Robert Sylvester Kelly (bornJanuary 8, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer,and sex offender convicted of racketeering and multiple sex offenses.

During his recording career, Kelly soldover 75 million records worldwide, making him the most commerciallysuccessful male R&B artist of the 1990s and one of the world'sbest-selling music artists. He won three Grammys for his song "IBelieve I Can Fly", and was also nominated for his song "YouAre Not Alone" recorded by Michael Jackson. Critics dubbedhim "the King of R&B" while he billed himselfthe "Pied Piper of R&B".

Starting in the 1990s, journalists andalleged victims of Kelly accused him of sexually abusing young fans,including minors, and luring them into inappropriate sexualrelationships. The Cook County State's Attorney indicted Kelly in2002 on child pornography charges, but failed to convict in aresulting 2008 trial. Kelly evaded lasting consequences until the2019 documentary television series Surviving R. Kelly re-examinedaccusations of Kelly's sexual misconduct with minors. Backlash ledRCA Records to terminate their contract with Kelly. Law enforcementin New York, Chicago, and Minneapolis pursued new criminal casesagainst Kelly following the documentary. Kelly was arrested onfederal charges in July 2019. Denied bail, Kelly has been a federalprisoner since.

A 2021 trial in Brooklyn federal courtconvicted Kelly for violations of the Mann Act and racketeering. A2022 trial in Chicago federal court convicted Kelly for three childpornography charges and three charges of enticing a minor, butacquitted him of charges of conspiracy to obstruct justice inrelation to his 2008 trial. The Brooklyn court sentenced Kelly to 30years imprisonment; his sentencing in Chicago court is slated forFebruary 2023. As of September 2022, Kelly is an inmate ofMetropolitan Correctional Center, Chicago. He continues to challengehis two convictions.

Early life

Robert Sylvester Kelly was born on theSouth Side of Chicago, Illinois, on January 8, 1967 at ChicagoLying-In Hospital (now University of Chicago Medical Center) in thecity's Hyde Park neighborhood. He has five siblings (three of whichare half), two older sisters and brother, along with a youngerbrother and sister. His mother, Joanne, was a schoolteacher anddevout Baptist. She was born in Arkansas. The identity of his father,who was absent from Kelly's life and later raised two children, isnot known. His family lived in the Ida B. Wells Homes public housingproject in the Black Metropolis–Bronzeville District of Chicago'sDouglas neighborhood, also on the city's south side. Around the timehe was five years old, Kelly's mother married his stepfather,Lucious, who reportedly worked for an airline. Kelly began singing inthe church choir at age eight.

Kelly described having a girlfriend,Lulu, at age eight, in his autobiography. He stated that their lastplay date turned tragic when, after fighting with older children overa play area by a creek, she was pushed into the water, sweptdownstream by a fast-moving current, and drowned. Kelly called Luluhis first musical inspiration.

Kelly said members of his householdwould act differently when his mother and grandparents were not home.From age 8 to 14, he was sexually abused by an older female familymember. Kelly's younger brother, Carey, stated that he suffered fromyears of sexual abuse at the hands of his older sister, Theresa, whowas entrusted with babysitting her siblings. Carey stated thatalthough their older brother, Bruce, was spared and allowed to playoutside, both he and Kelly were punished at separate times indoors byTheresa, who refused to acknowledge the abuse when confronted yearslater.

Explaining why he never told anyone,Kelly wrote in his 2012 autobiography, Soulacoaster: The Diary of Me,that he was "too afraid and too ashamed". Around age10, Kelly was also sexually abused by an older male who was a friendof the family. In his autobiography, Kelly described being shot inthe shoulder, at age 11, by boys who were attempting to steal hisbike, although a family friend later stated that Kelly had shothimself while attempting suicide.

In September 1980, Kelly enteredKenwood Academy in the city's Hyde Park-Kenwood district, where hemet music teacher Lena McLin, who encouraged Kelly to perform theStevie Wonder classic "Ribbon in the Sky" in thehigh school talent show. A shy Kelly put on sunglasses, was escortedonto the stage, sang the song and won first prize. McLin encouragedKelly to leave the high school basketball team and concentrate onmusic. She said he was furious at first, but after his performance inthe talent show, he changed his mind. Kelly was diagnosed withdyslexia, which left him unable to read or write. Kelly dropped outof high school after attending Kenwood Academy for one year. He beganperforming in the subway under the Chicago "L"tracks. He regularly busked at the "L" stop on theRed Line's Jackson station in the Loop.

