Line #28 Music/RKelly


1	[[quoteright:233:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/r_kelly.jpg]]
2	%%
3	->''"In case you're not familiar, R. Kelly is a brilliant R&B singer-slash-crazy person."''
4	-->-- '''Creator/AzizAnsari''', ''Dangerously Delicious''
5
6	Robert Sylvester Kelly (born January 8, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer.
7
8	He was active in music from 1989 to 2019, specializing in RAndB, HipHop, and {{gospel\|Music}}. He is known for hit singles such as "I Believe I Can Fly" (from the ''Film/SpaceJam'' soundtrack), "Bump N' Grind", "Your Body's Callin'", and "Ignition (Remix)", as well as the "[[RockOpera Hip-Hopera]]" ''Music/TrappedInTheCloset''. He has sold 75 million records worldwide, making him the most successful male R&B artist of TheNineties. He was widely celebrated for his talent and style as well as his influence on the R&B/hip-hop sound of the 1990s and 2000s, all the way up to earning nicknames such as "the King of R&B".
9
10	However, Kelly's image and legacy are marred by numerous allegations of sexual abuse and misconduct, many involving minors. These accusations, dating back to the early stages of his career, [[OvershadowedByControversy cast a shadow over his accomplishments]]. His controversial relationship and marriage with then-underage singer Music/{{Aaliyah}} in 1995 and allegations of abuse by his ex-wife Andrea Kelly further tarnished his image. In 2017, a lengthy story from [[Website/BuzzFeed BuzzFeed News]] accused Kelly of allegedly running a "sex cult" and engaging in human trafficking of women (some lured in as teenagers) with the promise of helping them establish singing careers. Despite these claims, his career remained largely unaffected until the release of the Creator/{{Lifetime}} documentary series ''Surviving R. Kelly'' in 2019, which sparked a nationwide reckoning with his actions. In 2021, he was convicted of sex trafficking and other charges, resulting in a 30-year prison sentence, and convicted in a second trial in 2022 of three of 13 counts of producing child pornography. He also lost a civil trial against one of his accusers and was found liable in a default judgment against another. Kelly continues to challenge his convictions and maintains his innocence.
11	----
12	!!Studio discography:
13	* ''Born into the 90's'' (1992; collaboration with Public Announcement)
14	* ''12 Play'' (1993)
15	* ''R. Kelly'' (1995)
16	* ''R.'' (1998)
17	* ''TP-2.com'' (2000)
18	* ''The Best of Both Worlds'' (2002; collaboration with Music/JayZ)
19	* ''Chocolate Factory'' (2003)
20	* ''[[DistinctDoubleAlbum Happy People/U Saved Me]]'' (2004)
21	* ''Unfinished Business'' (2004; collaboration with Music/JayZ)
22	* ''TP.3 Reloaded'' (2005)
23	* ''Double Up'' (2007)
24	* ''Untitled'' (2009)
25	* ''Love Letter'' (2010)
26	* ''Write Me Back'' (2012)
27	* ''Black Panties'' (2013)
28	* ''The Buffet'' (2015)
29	* ''[[ChristmasSongs 12 Nights of Christmas]]'' (2016)
30	----
31	!!Tropes present in R. Kelly's work:
32	* AwardBaitSong: "I Believe I Can Fly" from ''Film/SpaceJam'', "Gotham City" from ''Film/BatmanAndRobin'', and "The World's Greatest" from ''Film/{{Ali}}''.
33	* DownerEnding: In the video for "Down Low", he crosses his boss Mr. Biggs (played by [[Music/TheIsleyBrothers Ronald Isley]]) by having an affair with his TrophyWife. Biggs' thugs break in on them, beat Kelly up, and abandon him in the desert. He gets to the hospital just in time to see his lover die, having also been brutally beaten.
34	* DramaticChoirNumber: "I Believe I Can Fly" has a choir singing the last part of the {{Truck Drivers Gear Change}}d chorus.
35	* EpicRocking: If you count all 33 chapters of ''Music/TrappedInTheCloset'' as one song, it totals to 2 HOURS and 13 MINUTES.
