Kelly, R(obert)

Kelly, R(obert), the sexy soul man of the 1990s (b. Chicago, Jan. 8, 1969). In the course of less than ten years, R. Kelly went from busking by the entrance to the “L” train in Chicago to Grammy awards and multi-platinum hits. He has worked with Michael Jackson and Michael Jordan, produced music both salacious and sacred.

Raised in a single parent home in the projects of Chicago’s south side, Kelly saw basketball as his only way out. Even after muggers shot him during his early teens, he still pursued that dream—but stayed away from gangs. At the Kenwood Academy, one of his teachers heard him sing and started him on vocal training. Soon he was singing arias and developed a range from alto through baritone. By the time he finished school, he had also written hundreds of songs. With his band MGM, he won the Big Break television talent contest.

Out of school, Kelly went out with his piano and started playing by the entrance to the “L” train. Some days he claims he could clear $400. He would also sing at parties and audition for plays. At one of these events, a rep from Jive Records heard him and was floored. Within two years, he had released his debut, with the band Public Announcement, Born in the ’90s. The singles “Slow Dance” and “Honey Love” topped the R&B chart, the latter scratching into the Top 40. The next song, “Dedicated,” rose to #31. The album went platinum.

Kelly debuted without Public Announcement with the 1993 album 12 Play. With the massive singles “Sex Me (Parts 1 & 2)” (gold and #20 pop), the platinum “Bump and Grind” which topped the pop charts for four weeks and the R&B charts for 12, and the gold “Your Body Callin” (#13 pop), Kelly became a major star.

Hoping to tap into this success, he was brought into the studio to work with bands ranging from teen sensation Aaliya, for whom he created two hit singles (and eventually married), to Michael Jackson. His own eponymous effort in 1995 featured the song “You Remind Me of Something/’ Women were of two minds about the performer. On the one hand, he sang melting romantic songs. On the other were lyrics like “You Remind Me of My Jeep/I Wanna Ride It.” However, the song shipped gold, hit the charts at #1 on the R&B chart, #4 pop, and was certified platinum. His duet with Ronald Isley, “Down Low (Nobody Has to Know),” topped the R&B charts and went to #4 pop as well, going platinum. “I Can’t Sleep Baby (If I)” rose to #5 and also went platinum. The album debuted at #1 on both the pop and R&B album charts, eventually going quintuple platinum.

However, that wasn’t even his biggest triumph. Basketball star Michael Jordan asked Kelly to write a song for the film he had just finished acting in, Space Jam. The song topped both the R&B and pop charts, and went platinum. It won him three Grammy awards, Best Male R&B Vocal Performance, Best R&B Song, and Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television.

His next album, the two-CD package R debuted on the chart at #2. It had already enjoyed lots of exposure, as the music video for Celine Dion’s duet with Kelly, “I’m Your Angel,” became the first to debut on a major television network outside of an entertainment special. The network gave the video its own four minute time slot. The single topped the adult contemporary and pop charts. Kelly described R as “50% ballads/30% R&B/20% hip-hop.” In addition to Dion, rappers Jay Z, Nas, Noreaga, and Foxy Brown all did guest spots. Like his previous albums, R also went quintuple platinum.

Discography

Born into the 90’s (1992); 12 Play (1993); R. Kelly (1995); R (1998).

—Hank Bordowitz