R. Kelly is one of the biggest-selling R&B artists in the world. He has earned a reputation as a truly idiosyncratic artist with the recent Trapped in the Closet series. Unfortunately, his name has also been sullied by unsavoury criminal allegations.
His debut album with his band Public Announcement, Born into the 90s, yielded the hits "Honey Love", "Slow Dance", "Vibe",
"Dedicated" and "Hey Love". However, he shot to stardom with the release of his solo album 12 Play, which went on to sell over five million units. It featured "Bump n' Grind", R. Kelly's first US Number 1, "Your Body's Calling", "It Seems Like You're Ready", "Sex Me", "Sadie", and "12 Play". His third album, self titled R. Kelly, followed in 1995, and featured three more Top 10 hits for the singer, "I Can't Sleep", "Down Low (Nobody has to Know)" featuring The Isley Brothers, and "You Remind Me of Something". In 1996 he recorded "I Believe I Can Fly" for the film Space Jam, and the single was a worldwide hit, topping the charts in the UK, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland and Holland.
Kelly's fourth album R. was his best-selling record to date, going on to sell over ten million copies worldwide. The album included many guest appearances from Nas and Foxxy Brown to Celine Dion.
In 2000 Kelly released TP-2.com, which Kelly described as 12 Play 2000 or the 2000s version of 12 Play. The album included the hits "Fiesta", "A Woman's Threat", and "I Wish". Kelly recently stated that "I Wish" was supposed to be a collaboration with Tupac for the Best of Both Worlds.
In 2003, Chocolate Factory was another huge success and spawned another international hit -- "Ignition (Remix)" -- which topped the charts in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and the UK, and reached No.2 in the US.
In 2005, Kelly released TP-3 Reloaded which included Trapped in the Closet, a series of short films in the style of a soap opera but entirely sung by Kelly. Trapped in the Closet became an internet phenomenon for its originality, creativity, novelty and humor. Though he originally intended to only record one song, after playing the song for friends and musicians around his studio and constantly getting asked "what's next?", he then created the first five chapters, which were released as a bonus dvd with the album TP-3 Reloaded. Kelly has currently made and released 22 episodes.
Kelly released his next album, Double Up in 2007, which included the hits "I'm A Flirt (remix)", "Same Girl", and "Real Talk". The album was heavily influenced by hip hop compared to previous albums. Kelly described the album as 70% hip hop.
In the summer of 2008, Kelly planned to release 12 Play Fourth Quarter, which would include the songs "Hairbraider" and "Skin", however, the album leaked onto the internet, and the album was pushed back and eventually cancelled. In late 2009, Kelly released Untitled which included "Number One" featuring Keri Hilson, "Supaman High" featuring OJ Da Juiceman, and "Pregnant" featuring Tyrese, Robin Thicke, and The Dream. The album also included "Go Low" and "Whole Lotta Kisses" from Fourth Quarter.
In 2010 Kelly released the throwback jam, the 60s influenced "When A Woman Loves" from the album Loveletter, to be released in December 2010.
R. Kelly has been the subject of much controversy too. In 1995, at age 27, it was rumored that he allegedly married Aaliyah, who was just 15. After the story broke in the news, their marriage was annulled. Other under-age girls have accused him of seducing them, though these claims have been settled out of court. In 2003, reports suggested that R. Kelly was to be prosecuted in Florida for possessing child pornography, however those charges were dropped. In 2008 he was acquitted of soliciting a minor for child pornography after a video-tape emerged in 2002 that alleged to show him having sex with a 14-year old girl.
