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Singer, songwriter

Singer, songwriter, and record producer R. Kelly arrived on the music scene with a sound reminiscent of traditional R&B music. Kelly's music often explores sexual themes, both openly and through sly innuendo—an aspect to be found in one of the very sources of contemporary R&B, the blues. On the other hand, the spiritual lyrics and powerful vocal delivery of Kelly's performances are clearly marked by the influence of gospel, another cornerstone in African-

American music and culture. Some critics and listeners have found the marriage of sexuality and religion to be troubling, but that barrier has already been broken by once shocking but now revered acts such as Marvin Gaye and Prince. As Essence writer Gordon Chambers asserted, "Like many of our great soulmen, Robert Kelly sings about the needs of both the flesh and the spirit." Like Prince, Kelly is a one-man dynamo who, in addition to producing and arranging his own recordings, also plays most of the instruments on them. However, no matter what his precedents may be, and despite any critical backlash, R. Kelly pushes his influences to new extremes.

Raised Out of Poverty

R. Kelly's story is a familiar rags-to-riches ascent. Born on January 8, 1968, in the south side of Chicago, Kelly was surrounded by hardship and poverty from the beginning. One of four children, Kelly was raised by a struggling single mother and schoolteacher, Joanne, in Chicago's housing projects. Even before he had reached adolescence, Kelly was assailed by negative peer pressures and the violent seduction of teen crime. However, the young Kelly eluded the aversive lures of his environment, thanks largely to the spiritual guidance of his mother and the introduction of music into his life. At Joanne's suggestion, Kelly sang backup for a local church choir that performed in storefronts. Not only did Kelly begin to shape the vocal style that launched his career within the church, he also found an uplifting network of support outside of the fraternity of street gangs.

When Kelly was 16 years old, his mother managed to move her family away from the projects and enroll her son into Kenwood Academy, a Chicago public school. It was there that Kelly met his mentor, Lena McLin, who chaired Kenwood's music faculty and of whom Kelly later described as a second mother. McLin immediately spotted the natural yet unpolished musical talent within Kelly, and pushed him to harness it through participation in school and church choir groups, and intense piano training. But McLin's influence went beyond that of a mere tutor. Sympathetic to Kelly's economic position, McLin would often buy her needy student food or clothes. More importantly, she pressed Kelly to have faith in his abilities, assuring him that one day he would record with his idol, singer Michael Jackson. "She made me feel I could do anything," Kelly told People in 1994.

Breaks into Performing

Kelly's first burst of success came when McLin placed him in a local talent show to perform a version of "Ribbon in the Sky," a song by Motown legend Stevie Wonder. During the show, he donned a pair of jet black sunglasses, which, along with his cleanly shaven head, were to become his trademark. The performance met with unequivocal approval from a screaming audience, and for the first time Kelly felt that the hopes McLin held for him were within his reach. Armed with a boosted self-confidence and the beginnings of an image, Kelly was ready to break into the record industry.

Before being discovered, Kelly took his act to the streets. Backed up by a clique of partners in song, Kelly became a fixture on the sidewalks of Chicago, crooning to passersby as he accompanied with a modest electronic keyboard. It was not long before the collection hat at Kelly's feet began amassing several hundred dollars per day from appreciative onlookers. Kelly's collection of street performers eventually evolved into a bona fide R&B outfit called MGM, which built upon the growing success of the street group. After MGM won a $100,000 grand prize on a syndicated television talent show called Big Break, Kelly was tapped by Jive Records agent Wayne Williams. In 1990, Jive Records signed Kelly onto their roster of artists, and ushered him into the recording studio.

Within a year of joining Jive Records, Kelly released his debut album entitled Born into the 90s, a polished collection of the kind of slow tempo R&B Kelly had been perfecting on the streets. The record sold over a million copies and featured several single releases including "She's Got That Vibe" and "Honey Love." Even though Born into the 90s scored on the R&B and soul charts, it was largely ignored by critics as well as by the mainstream of record buyers.

Becomes a Superstar

After the release of his follow-up album 12 Play in 1994, Kelly ranked as a true R&B superstar. He took hold of media attention, both positive and negative. On this album, which Kelly wrote, produced, and arranged, smooth harmonies were accompanied by sexual lyrics that pushed the limits of what mainstream radio airplay would allow. Kelly's live stage performance shifted to reflect this as well. Surrounded by an entourage of scantily dressed stage dancers, Kelly would season his singing with suggestive body language and often doff his pants at the concerts' peaks. Besides winning a legion of often screaming female fans, Kelly's unbridled celebration of sex provoked censure from critics and moral watchdogs. Much of the music press regarded Kelly as a mere shock artist, and he was also attacked for being too explicit for young listeners. Nonetheless, Kelly's popularity outweighed any backlash, and he became a mainstay in R&B pop music. As Kelly told Newsweek, "I wouldn't say my music is raunchy—just sexually aware. Criticizing me is like criticizing the evening news for showing what's really going on."

12 Play sold over five million copies worldwide, offering two gold singles on its lineup, "Sex Me" and "Your Body's Callin'," as well as the platinum-selling "Bump N' Grind." The latter became the longest running number one R&B hit in over 30 years on the singles chart in Billboard magazine. The overwhelming popularity of 12 Play ensued in a largely sold-out world tour with rap act Salt N' Pepa, and at the end of 1994 Kelly was voted number one R&B producer and R&B Artist of the Year by Billboard.

Impressed by the production work on 12 Play, an array of artists, including Aaliyah, Changing Faces, Toni Braxton, Johnny Gill, and Quincy Jones, approached Kelly as a producer and arranger for their own recordings. In addition, Kelly was contacted by singer Janet Jackson to write a ballad especially for her brother, Michael. The result was the number one hit "You Are Not Alone," fulfilling the hopeful prediction made by Lena McLin years earlier. The song is evidence of Kelly's understanding of gospel music, an aspect that had been present in his first two recordings, but one that did not flourish until this time. Feeling the emotional toll of his mother Joanne's death in 1993, Kelly found himself looking in more spiritual directions, which was reflected in his music.

The 1996 album titled simply R. Kelly still contained Kelly's trademark sexual ballads, but it also offered a stronger concentration on gospel styled numbers, most notably "Religious Love" and "Trade in My Life," which featured an impressive choral arrangement. The album's biggest hit "(Keep It On The) Down Low," a melodramatic ballad about a secret love tryst, also focused more on emotional rather than sexual content. "With the gospel, I'm not just trying to entertain," Kelly told Ebony in 1996. "At my age, I'm going through things within myself; thinking about what I want to do in the future; what I'm doing now in my life and in my career." Clearly this kind of introspection changed Kelly's music, while much of it remains steeped in carnal reference. Nevertheless, the work on R. Kelly was generally seen by many critics as aturning point, and Kelly gained kudos for his extension of the gospel tradition. The record was also a smash with the public, and Kelly became one of the industry's more sought after producers.

Kelly has remained in the south side of Chicago but, instead of living in poverty, he resides in an opulent mansion (converted from a church in an exclusive part of the neighborhood). His settlement in Chicago has served to make Kelly feel closer to his late mother, who serves as a spiritual inspiration for the singer's work and life. In addition, Kelly uses the solitude his mansion provides as a place of solitude in which to develop and expand his musical ideas. "I want everyone to recognize me as a true artist, a true writer—a person who is married to his work," Kelly told Ebony. "I like to think I'm the weird scientist in the basement."

—Shaun Frentner