In his youth, Kelly played basketballwith Illinois state champion basketball player Ben Wilson and latersang "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday" atWilson's funeral.

Career

1990–1996: Born into the 90's, 12Play and R. Kelly

Kelly gained national recognition in1989 when MGM participated on the talent TV show Big Break, hosted byNatalie Cole. After MGM performed "All My Love",which would become a demo for Kelly's song "She's Got ThatVibe" the group went on to win the $100,000 grand prize.

In 1991, Kelly signed with JiveRecords. Kelly's debut album, Born into the 90's, was released inearly 1992 (credited as R. Kelly and Public Announcement). The album,released during the new jack swing period of the early 1990s, yieldedthe R&B hits "She's Got That Vibe", "HoneyLove", "Dedicated", and "Slow Dance (HeyMr. DJ)", with Kelly singing lead vocals.[60] During late1992, Kelly and Public Announcement embarked on a tour entitled"60653" after the zip code of their Chicagoneighborhood. This would be the only album co-credited with PublicAnnouncement. Kelly separated from the group in January 1993.

I was really taking a chancewith the concept of this album.—Kelly on 12 Play, 1994.

Kelly's first solo album, 12 Play, wasreleased on November 9, 1993, and yielded the singer's firstnumber-one hit, "Bump N' Grind", which spent arecord-breaking 12 weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot R&BSingles chart. Subsequent hit singles: "Your Body's Callin'"(U.S. Hot 100: #13, U.S. R&B: #2) and "Sex Me"(U.S. Hot 100: #20, U.S. R&B: #8). Both singles sold 500,000copies in the United States and were certified Gold by the RIAA. In1994, 12 Play was certified Gold by the RIAA, eventually going sixtimes platinum.

In 1995, Kelly garnered his firstGrammy nominations; two for writing, producing and composing MichaelJackson's last number one hit, "You Are Not Alone".

Kelly's success continued with theNovember 14, 1995, release of R. Kelly, his eponymous second studioalbum. Critics praised him for his departure from salacious bedroomsongs to embracing vulnerability. New York Times contributor StephenHolden described Kelly as "The reigning king of pop-soul sextalks a lot tougher than Barry White, the father of such fluffed-uppillow talks and along with Marvin Gaye and Donny Hathaway, [both]major influences for Kelly." Also in December 1995,Professor Michael Eric Dyson critiqued Kelly's self-titled album "R.Kelly" for VIBE. Dyson described Kelly's growth from the 12Play album: "Kelly reshapes his personal turmoil to artisticbenefit" and noted that Kelly is "reborn before ourvery own ears".

The album reached number one on theBillboard 200 chart, becoming Kelly's first number one album on thechart, and reached number one on the R&B album charts; hissecond. The R. Kelly album spawned three platinum hit singles: "YouRemind Me of Something" (U.S. Hot 100: #4, U.S. R&B:#1), "I Can't Sleep Baby (If I)" (U.S. Hot 100: #5,U.S. R&B: #1), and "Down Low (Nobody Has To Know)"(U.S. Hot 100: #4, U.S. R&B: #1); a duet with Ronald Isley.Kelly's self-titled album sold four million copies, receiving 4×platinum certification from the RIAA. He promoted the album with a50-city "Down Low Top Secret Tour" with LL Cool J,Xscape, and Solo.

On November 26, 1996, Kelly released "IBelieve I Can Fly", an inspirational song originallyreleased on the soundtrack for the film Space Jam. "I BelieveI Can Fly" reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, and No. 1on the UK charts for three weeks and won three Grammy Awards in 1998.In that same year, he contributed to "Freak Tonight"for the A Thin Line Between Love and Hate soundtrack.

1997–2001: Basketball, R., TP-2.COM,and Rockland Records

In 1997, Kelly signed a contract toplay professional basketball with the Atlantic City Seagulls of theUSBL. He wore the number 12 in honor of his album 12 Play. Kelly said"I love basketball enough to not totally let go of my music,but just put it to the side for a minute and fulfill some dreams ofmine that I've had for a long time." Kelly's USBL contractcontained a clause that would allow him to fulfill a music obligationwhen necessary. "If Whitney Houston needs a song written",said Ken Gross, the Seagulls owner who signed Kelly, "hewould be able to leave the team to do that and come back". "Itwasn't a gimmick", Gross continued, "he's aballplayer. He can play."

