegal because Kelly knew he had an incurable sexually transmitted disease STD and did not inform Jane Doe 5 about the STD prior to engaging in sexual intercourse with her In May of 2017 and again in February of 2018 Kelly arranged for Jane Doe 6 to fly from her home in San Antonio Texas to La Guardia Airport in Queens New York for the purpose of illegal sexual activity which again was illegal because Kelly failed to disclose that he had an incurable STD and obtain Jane Doe 6 s consent to engage in sexual intercourse under those circumstances United States Department of Justice United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York R Kelly Convicted of All Counts by a Federal Jury in Brooklyn Post verdict reaction United States District Judge Ann Donnelly ordered Kelly to be kept in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center Brooklyn to await sentencing Kelly faced a sentencing range of 10 years to life in prison 314 and on June 29 2022 was sentenced to spend 30 years behind bars 315 After the jury delivered their verdict women s rights attorney Gloria Allred who represented several victims stated that Kelly was the worst sexual predator she had pursued in her 47 year career of practicing law 316 317 318 319 Writing for The New Yorker longtime Kelly critic Jim DeRogatis asked how many more victims are there who we don t know about This case involved twenty women and two men but there are likely many more DeRogatis noted that before the trial prosecutors had told the judge they would call Susan E Loggans a Chicago attorney who had negotiated settlements on behalf of several accusers who testified in the criminal case Loggans was never actually called to the stand 320 On October 29 2021 Kelly retained the services of Jennifer Ann Bonjean who has helped overturn rape convictions for Bill Cosby and a victim of Jon Burge 321 Kelly fired his other lawyers in January 2022 322 Kelly appealed the verdict for this case in April 2023 323 Sentencing source source source source source source source source U S Attorney Breon Peace and Executive Associate Director Steve Francis of Homeland Security Investigations HSI deliver remarks after the sentencing of R Kelly to 30 years in prison The sentencing process in the Eastern District of New York began with the presentation of the sealed Presentence Report PSR by the Office of Probation to the court on April 5 2022 324 Kelly s defense lawyer Jennifer Bonjean lodged several objections to the report s description of Kelly s conduct 325 The opposing sides differed sharply in assessments of applicable sentence Bonjean filed a defense sentencing memorandum arguing that the applicable sentence according to United States Federal Sentencing Guidelines would be 168 210 months imprisonment and that Kelly should receive less prison time Arguing for leniency Bonjean also wrote that a minor victim of Kelly was a sophisticated 16 year old 326 In its own sentencing memorandum prosecutors supported the application of several enhancements under Sentencing Guidelines adding up to a sentence of 25 years to life imprisonment and that g iven the need for specific deterrence and incapacitation the government respectfully submits that a shorter sentence would be insufficient to adequately protect the public 327 311 328 329 Kelly s defense submitted several exhibits of their own attesting to mitigating factors in a supplement to the sentencing memorandum The exhibits were filed under seal 330 Following an unsealing and redaction process the court revealed that factors Kelly s defense cited were his history of adverse childhood experiences including sexual abuse by his sister and his illiteracy Defense experts diagnosed Kelly with hypersexuality 331 In the first half of Kelly s sentencing date of June 29 2022 seven women were permitted to address court with their victim impact statements According to Rolling Stone journalists Kelly refused to look at them 332 Judge Donnelly ended the day reportedly sentencing Kelly to 30 years imprisonment admonishing his criminality as calculated and carefully planned and regularly executed for almost 25 years 333 In her written judgment Donnelly s sentence was apportioned as 30 years for the top charge of racketeering 20 year sentences for three acts of Mann Act coercion and enticement a 20 year sentence for one violation of the Mann Act transportation of a minor and 10 years for three counts of Mann Act transportation across state lines for illegal sexual activity These prison sentences will be served concurrently Following Kelly s completing a prison sentence Judge Donnelly ordered Kelly to serve 5 years of supervised release with conditions typical for sex offenders 334 In addition to prison time Judge Donnelly levied a 100 000 fine plus a statutory 40 000 penalty under the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015 334 Contesting the assessments attorney Jennifer Bonjean claimed that Kelly has lost his income and is indigent Prosecutors countered that Kelly has secretly sold