Trapped In The Closet is a "hip-hopera" (as stated by creator R. Kelly), the first songs/videos of which were released in 2005. Dozens of further installments ("chapters") have been released since. The songs tell the story of Sylvester (played in the music videos by R. Kelly himself) and the crazy characters he encounters as a result of a one-night stand.It's become a cult classic, generally regarded as So Bad, It's Good. It's very clear from interviews that R. Kelly takes it perfectly seriously.
This "hip-hopera" contains examples of:
Acting for Two: R. Kelly plays Sylvester, the Lemony Narrator (indecisive as he is on whether they're the same person), Randolph (husband of Rosie the Nosy Neighbor), Rev. Evans, and Pimp Luscious.
Aluminium Christmas Trees: Viewers of the South Park episode of the same name might be surprised to discover that, yes, this does exist; and no, the depiction of it on the episode wasn't exaggerated.
The same applies to Weird Al's parody version, "Trapped in the Drive-Thru" — some were surprised that something so rambling and esoteric could actually be based on a real song.
Chekhov's Gunman: There are no minor characters. Even the characters who at first seem only to exist for a single scene turn out to be sleeping with or have a history with the main characters.
Lampshaded early on when a priest says "Well, since we're all comin' out the closet, I'm not about to be the only one who's broken-hearted." He then comes out of the closet.
Lemony Narrator: But in a humorously poorly done way. So much that eventually, after narrating in first person for several chapters, Sylvester abruptly starts referring to himself in the third person from then on.
He doesn't even start at any particular point. Take Chapter 11, where he switches between "Sylvester" and "I" almost every other line.
What's more, in the first chapter, he refers to Gwen in the second person, which is forgotten when she appears in the third.
The Parody: "Weird Al" Yankovic's "Trapped in the Drive-Thru", which is eleven minutes long, divided into three chapters with the same musical and dramatic structure as the original... except that it's about a couple getting dinner at the drive-thru. The mundane subject matter itself can be seen as parody, given how ridiculously over-the-top the scenarios in the original are.
Plot Hole: How did Gwendolyn know which police officer had stopped Sylvester, or that he had even been stopped at all?
Reckless Gun Usage: Sylvester pulls out his gun at any given opportunity, e.g. when annoyed or confused. He uses his gun to gesticulate, even to scratch his head.
The Reveal: One at the end of just about every chapter.
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