In 1998, he launched his own label,Rockland Records, in a distribution deal with Jimmy Iovine'sInterscope Records. The label's roster included artists Sparkle, Boo& Gotti, Talent, Vegas Cats, Lady, Frankie, Secret Weapon, andRebecca F. That May, Sparkle, Rockland's first signed artist,released her eponymous debut album. In addition to producing andwriting the project, Kelly made vocal contribution to the hit duet"Be Careful", which became a serious factor as towhy the album was certified platinum in December 2000.

On November 17, 1998, Kelly releasedhis fourth studio and first double album, R. Musically, the albumspans different genres from pop (Celine Dion), street rap (Nas andJay-Z) to Blues ("Suicide"). Dave Hoekstra of theLos Angeles Times described the album as "easily the mostambitious project of his career". In the summer of 1999, hewrote and produced a majority of the soundtrack to the MartinLawrence and Eddie Murphy film, Life, which features tracks from K-Ci& JoJo, Maxwell, Mýa, and Destiny's Child, among others. Thesoundtrack was also released on the Rockland imprint.

In early 2000, Kelly received multipleawards reflecting his status as an established R&B superstar. InJanuary 2000, he won Favorite Male Soul/R&B Artist at theAmerican Music Awards and, in February, was nominated for severalGrammy Awards, including Best Male R&B Vocal Performance ("Whena Woman's Fed Up"), Best R&B Album (R.), and Best RapPerformance by a Duo or Group ("Satisfy You") withP. Diddy.

On November 7, 2000, he released hisfifth studio album, TP-2.com, a project aligned with his breakthroughalbum, 12 Play. Unlike R., all songs on TP-2.com were written,arranged, and produced by Kelly. AllMusic's Jason Birchmeier gaveTP-2.com 4 stars and stated: "Kelly knows how to take provenformulas and funnel them through his own stylistic aesthetic, whichusually means slowing down the tempo, laying on lush choruses ofstrings and background vocals, taming down the lyrics for radio, andcatering his pitch primarily to wistful women.

In 2001, Kelly won the OutstandingAchievement Award at the Music of Black Origin or MOBO Awards andBillboard magazine ranked TP-2.com number 94 on the magazine's Top200 Albums of the Decade. Kelly's song, "The World'sGreatest", from the soundtrack to the 2001 autobiographicalfilm, Ali, was a hit.

2002–2003: The Best of Both Worldsand Chocolate Factory

On January 24, 2002, at a pressconference announcing the completion of Kelly and Jay-Z's firstcollaborative album, The Best of Both Worlds, celebrities such asJohnnie Cochran, Russell Simmons, Luther Vandross, and Sean Combspraised the album, with Jay-Z stating that he hoped the collaborationrepresents "more unity for black people on a whole".MTV's Shaheem Reid wrote: "And if Jay and Kelly can put theiregos to the side long enough to wrap up and promote their album, thentheir labels—Def Jam and Jive, respectively—can surely figure outa way to join forces and make cheddar together."

On February 8, 2002, Kelly performed atthe closing ceremony of the 2002 Winter Olympics at the same time anews scandal broke of a sex tape that appeared to show Kelly with anunderage girl.

When the joint album leaked on February22, 2002, it caused Jay-Z and Damon Dash's label, Def Jam-distributedRoc-A-Fella, and Jive to modify the album's release date in March.Jay-Z expressed frustration about the album leak to MTV News: "It'sthe gift and the curse. It's an honor that everybody wants your musicfast, but on the other hand, it's another thing when the music getsout before you [want it to]. Because that's your art. You feelattached to it. You feel a certain way and you want people to go outand support it. The time that you take, it's like a piece of yourlife. You take parts of your life and you put it on these records andthen for it to just be traded and moved around [is frustrating]."Upon release on March 19, 2002, The Best of Both Worlds sold 285,000copies in its opening week and debuted at number two on the Billboard200. It was a critical and commercial disappointment.

In May 2002, Kelly's initial sixthstudio album, Loveland, leaked and was delayed for releasing inNovember. Kelly restructured the album which was later packaged as adeluxe edition bonus disc of the now-renamed Chocolate Factory. InOctober of that year, Kelly released the remix to its single,"Ignition". It charted at number two on the Billboard Hot100.