36	* GospelMusic: While not usually associated with the genre as a performer; during the 1990s he would occasionally produce gospel albums for artists such as The Winans; Vickie Winans (who for a time was [[CreatorCouple married to Marvin Winans of the aforementioned group]]) and most prominently Trinitee 5:7.
37	%% * HipHopSoul
38	* IntercourseWithYou: Given that he's an R&B singer, almost inevitable. "[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Sex Me]]", "Ignition", "The Zoo", etc.
39	* LargeHam
40	-->My mind's telling me ''[[BigNo NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO]]''/ But my body/ MY BODY'S TELLING ME [[BigYes YEEEE-HEEEEEEEEES!]]
41	* ManOfAThousandVoices: Voiced every character in ''Trapped in the Closet'', ranging from a character he acts out, to white women.
42	%% * NewJackSwing
43	* {{Retraux}}: His album ''Love Letter'' has a few Motown style songs.
44	* TitleByNumber: Co-wrote "808", a 1999 top-10 hit for the girl group Blaque.
45	* VocalEvolution: His voice is almost unrecognisable on ''Born into the 90's'' and ''12 Play'', with him singing in a much lower register than what most listeners are used to.
46	----
47	!!R. Kelly in Media
48	* ''Series/ChappellesShow'' featured a parody of the song "Ignition", and its remix, titled "Piss on U", featuring Dave exemplifying Kelly's waste-based recreation. Chappelle joked that Kelly approached him between episodes, saying "How you gonna make a video about peeing on somebody?", to which Chappelle responded "''How you'' [[IronicEcho gonna make a video about peeing on somebody?]]" [[note]] [[https://uproxx.com/tv/neal-breannan-r-kelly-sent-goons-beat-up-dave-chappelle/2/ Kells allegedly tried to have his entourage beat up Chappelle]] when he found out about the skit, so Dave was likely downplaying Kelly's reaction.[[/note]]
49	** On his DVD commentary, Chappelle says the sketch was motivated by how surprised he was that everyone was focused on the age of Kelly's alleged victim, while to Chappelle the urine aspect was the most fascinating part of the scandal as it had never before entered his head that such a thing could even be ''conceived'' as sexual.
50	* ''WesternAnimation/TheBoondocks'' featured the trial of Kelly (in Woodcrest, as opposed to his and the Freemans' native Chicago) as the setting for its second episode, "[[Recap/TheBoondocksS1E2TheTrialOfRKelly The Trial of R. Kelly]]".
51	* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' featured an episode with Kelly, Creator/TomCruise, and other celebrities, figuratively and literally Music/TrappedInTheCloset. As per the music video, Kelly seems a bit trigger happy.
52	* In the MediaNotes/FightingGameCommunity, particularly ''Franchise/StreetFighter'' players, the term "R. Kelly" is slang referring to a [[FlawlessVictory Perfect]], due to the "P" icon and the solid yellow life bar.
53	* In one of his stand-up routines, Creator/AzizAnsari has a small segment on R. Kelly and his live shows, and does a good impression of him. Aziz calls him a "[[BunnyEarsLawyer brilliant singer]]/[[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} crazy person]]."
54	* He's mentioned in [[Music/{{Macklemore}} Macklemore and Ryan Lewis]]' "Thrift Shop":
55	-->Probably shoulda washed this, smells like R. Kelly's sheets\
56	''[[DontExplainTheJoke (Piiisssssss)]]''\
57	But shit, it was 99 cents!
58	* ''Series/SixtyMinutes'' had Gayle King interview Kelly about all his various scandals. The interview became infamous for Kelly melting down and ranting midway through, even when King offers to pause the interview so he can collect himself.
59	* Series/SaturdayNightLive had a popular skit parodying the Gayle King interview, which was even talked about in the Surviving R. Kelly documentary.
60	* ''Series/ThatsSoRaven'', in maybe ''the'' most epic GettingCrapPastTheRadar moment on Creator/DisneyChannel, slipped in a split-second mention of him in [[ItMakesSenseInContext an episode where the teenage Raven is mistaken for trying to wed a classmate's father]]. This was eventually caught and censored out when the show was put on Creator/DisneyPlus.
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Context Music / RKelly