Double Up

by

R. Kelly

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R. Kelly is a musical genius; he's also a flawed man. With allegations of underage sexual encounters and an alledged sex-tape as well, Kelly never convinces us he is the "Christian" man who sang such inspirational songs as "I Believe I Can Fly" or "U Saved Me" and "Prayer Changes" from his HAPPY PEOPLE/U SAVED ME double disc. What makes the inspirational side of Kelly hard to accept might be because he will praise God out of one side of his mouth ("Rise Up" isn't an outright 'gospel' number but it is inspirational) and then curse like a sailor (the extremely explicit, controversial "Real Talk") or sexualize any and everything (on DOUBLE UP, it's the "Zoo" that gets the sexualization). But, as a listener, it isn't my job to criticize Kelly as a man or whatever his status as a church-going man is; it is my job only to critique his latest outfit,

DOUBLE UP, which is a hip-hop album for the most part as opposed to sensual sounding R&B. DOUBLE UP is much harder than any other R. Kelly album, in more ways than one. It is easily the most explicit album that Kells has ever made, saturated with the 'f-bomb' throughout. Also, there have never been so many guest spots from rappers on any of Kell's other affairs. Personally, I thought DOUBLE UP might be another misstep for Kelly, following the forgettable TP.3, which should've been phenomenal following the hype of "Trapped in the Closet". However, DOUBLE UP is actually Kelly's best album for awhile, even though it sadly sheds Kelly's sensual, R&B facade. Sure, there are a couple of straight, R&B tracks, but mostly, the album serves to celebrate Kelly's rekindled success, which has been in the area of hip-hop where his presence has helped to propel singles "That's That S***" (Snoop Dogg) and the more popular "Go Getta" (Young Jeezy). If you think about DOUBLE UP in that regard, it isn't so far-fetched, though part of you knowing Kelly is closer to 40 than 20 does make you think, why is he doing this? But that question need not be asked since DOUBLE UP works nearly perfectly except for a few ridiculous misses.

The album opens with the Swizz Beatz featured intro "The Champ" in which Kelly brags about how he's the King of R&B. Sure, it copies what all the rappers do on the intro of their albums, but you do have to think, is Kelly the King of R&B? Perhaps. "Double Up" is one of my personal favorites, in which Kelly and "Uncle Snoop" talk about going to the club and having two girls (not just one but TWO) on their arm. It uses a stunning classic soul sample and is one of the best title-tracks of any album of 2007. King? Two tracks in yes. Continuing the hip-hop flair, which is a bit surprising at first, "Trying To Get A Number" is excellent as well, once again featuring updated production under Kelly and an excellent collaboration with St. Louis rap standout Nelly. Despite being another success, you do become a bit inquisitive about if R. Kelly really is trying to get a number - especially with wife and kids? Anyways... "Get Dirty" is just as strong as "Double Up" or "Trying To Get A Number" where Kelly proudly proclaims "Hey, Hey/ I'm HollyHOOD..." Chamillionaire joins the singer (or pop-rapper in this case!) with an excellent verse. Maybe Kelly is the king of hip-hop as opposed to R&B. Oh well, it works either way.

A couple of luke-warm tracks poke their ugly head up at this point. Shockingingly, they are all Kelly solo tracks, making you wonder if hip-hop is truly where Kelly should reside. "Leave Your Name" hearkens the worst of TP3 RELOADED while "Freaky In the Club" is only slightly better than the ill-conceived "Slow Wind" from the 2005 album. Only the incredibly over-the-top "Zoo", which features animals sounds mind you (elephants, monkeys!) is truly Kelly back in his old form - well for the most part. "I'm A Flirt (Remix)" feat. T.I. & T-Pain brings the King back after a brief hiatus. This was definitly one of the Summer's biggest hits; I kind of like the version absent here that features Bow-Wow and Kelly, but this one is solid as well. "Same Girl" features the other big R&B superstar, Usher for a brilliant duet in which it seems that the theme of "doubling up" reappears (genius Kelly, genius!) The most talked about track from DOUBLING UP (besides "Zoo")has to be the controversial "Real Talk". True to its name, the singer refers to women as "b*tches" and saturates "motherf**ker" like it's nothing. It is a well concieved track, similar to his recitative style that popularized "Trapped in the Closet", but it maybe a bit too controversial for the R.Kelly fan-base. He does similar later with the more accessible, "Best Friend" featuring Keyshia Cole and rap-producer Polow Da Don, which has it's share of the explicit itself. Again, is Kelly the King? Probably.

"Hook It Up" is a standout featuring Huey ("Pop, Lock, Drop It") while "Rock Star" is one of the best collaborative ventures of 2007 (features Ludacris and Kid Rock). After "Best Friend", Kells pulls off his excellent solo hip-hop influence track "Rollin'", which is easily one of the best of DOUBLE UP. "Sweet Tooth" isn't bad, though not as great as "Havin' A Baby", an unexpected inspirational track absent of sex. It is very appropriate as the penultimate track to Kell's beautiful, chilling "Rise Up", in tribute and memory of the Virginia Tech victims. The bonus track "Ringtone" is forgettable, but by the time you've reached midway through this album, you know that the talented, though oversexed-freaky Kelly is back, moreso than the tepid TP3 RELOADED, which was only good for a couple of hits ("In the Kitchen", "Trapped in the Closet", "Remote Control", "T-Shirt" among a couple of others). 4 Stars in my eyes.

Let's be honest, R. Kelly is the best R&B singer in this generation. He is 15 years deep in the game and is a legend along other R&B giants of the past. Who else can still inspire millions of people to buy his work after all his personal problems became public? His music is too good to be ignored, except this record. Some of the songs on here are so ridiculous; it's hard to take him serious anymore.

With this album, all R. Kelly glorifies is sex, money, and the club scene. I expected more maturity from Mr. Kelly because he is now 40 years-old. However, he is still trying to pass himself off as a 25 year-old thug. It's not working. I wanted to hear more things about real love, life, growing up, God, problems of the world and spiritual sex (not the physical type Kelly sings about). Songs like `Double Up' is about having sex with two women, `Tryin' to Get a Number' is about taking a girl home after the club, `Get Dirty' talks about watching strippers slide down the pole, `Leave Your Name' talks about getting too drunk to holla at a woman, so he wants her to leave her name, `The Zoo' is too funny for words and it goes on and on. `Real Talk' is a bit different because he is yelling at his girl for listening to her friends about him cheating. `Real Talk' may be different, but it's still annoying with all the cussing and stupidity. The only songs I like are `Havin A Baby', `Best Friend', and `I Like Love' and `Ooh Baby' (the latter two are available on the bonus version).

Double Up (explicit version) was released a week in advance, due to the album leaking on the Internet. Three songs are already in heavy rotation on radio, they are: I'm a Flirt (Remix), Same Girl, and The Zoo. My advice to Mr. Kelly is this: understand you are getting older and your fan base is getting older, too. Most of your fans are not interested in clubbing (they did that back in the 90s). Stop trying to appeal to the high schools kids and grow up!