rights to his composition and lyrics royalties for 5 million On September 28 2022 Kelly was ordered to pay restitution of 300 000 to one of his victims with potential for tens of thousands of dollars more to pay for another victim 335 According to Bonjean Kelly was devastated by his sentence but would appeal 336 Following his sentencing the Federal Bureau of Prisons placed Kelly under suicide watch 337 338 339 His legal team argued that the measures were unnecessary punitive and cruel because he was never suicidal nor had he ever even thought about suicide 340 341 However prosecutors defended the placement claiming it was for his own safety 342 On Independence Day 2022 authorities removed Kelly from suicide watch 343 344 345 On July 13 2022 Kelly transferred out of Metropolitan Detention Center Brooklyn to Metropolitan Correctional Center Chicago in anticipation of a trial in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois 346 Trial in the Northern District of Illinois 2022 Parallel to Eastern District of New York prosecution the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago indicted Kelly alongside two alleged co conspirators his manager Derrel McDavid and his personal assistant Milton June Brown 347 All pled not guilty 348 349 350 The case was tried before Judge Harry Leinenweber and commenced on August 17 2022 27 351 Allegations The final superseding indictment of Kelly and his co conspirators charged him with the following 352 Counts One through Four Production of child pornography 18 U S C 2251 a for four videos filmed with Minor 1 between 1998 and 1999 Count Five Conspiracy to defraud the United States 18 U S C 371 for various illegal acts from 2001 until 2015 to cover up offenses in the 2002 Cook County case Counts Six through Eight Receipt of child pornography 18 USC 2252A a 2 and 2252A b 1 conspiracies to obtain videos of child sexual abuse to conceal them Counts Nine through Thirteen Child sex trafficking through coercion and enticement 18 U S C 2422 b of five unnamed victims listed as Minors 1 3 4 5 6 for acts committed in the time span of 1996 through 2001 Trial process Jury selection began August 15 2022 353 Over 100 potential jurors were interviewed over two days The regular jury of twelve persons consisted of four white women four black women two white men and two black men 354 On the first day of testimony the jury heard from a witness who is allegedly depicted in the child sexual abuse material revealed in 2002 Now 37 the alleged victim was allowed by the court to testify under the pseudonym Jane She testified that Kelly groomed her for sexual abuse starting when she was 13 years of age presenting himself as a benevolent godfather Jane also told the jury that Kelly induced her to recruit other girls for abuse Speaking to efforts to thwart law enforcement Jane told the court that Kelly sent her to travel to the Bahamas and Cancun to keep her away from law enforcement and coaxed her to lie to a grand jury 355 356 Also testifying was an individual who purchased a home previously owned by Kelly The interior was alleged to match the 2002 video The individual noted that after his purchase he discovered a bedroom contained a camera disguised as a smoke detector and a secured door requiring a button to be pressed to leave 356 Verdict and sentencing On September 14 the jury found Kelly guilty on three of thirteen charges of production of child pornography and three charges of enticing a child but acquitted him and his alleged co conspirators of trial fixing related to his 2008 state child pornography trial 357 Stating a case for leniency in a sentencing memorandum Kelly s attorneys made a number of technical arguments about the Chicago federal case but concedes repeated sexual encounters with the testifying victims when they were underage Arguing for mitigation the memorandum includes a passage written by expert witness Dr Renee Sorentino arguing that Kelly is not a pedophile 358 I considered the diagnosis of Pedophilia given Mr Kelly s alleged history of sexual contact with minors The diagnosis of Pedophilia is used to refer to individuals who experience recurrent intense sexually arousing fantasies or sexual urges involving sexual activity with prepubescent child or children generally age 13 years of younger I rejected the diagnosis because Mr Kelly does not report a history of sexual arousal to prepubescent individual and his sexual behavior has never involved prepubescent individuals Dr Sorentino is co author of a paper arguing for a distinction beween pedophilia and ephebophilia and using the term minor attracted person The paper also cites research by the organization Virtuous Pedophiles 359 Use of the term in a criminal justice context is controversial 360 In their own sentencing memorandum prosecutors requested a 300 month prison sentence to be served consecutively to the sentence from the Eastern District of New York in effect life imprisonment Arguing that Kelly s criminal conduct in Illinois is separate from the conduct