On February 18, 2003, Kelly releasedthe album, Chocolate Factory. It debuted at number one on theBillboard 200, ending the first two-week run of rapper 50 Cent's GetRich or Die Tryin'. It sold 532,000 copies in its first week. Thealbum was also supported by its follow-up singles, "Snake"and the remix of "Step in the Name of Love"; thelatter of which peaked at number nine on the Hot 100. Later thatyear, in September, Kelly's first greatest hits album, The R. in R&BCollection, Vol. 1, was released which included "ThoiaThoing" and two other previously unreleased songs.

2004–2005: Unfinished Business,Happy People/U Saved Me and TP.3 Reloaded

Between mid-2003 and early 2004, Kellybegan work on a double CD album, one with "happy"tracks and another with "inspirational" tracks. Thedouble album, Happy People/U Saved Me, was released on August 24,2004. It debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, with first weeksales of 264,000 copies. Both of the album's titled tracksrespectively performed underwhelmingly; "Happy People"charted at number twenty-nine on the Adult R&B song chart while"U Saved Me" peaked at number fifty-two on theBillboard Hot 100.

Two months later, Kelly and Jay-Zreunited to release their second collaborative album, UnfinishedBusiness. The album received criticism and, as with the pair'sprevious collaboration, it was also a commercial failure, despitedebuting at number one on the Billboard 200. Album promotion and itsBest of Both Worlds tour were both plagued by tension between thestars, with Kelly reportedly showing up late or not at all to gigs.Kelly complained that the touring lights were not directed towardshim and allegedly assaulted the tour's lighting director.

Jay-Z eventually removed Kelly halfwaythrough the tour, after a member of Jay-Z's entourage pepper sprayedKelly on October 29, 2004. Tyran "Ty Ty" Smith wascharged with assault, but took a plea deal for disorderly conduct.Kelly bounced back commercially after appearing on Ja Rule's single,"Wonderful" alongside Ashanti. The song charted atnumber five on the Billboard Hot 100, topped the UK Singles Chart andwent platinum in the summer of 2005.

After finishing Happy People/U Saved Meand Unfinished Business in 2004,[97] Kelly released TP.3 Reloaded inJuly 2005. It became Kelly's fifth consecutive number-one album inhis career. TP.3 Reloaded was heavily cross-promoted by the firstfive chapters of Kelly's musical serial, Trapped in the Closet.

2006–2009: Double Up and Untitled,Africa

In December 2006, Kelly built momentumfor his eighth solo studio album, Double Up, after guest-appearing onBow Wow's "I'm a Flirt". Three months later, Kelly'sremix of "I'm a Flirt" was released, but instead ofBow Wow, it features T.I. and T-Pain. On May 29, 2007, the album wasreleased. It became Kelly's sixth and final album in his career tochart at number one on the Billboard 200. Kelly's other singles fromDouble Up titled "Same Girl" was a duet of Kelly andUsher, while "Rise Up" was a tribute to the victimsof the Virginia Tech shooting that occurred earlier that year inApril, a month before the album was released. The song was previouslyreleased as a digital download on May 15, 2007. Proceeds were donatedto the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund to help family members of thevictims of the shootings.

Kelly began his Double Up tour withNe-Yo, Keyshia Cole and J. Holiday opening for him. After two shows,promoter Leonard Rowe had Ne-Yo removed from the tour because of acontract dispute. However, Ne-Yo alleges that the reason for thedropout was because Ne-Yo believes he received a better response fromcritics and fans, even though he performed at just two shows. Ne-Yofiled a lawsuit against Rowe Entertainment. Kelly was not mentionedin the lawsuit. In December 2007, Kelly failed to appear at anotherpreliminary court hearing on his case due to his tour bus being heldup in Utah. The judge threatened to revoke Kelly's bond, buteventually decided against it. In 2008, Kelly released a rap tracktitled "I'm a Beast" in which he coarsely attackedhis detractors, yet did not name the subjects of the song.

In 2008, before and after beingacquitted on charges of producing child sexual abuse material,Billboard reported that Kelly had plans to release his newest albumtitled 12 Play: Fourth Quarter in the summer of that year but thealbum was postponed. Billboard named Kelly among the most successfulartists ever for its 50th Anniversary List. In the spring, thepromotional single "Hair Braider", peaked at No. 56on Billboard's R&B chart. On July 28, the entire album leakedonline, causing the title to be scrapped.

In February 2009, Kelly announced thathe was working on a new album called Untitled with a projectedrelease date of September 29, but it had been delayed to December. InJune 2009, he released his first mixtape, The "Demo"Tape, presented by DJ Skee and DJ Drama.

Kelly headlined the Arise AfricanFashion Awards in Johannesburg, South