of his previous conviction in New York and severe the memorandum states in its opening paragraph 361 Robert Kelly is a serial sexual predator who over the course of many years specifically targeted young girls and went to great lengths to conceal his abuse of Jane and other minor victims To this day and even following the jury verdict against him Kelly refuses to accept responsibility for his crimes To the contrary Kelly brazenly blames his victims and argues that his abuse of 14 15 and 16 year old girls was justified because some of his victims as minors wanted to pursue a romantic and sexual connection with him and others remained in contact with him as adults At the age of 56 years old Kelly s lack of remorse and failure to grasp the gravity of his criminal conduct against children demonstrates that he poses a serious danger to society Kelly goes so far as to insinuate that he and not the young girls he abused is the victim because the federal government elected to prosecute him for egregious conduct that occurred throughout the United States for over 20 years Kelly was sentenced in Chicago federal court on February 23 2023 362 363 Judge Harry Leinenweber sentenced Kelly to 20 years 19 concurrent to the 30 year sentence from New York and 1 year consecutively effectively bringing his sentence to 31 years 364 Other court cases Other than the federal sex abuse cases Kelly has been involved in several high profile criminal cases and lawsuits Criminal August 13 1997 Kelly was found guilty of battery and placed on unsupervised probation for one year in Lafayette Louisiana as a result of a July 1996 brawl which involved the singer and his entourage One of the victims needed a total of 110 facial stitches 365 April 8 1998 Kelly was arrested in Chicago on three misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct including one charge of violating noise ordinance for playing his music extremely loud from his car during a test run He was allegedly confrontational as he was arrested and placed into custody The vehicle he was testing audio in was impounded and placed on a 500 daily recovery fee 366 Prosecutors from the district attorney s office dropped the first two charges on May 7 367 and the noise charge on July 22 that year 368 March 6 2019 Kelly was taken to the Cook County Jail after failing to pay child support in the amount of 161 633 to his former wife Andrea Three days later he was released after someone whose identity was withheld paid off the child support on his behalf His lawyer says he could not discuss the payment due to a gag order 369 Civil suits November 1 2004 Kelly launched a 75 million lawsuit against former friend Jay Z and several concert organizers and or promoters for removing him from the Best of Both Worlds tour 370 The lawsuit for breach of contract which sought 75 million in damages 60 million in punitive damages and 15 million for lost income was a result of not being able to tour 371 January 2005 Jay Z countersued the singer claiming Kelly showed erratic behavior including being late or absent attendances vacating deadlines and continued demands or requests that led to several cancellations and resulted in loss of gross Kelly s lawyers challenged it as inaccurate smears of Mr Kelly that are utterly irrelevant to the issues of the case but confirmed the rapper s refusal to continue work with Kelly after the Madison Square Garden incident and thus broke the contract 372 Jay Z s counter suit was dismissed by a judge that May 373 374 November 2005 Kelly sued Jay Z again claiming that now Roc Nation executive Tyran Ty Ty Smith was awarded with the position of vice president at the artist and repertoire department of Def Jam Recordings which Jay was president of at the time as a result of the latter pepper spraying Kelly on October 29 2004 375 Personal lifeKelly s mother Joanne died from cancer in 1993 376 He has given conflicting accounts of where he was during his mother s passing 45 His oldest daughter JoAnn born in 1998 was named after the singer s mother but is also known as Buku Abi 377 In 1996 Kelly married Andrea Kelly nee Lee his former backup dancer and mother of his three children the aforementioned JoAnn as well as Jaah b 2000 and Robert Jr b 2002 378 379 Andrea filed a restraining order against Kelly in September 2005 after a physical altercation ultimately filing for divorce in 2006 380 In January 2009 their divorce was finalized after 13 years of marriage 210 381 In later years Andrea accused Kelly of physical verbal and mental abuse including in Surviving R Kelly 2019 382 383 384 Kelly reportedly had a long relationship with gospel singer Deleon Richards in the 1990s In 2005 a Chicago man was charged for attempting to extort Richards husband Gary Sheffield by allegedly threatening to release a sex tape of Richards with an ex boyfriend reportedly Kelly 385 In January 2006 the man was sentenced to 27 months in prison 386 Philanthropy In April 2007 Kelly released the song Rise Up for Virginia Tech after the 2007 school shooting and donated the net proceeds to the families of the victims 387 In 2010 Kelly penned the song Sign of a Victory for the FIFA World Cup with all proceeds benefiting African charities 388 On April 6 2011 he performed at a charity event in Chicago benefiting Clara s House a facility designed to build employment housing health care and education in the projects of Chicago 389 In 2016 Kelly donated cases of water to the Flint water crisis 390 BooksSoulacoaster The Diary of Me 2012 autobiography 391 See alsoHonorific nicknames in popular music List of artists who reached number one in the United States List of Billboard number one singles List of highest certified music artists in the United States List of songs recorded by R Kelly List of songs written and produced by R Kelly List of unreleased songs recorded by R Kelly Shaggy defenseReferences R Kelly convicted of racketeering and sex trafficking by a federal jury in New York CNN September 27 2021 Archived from the original on September 28 2021 R Kelly already serving 30 years for sex trafficking sentenced to 20 years in federal child porn case CNN February 23 2023 a b R Kelly Convicted of All Counts by a Federal Jury in Brooklyn www justice gov September 27 2021 Retrieved May 10 2022 Puente Maria R Kelly convicted on child pornography charges in second federal trial verdict USA TODAY Retrieved September 15 2022 a b Top 90 s R amp B Hip Hop Artists Billboard December 25 1999 January 1 2000 Retrieved January 25 2012 a b R Kelly Billboard Archived from the original on November 17 2021 Retrieved May 11 2022 a b c d e f g R Kelly Grammy com National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences Archived from the original on March 27 2022 Retrieved May 11 2022 a b R Kelly Reveals Jet December 28 1998 January 4 1999 p 56 Retrieved October 27 2014 via Google Books a b BBC World News R Kelly Sex Girls amp Videotapes BBC 2018 Retrieved October 23 2021 Recognised as one of the most acclaimed RnB artists in the world R Kelly has sold over 60 million albums globally and has been dubbed the King of RnB Despite his musical success there are multiple underlying rumours and accusations about the artist which paint a much darker picture a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link a b Ogunnaike Lola May 2002 Caught in the Act Vibe com Archived from the original on May 9 2021 Retrieved October 23 2021 news broke of a self made sex tape with a minor Can the King of R amp B withstand the heat a b Heath Chris February 3 2016 Why R Kelly Calls Himself the Pied Piper of R amp B GQ Retrieved July 29 2022 Caro Mark The Chicago Journalist Who s Spent 17 Years Investigating R Kelly Chicago Magazine Retrieved July 29 2022 Grady Constance August 30 2021 20 years after Aaliyah s death her story only feels more tragic Vox Retrieved June 10 2022 Izadi Elahe January 3 2020 Aaliyah was the sacrificial lamb Lifetime s new Surviving R Kelly series explores aftermath of illegal marriage The Washington Post Savage Mark September 28 2021 R Kelly The history of allegations against him BBC News Archived from the original on September 28 2021 Retrieved May 11 2022 W Fountain John June 6 2002 R Kelly R amp B Star Is Indicted on Child Sex Charges The New York Times Archived from the original on September 28 2021 Retrieved May 11 2018 Under the indictment by a Cook County grand jury Mr Kelly faces seven counts on each of the Class 1 felony charges of directing the videotaping producing the video and enticing the teenager into engaging in illicit sex acts Sex tape played in R Kelly trial The Hollywood Reporter Associated Press May 20 2008 Retrieved May 11 2022 Streitfeld David June 14 2008 R Kelly Is Acquitted in Child Pornography Case The New York Times Archived from the original on May 11 2022 Retrieved May 11 2018 R Kelly trial Star 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trafficking trial PIX11 August 25 2021 Retrieved July 6 2022 a b c d e DeRogatis Jim Timeline The Life And Career Of R Kelly WBEZ Archived from the original on July 28 2013 Retrieved March 15 2020 Layne Anni April 9 1998 R Kelly Arrested In Chicago Music News Rolling Stone Archived from the original on September 28 2021 Retrieved December 10 2013 a b c Ofori Atta Akoto June 28 2012 10 Things Revealed in R Kelly s Memoir theroot com Archived from the original on February 24 2015 Retrieved March 5 2015 a b Soulacoaster The Diary of Me Hay House Inc 2012 ISBN 9781401931773 Retrieved October 13 2014 a b c d e Heath Chris January 20 2016 The Confessions Of R Kelly GQ Retrieved October 24 2021 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link a b R Kelly s Brother Says He and Singer Were Molested by Older Sister EBONY January 9 2019 Retrieved October 24 2021 a b Biswas Shuvrajit Das January 3 2020 Who Is Theresa Kelly Where Is She Now The Cinemaholic 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York Archived from the original on August 18 2016 Retrieved September 27 2021 He grew up poor and functionally illiterate owing to dyslexia on Chicago s South Side raised mostly by his mother a b DeRogatis Jim June 3 2019 R Kelly and the Damage Done The New Yorker Retrieved October 24 2021 a href Template Cite magazine html title Template Cite magazine cite magazine a CS1 maint url status link 30 for 30 Benji Summary Paley Center Retrieved September 27 2021 Music Stars Who Started in Groups You Never Heard Of BET Retrieved July 6 2022 a b Brown Jake 2004 Your Body s Calling Me Music Love Sex amp Money the Life amp Times of Robert R Kelly Amber Books Publishing ISBN 9780972751957 Smith Danyel January 4 2019 Revisit R Kelly s Dec 1994 Jan 1995 Cover Story SUPERFREAK Vibe Magazine Archived from the original on September 28 2021 Klages Karen E April 10 1991 THE 100 000 MEN Chicago Tribune Archived from the original on September 28 2021 Big Break Winners Jet 35 March 25 1991 Smith Danyel December 1994 Superfreak Vol 2 Vibe Magazine pp 52 56 permanent dead link a b c d Erlewine Stephen Thomas R Kelly Biography AllMusic Archived from the original on September 28 2021 Retrieved September 27 2021 a b Reynolds J R December 10 1994 Career Milestones Keep Coming For Jive s Kelly Billboard Retrieved January 24 2012 a b RIAA old amp Platinum Kelly album search results RIAA Archived from the original on September 4 2015 Retrieved July 12 2009 Terri Rossi s Rhythm Section Billboard June 11 1994 p 20 Macdonald Patrick September 30 1994 Hip Hoppin In The Dome R Kelly Headlines A Star Studded Card The Seattle Times Retrieved February 11 2023 R Kelly What s next for the Grammy Award winning Superstar Johnson Publishing Company June 8 1998 Holden Stephen December 17 1995 Pop Briefs The New York Times New York R Kelly album Review December 1995 permanent dead link a b Pareles Jon April 13 1996 MUSIC REVIEW Invitations to Passion of a Certain Kind The New York Times New York R Kelly Signs Pro Basketball Deal MTV May 19 2000 Archived from the original on May 19 2000 Retrieved June 29 2022 R Kelly to Play Pro Basketball E April 25 1997 Retrieved February 20 2011 a b Demasio Nunyo May 30 1997 A Shooting Star R Kelly Lights Up USBL s Seagulls Archived July 23 2013 at the Wayback Machine New York Daily News Retrieved October 29 2013 Hoekstra Dave November 29 1998 The Righteous Brother R Kelly s ambitious album of genre spanning songs finds him updating the spiritually grounded R amp B of such greats as Al Green and Donny Hathaway Los Angeles Times Chicago Archived from the original on December 21 2014 Retrieved January 25 2012 Life After Death The Notorious B I G Credits AllMusic retrieved March 16 2023 Saidman Sorelle R Kelly s Secret Weapon Set To Debut MTV News Archived from the original on May 11 2000 Retrieved October 27 2014 Billboard September 19 1998 Retrieved October 27 2014 RIAA Gold amp Platinum Searchable Database October 27 2014 Riaa com Retrieved October 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Browns Johnnie Cochran And A Pimp MTV Archived from the original on February 10 2002 Retrieved July 20 2017 DeRogatis Jim May 2002 Tale of the Tape Spin pp 86 88 Retrieved October 26 2021 a b Reid Shaheem March 6 2002 Jay Z Shoots New Video Unsure If Clip With R Kelly Will Come MTV Archived from the original on April 9 2002 Retrieved September 10 2012 Brown Preezy March 28 2017 How Good Was Jay Z amp R Kelly s Best Of Both Worlds Album VIBE com Retrieved February 11 2023 Hochman Steve February 3 2002 Best of Both Worlds Is One Album Title That May Not Be Hyperbole Los Angeles Times Retrieved January 3 2022 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link Reid Shaheem May 21 2002 R Kelly Vows To Clamp Down As New Bootleg Hits Streets MTV News Archived from the original on June 1 2002 Bogdanov Vladimir 2003 All Music Guide to Soul The Definitive Guide to R amp B and Soul Hal Leonard Corporation p 386 ISBN 978 0 87930 744 8 The Billboard Hot 100 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November 20 2007 Ne Yo Dropped From R Kelly Tour Billboard Retrieved February 11 2023 Vena Jocelyn September 8 2008 Ne Yo Wins 700 000 In Lawsuit Against R Kelly Tour Promoter MTV Retrieved February 11 2023 Orzeck Kurt December 19 2007 R Kelly Arrest Warrant Issued Over Missed Court Date MTV Archived from the original on December 21 2007 Retrieved August 5 2009 Reid Shaheem March 4 2008 R Kelly s New Dis Track Is He Lashing Out At Jay Z Ne Yo Or Young Jeezy MTV Archived from the original on March 5 2008 Retrieved August 5 2009 Billboard Hot 100 Chart 50th Anniversary Billboard Archived from the original on May 25 2012 Retrieved August 5 2009 Entire R Kelly album leaks online NME July 29 2008 Archived from the original on September 28 2021 Retrieved August 5 2009 Reid Shaheem February 10 2009 R Kelly Reveals New Album Will Be Called Untitled MTV Archived from the original on July 17 2009 Retrieved August 5 2009 Singersroom com June 11 2009 R Kelly Eying Busy September For Untitled Album 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Music News and more FMQB Archived from the original on November 8 2011 Retrieved September 10 2012 R Kelly Croons About Tonsil Surgery in New Track Archived April 5 2018 at the Wayback Machine Spin R Kelly There Is No End to Trapped in the Closet Archived June 20 2017 at the Wayback Machine Rolling Stone magazine Write Me Back by R Kelly retrieved December 27 2021 Kelly R Swaffield Jim November 22 2012 Trapped in the Closet Chapters 23 33 Comedy Crime Drama Fuzzy Bunny Films I RCA Records Sylvester Films retrieved December 27 2021 To All Of The Single Ladies R Kelly August 31 2012 Archived from the original on September 28 2021 Retrieved December 11 2015 New R Kelly interview with JoJo of V101 5 R Kelly News dead link Coming Soon to IFC R Kelly s Trapped in the Closet The Next Installment IFC Archived from the original on October 16 2015 Retrieved December 11 2015 Kleinman Jacob February 18 2012 Whitney Houston Funeral R Kelly Sings Soulful Rendition of I Look To You International Business Times Archived from the original on September 28 2021 Retrieved February 19 2012 R Kelly Announces New Single With 2 Chainz Reveals Artwork Hotnewhiphop com July 26 2013 Archived from the original on September 28 2021 Retrieved December 10 2013 Lots of Black Panties On R Kelly s Black Panties Cover Tracklist Vibe November 19 2013 Archived from the original on September 28 2021 Retrieved December 10 2013 a b Mariah Carey records duet with R Kelly Music News Digital Spy September 30 2012 Archived from the original on September 28 2021 Retrieved December 10 2013 Exclusive Mary J Blige Set To Duet With R Kelly On Next Album Ratedrnb com October 24 2013 Archived from the original on September 28 2021 Retrieved January 23 2014 Lewis Brittany November 15 2013 The Night I Received Black Panties From R Kelly by Brittany Lewis Global Grind Archived from the original on December 19 2013 Retrieved January 23 2014 Lewis Brittany November 15 2013 R Kelly Discusses The Ignition Remix National Anthem Petition His Childhood amp New Collaboration With Celine Dion VIDEO Global Grind Archived from the original on September 28 2021 Retrieved December 10 2013 Lady Gaga and R Kelly Perform Do What U Want on SNL Rap Up Rap Up LLC Archived from the original on September 28 2021 Retrieved November 18 2013 Lipshutz Jason November 12 2013 Lady Gaga R Kelly To Perform Do What U Want At American Music Awards Billboard Archived from the original on September 28 2021 Retrieved November 18 2013 Lady Gaga removes R Kelly collaboration Do What U Want from ARTPOP reissue Consequence October 15 2019 Retrieved December 27 2021 Trepany Charles Lady Gaga removes R Kelly song from Artpop will reportedly release new vinyl copies USA Today Retrieved December 27 2021 Caulfield Keith January 11 2019 Lady Gaga s Do What U Want Featuring R Kelly Removed from Apple Music iTunes Spotify Billboard Retrieved December 27 2021 Boardman Madeline September 4 2013 We Been On Video Has Rich Gang Getting 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Better Known as Aaliyah Simon and Schuster p 11 ISBN 978 1 9821 5685 5 Closson Troy Palmer Emily September 13 2021 R Kelly Sexually Abused Aaliyah When She Was 13 or 14 Witness Says The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on December 28 2021 Retrieved October 4 2021 Savage Mark September 14 2021 R Kelly abused Aaliyah when she was 13 or 14 court hears BBC News Retrieved October 4 2021 R Kelly s life from troubled talent to trafficking trial AP News September 27 2021 Retrieved October 4 2021 Melendez Pilar September 1 2021 Inside R Kelly s Secret Marriage to 15 Year Old Aaliyah The Daily Beast Retrieved January 7 2023 Finley Taryn August 24 2021 R Kelly Admitted To Marrying Aaliyah So She Could Get An Abortion Jane Doe Testifies HuffPost Retrieved January 7 2023 a b Rouhani Neena August 20 2021 R Kelly Believed Aaliyah Was Pregnant Before They Married Tour Manager Testifies Billboard Retrieved January 7 2023 Smith Danyel January 4 2019 Revisit R Kelly s Dec 1994 Jan 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amp Videotapes BBC Archived from the original on September 28 2021 Retrieved June 11 2019 BBC Three R Kelly The Sex Scandal Continues BBC Archived from the original on September 28 2021 Retrieved June 11 2019 R Kelly faces fresh sexual misconduct allegation BBC News April 17 2018 Archived from the original on April 17 2018 Retrieved April 17 2018 R Kelly insisted I have a sex trainer BBC News January 23 2019 Archived from the original on September 28 2021 Retrieved January 24 2019 Snapes Laura May 1 2018 R Kelly Time s Up campaign against me is attempted lynching of a black man The Guardian Archived from the original on September 28 2021 Retrieved June 23 2019 Lockett Dee May 11 2018 What Spotify Removing R Kelly and XXXTentacion From Its Playlists Means Vulture Retrieved May 16 2022 Coscarelli Joe May 10 2018 Spotify Pulls R Kelly and XXXTentacion From Playlists Stirring a Debate The New York Times Archived from the original on September 28 2021 Retrieved May 11 2018 Apple and Pandora stop promoting R Kelly s music too Consequence of Sound May 11 2018 Archived from the original on September 28 2021 Retrieved May 15 2018 R Kelly and XXXTentacion camps react to Spotify removing their music from playlists Los Angeles Times May 10 2018 Retrieved May 16 2022 Schneider Marc January 21 2019 Spotify Makes It Easy to Mute R Kelly Or Any Other Artist Billboard Archived from the original on September 28 2021 Retrieved March 20 2019 Kendrick Lamar Threatens To Pull His Music Off Of Spotify Genius Retrieved May 16 2022 ago Music 4 years May 25 2018 Kendrick Lamar Reportedly Threatened To Remove Music From Spotify Following XXXTentacion Ban Okayplayer Retrieved May 16 2022 R Kelly Has Been Dropped By RCA Records Billboard Reports NPR Retrieved December 27 2021 Rothstein Dee Lockett Katie February 1 2019 All the Artists Who ve Denounced R Kelly Vulture Retrieved May 16 2022 Brandle Lars October 6 2021 R Kelly s YouTube Channels Are Terminated Billboard Retrieved December 27 2021 R Kelly Channels Removed From YouTube but Songs Can Remain Pitchfork October 6 2021 Retrieved December 27 2021 Fortin Jacey January 4 2019 Surviving R Kelly Documentary on Lifetime Details Sex Abuse Accusations The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on September 28 2021 Retrieved January 6 2019 Ali Lorraine January 5 2019 Review Surviving R Kelly explores decades of alleged sexual abuse by the singer and an industry s complicity Los Angeles Times Retrieved October 3 2021 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link Reilly Nick January 7 2019 R Kelly plans to sue everybody involved in Surviving R Kelly series and launch website to expose accusers NME Archived from the original on September 28 2021 Retrieved January 9 2019 The Explosive Story Continues Surviving R Kelly Part II The Reckoning Debuts as a Three Night Event Beginning January 2 on Lifetime The Futon Critic December 11 2019 Archived from the original on September 28 2021 Garcia Thania December 14 2022 Lifetime Unveils Trailer for Surviving R Kelly The Final Chapter Set for January Release Variety Retrieved December 22 2022 Cordero Rosy December 14 2022 Surviving R Kelly The Final Chapter Lifetime Reveals Premiere Date amp Trailer Deadline Retrieved December 22 2022 a b Most searched for musician on the internet male 2019 Guinness World Records 2020 Retrieved November 1 2021 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link King Gayle March 9 2019 The Gayle King Interview with R Kelly CBS News Archived from the original on September 28 2021 Retrieved March 9 2019 What we know about the allegations against R Kelly CNN March 6 2019 Archived from the original on September 28 2021 Retrieved March 6 2019 Sands Nicole March 6 2019 Gayle King Commended for Leading a Master Class in Poise During Raucous R Kelly Interview People Archived from the original on September 28 2021 Retrieved March 6 2019 Y all killing me with this shit Kelly continued emotionally standing up I gave you 30 years of my fucking career Post Chantilly March 6 2019 R Kelly Calls John Legend amp Lady Gaga Unprofessional For Speaking Out Against Him HotNewHipHop Archived from the original on March 7 2019 Retrieved May 16 2022 Lincoln Ross A March 5 2019 R Kelly Says Lady Gaga Was Not Professional When She Apologized for Working With Him Video The Wrap Archived from the original on March 6 2019 Retrieved May 16 2022 Coscarelli Joe March 7 2019 2 Women Living With R Kelly Denounce Their Parents and Deny Being Brainwashed The New York Times Archived from the original on September 28 2021 Retrieved June 13 2022 Meyer Ken March 7 2019 Gayle King R Kelly Was Coughing Very Loudly Mediaite Archived from the original on March 8 2019 Retrieved June 13 2022 Li David K Fitzpatrick Sarah Fieldstadt Elisha February 22 2019 R Kelley charged with multiple counts of sexual abuse of a minor NBC News Archived from the original on September 28 2021 Retrieved February 22 2019 R Kelly Singer charged with sexual abuse in Chicago BBC February 22 2019 Archived from the original on February 23 2019 Retrieved February 22 2019 R Kelly arrested by Chicago police after being indicted on sexual abuse charges FOX 59 Associated Press February 22 2019 Archived from the original on September 28 2021 Retrieved October 20 2020 Dwyer Colin Tsioulcas Anastasia February 23 2019 R Kelly Bond Set At 1 Million After Arrest On Charges Of Aggravated Sexual Abuse NPR Archived from the original on September 28 2021 Retrieved February 23 2019 Harris Elizabeth A Chiarito Robert February 25 2019 R Kelly Released From Jail After Making Bail on Sexual Abuse Charges The New York Times Retrieved February 12 2021 Jacobs Julia January 31 2023 Prosecutors in Chicago Will Drop Abuse Charges Against R Kelly The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved February 8 2023 Razek Raja January 31 2023 Illinois prosecutors drop pending criminal cases against R Kelly who remains imprisoned on federal convictions CNN Retrieved February 8 2023 R Kelly s Illinois charges to be dropped due to extensive sentences in federal cases January 31 2023 Retrieved February 8 2023 Indictment PDF United States of America v Robert Sylvester Kelly Court Filing E D N Y vol No 1 19 cr 00286 no Docket 1 Attachment 0 June 20 2019 retrieved May 10 2020 via Recap PACER current docket view Meisner Jason Buckley Madeline Crepeau Megan July 11 2019 R Kelly arrested in Chicago after being indicted by federal grand jury on new sex crime charges Chicago Tribune July 11 2019 Arcand Rob July 11 2019 R Kelly Arrested on Federal Sex Trafficking Charges Spin Archived from the original on September 28 2021 Retrieved October 20 2020 Rojas Rick Zaveri Mihir Gold Michael July 12 2019 U S Prosecutors File New Charges Including Child Pornography Against R Kelly The New York Times Retrieved March 28 2021 R Kelly charged with racketeering including predicate acts of coercing and transporting minor girls to engage in sex U S Immigrations and Customs Enforcement Department of Homeland Security July 12 2019 Archived from the original on September 28 2021 Retrieved March 28 2021 Dienst Jonathan R Kelly Arrested on Fed Child Porn Charges Indicted in NYC WNBC Archived from the original on September 28 2021 Retrieved July 17 2019 Meisner Jason We re talking seventh and eighth grade girls prosecutors say as R Kelly held without bond on sex charges Chicago Tribune Archived from the original on September 28 2021 Retrieved July 17 2019 Letter in support of a permanent order of detention as to Robert Sylvester Kelly PDF United States of America v Robert Sylvester Kelly Court Filing E D N Y vol No 1 19 cr 00286 no Docket 5 Attachment 0 1 July 12 2019 retrieved May 10 2022 via Recap PACER current docket view Minute Entry for proceedings held before Magistrate Judge Steven Tiscione Arraignment as to Robert Sylvester Kelly PDF United States of America v Robert Sylvester Kelly Court Filing E D N Y vol No 1 19 cr 00286 no Docket 18 August 2 2019 retrieved May 10 2022 via Recap PACER current docket view Andone Darran Simon Sonia Moghe Dakin August 2 2019 R Kelly pleads not guilty to federal charges of kidnapping and sexual exploitation of a child in New York CNN Retrieved May 10 2022 Burnett Sara Rousseau Caryn July 13 2019 Feds bring new sex crime charges against singer R Kelly Associated Press Archived from the original on September 28 2021 Retrieved July 17 2019 Wells Jason Nashrulla Tasneem R Kelly Was Denied Bond After Being Charged With Federal Sex Crimes BuzzFeed News Archived from the original on September 28 2021 Retrieved July 17 2019 R Kelly Denied Early Prison Release After Claiming Fear Of Coronavirus www forbes com April 7 2020 Archived from the original on September 28 2021 Tye Chris February 14 2020 R Kelly Faces New Federal Indictment In Chicago Adding New Victim But Removing Another WBBM TV Archived from the original on September 28 2021 Retrieved January 29 2021 Luperon Alberto March 13 2020 R Kelly Faces Yet Another Criminal Indictment in Brooklyn Federal Court Law amp Crime Archived from the original on September 28 2021 Retrieved January 29 2021 R Kelly transferred to same NYC jail as Ghislaine Maxwell ahead of trial June 23 2021 Archived from the original on September 28 2021 Retrieved June 25 2021 R Kelly transferred to NYC jail ahead of sex trafficking trial USA Today June 23 2021 Archived from the original on September 28 2021 Retrieved June 25 2021 Seidel Jon October 16 2020 R Kelly s lawyers say no one raised a finger to prevent MCC attack Chicago Sun Times Archived from the original on September 28 2021 Retrieved January 29 2021 Haas Mariah August 5 2019 R Kelly charged with soliciting a minor in Minnesota Fox News Archived from the original on September 28 2021 Retrieved August 5 2019 Aswad Jem August 5 2019 R Kelly Charged With Prostitution in Minnesota Variety Archived from the original on September 28 2021 Retrieved August 5 2019 Superseding Indictment 1 PDF United States of America v Robert Sylvester Kelly Court Filing E D N Y vol No 1 19 cr 00286 no Docket 3 July 10 2019 retrieved May 10 2020 via Recap PACER current docket view Moghe Sonia As R Kelly trial approaches prosecutors want to include alleged evidence of bribes and recordings of threats CNN Archived from the original on September 28 2021 Retrieved July 25 2021 Leight Elias August 10 2021 R Kelly Racketeering Trial Opens as Judge Questions Prospective Jurors Rolling Stone Archived from the original on August 10 2021 Retrieved May 10 2022 Memorandum of Law in Support of Robert S Kelly s Motion to Dismiss PDF United States of America v Robert Sylvester Kelly Court Filing E D N Y vol No 1 19 cr 00286 no Docket 159 August 9 2021 retrieved May 10 2020 via Recap PACER current docket view Kalmbacher Colin August 12 2021 R Kelly Wants Witness Testimony About His Alleged Herpes Status Tossed Because the Women Are Not Medical Experts Law amp Crime Archived from the original on August 12 2021 Retrieved May 10 2022 span, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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