R. Kelly
Robert Sylvester Kelly is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and
former professional basketball player. A native of Chicago, Kelly began
performing during the late 1980s and debuted in 1992 with the group Public
Announcement. In 1993, Kelly went solo with the album 12 Play.
He is known for various songs including "I Believe I Can Fly", "Bump N' Grind", "Your Body's Callin'", "Gotham City", "Ignition (Remix)", "If I Could Turn Back the Hands of Time", "The World's Greatest", "I'm a Flirt (Remix)", and the hip-hopera "Trapped in the Closet". In 1998, Kelly won three Grammy Awards for "I Believe I Can Fly".
He is known for various songs including "I Believe I Can Fly", "Bump N' Grind", "Your Body's Callin'", "Gotham City", "Ignition (Remix)", "If I Could Turn Back the Hands of Time", "The World's Greatest", "I'm a Flirt (Remix)", and the hip-hopera "Trapped in the Closet". In 1998, Kelly won three Grammy Awards for "I Believe I Can Fly".
Also See: R. Kelly is Broke, Has -$13 In His Bank Account After $150k Was Seized in Favor of His Ex-Landlord
Kelly has produced, and remixed songs and albums for many artists. In 1996, he
was nominated for a Grammy for writing Michael Jackson's song "You Are Not
Alone". In 2002 and 2004, Kelly released collaboration albums with rapper
Jay-Z and has been a featured vocalist for other hip hop artists like Nas,
Sean Combs, and The Notorious B.I.G.
Robert Sylvester Kelly was born on January 8, 1967, at Chicago Lying-in Hospital in Hyde Park, Chicago. He is the third of four children. His mother, Joanne, was a singer and raised her children in the Baptist church. Kelly's father remains absent in his son's life. His family lived in the Ida B. Wells Homes public housing project in Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood.
He grew up in a house full of women, who he said would act differently when his mother and grandparents were not home. At eight years of age Kelly was often sexually abused by a woman who was at least ten years older than himself.
Kelly was also eight when he had his first girlfriend, Lulu. They would hold
hands and eat make-believe meals inside their playhouse built from cardboard,
where they "vowed to be boyfriend and girlfriend forever." Kelly wrote in his
autobiography that their last play date turned tragic when, after fighting
with some older children over a play area by a creek, Lulu was pushed into the
water. A fast-moving current swept her away while she screamed Kelly's name.
Shortly thereafter, she was found lifeless downstream. Kelly calls Lulu his
very first musical inspiration.
At age 11, he was shot in the shoulder while riding his bike home; the boys stole his bike while he lay bleeding on the sidewalk; the bullet is reportedly still lodged in his shoulder.
Kelly entered Kenwood Academy in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood in the fall of 1981, where he met music teacher Lena McLin, encouraged Kelly to perform the Stevie Wonder classic "Ribbon in the Sky" in a high school talent show. McLin encouraged him to leave the high school basketball team.
An undiagnosed learning disability left Kelly unable to read or write. He dropped out of high school and as a teenager, Kelly began street performing under the Chicago Transportation Authority "L" tracks and eventually formed a group with friends Marc McWilliams, Vincent Walker and Shawn Brooks. In 1989, they formed the group MGM (Musically Gifted Men). In 1990, MGM recorded and released one single "Why You Wanna Play Me"; after its release the group disbanded. In 1991, Kelly signed with Jive Records and teamed with a new group from Chicago called Public Announcement.
Kelly was extremely close to his mother Joanne who took him with her to church and a local club where she performed. She died from cancer in 1993. He would later name his eldest daughter after her.
As of 2019, Kelly was the 55th best-selling music artist in the United States, with over 32 million album sales according to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).He has released 12 solo studio albums, and sold over 75 million records worldwide, making him the most successful R&B male artist of the 1990s and one of the best-selling music artists of all time. He is credited for helping redefine R&B and hip hop, earning the nicknames "King of R&B" and "King of Pop-Soul".
He is listed by Billboard as the most successful R&B/Hip Hop artist of the years 1985-2010 and the most successful R&B artist in history. He has won awards including BET, Soul Train, Billboard, NAACP, and American Music Awards.
Since the 1990s, Kelly has been the subject of numerous allegations of sexual abuse and misconduct, often with underage girls, all charges he "categorically denies". In 2002 he was indicted on 13 counts of child pornography, but was acquitted of all charges in 2008.
In January 2019, a widely viewed Lifetime docuseries titled Surviving R. Kelly detailed allegations of sexual abuse by multiple women, allegations Kelly denies. Facing pressure from the public using the Mute R. Kelly hashtag, RCA Records dropped Kelly. On February 22, 2019, Kelly was indicted on 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse.
In 1996, Kelly married Andrea Lee, his former backup dancer and mother of his three children. In 1997, he built a house in Olympia Fields and moved in. Andrea filed a restraining order against Kelly in September 2005 after a physical altercation, ultimately filing for divorce in 2006. In January 2009, it was reported that Kelly's divorce was finalized. His Olympia Fields house became the subject of a foreclosure lawsuit in 2011, and has since been bought by Rudolph Isley.
Robert Sylvester Kelly was born on January 8, 1967, at Chicago Lying-in Hospital in Hyde Park, Chicago. He is the third of four children. His mother, Joanne, was a singer and raised her children in the Baptist church. Kelly's father remains absent in his son's life. His family lived in the Ida B. Wells Homes public housing project in Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood.
He grew up in a house full of women, who he said would act differently when his mother and grandparents were not home. At eight years of age Kelly was often sexually abused by a woman who was at least ten years older than himself.
Kelly was also eight when he had his first girlfriend, Lulu. They would hold
hands and eat make-believe meals inside their playhouse built from cardboard,
where they "vowed to be boyfriend and girlfriend forever." Kelly wrote in his
autobiography that their last play date turned tragic when, after fighting
with some older children over a play area by a creek, Lulu was pushed into the
water. A fast-moving current swept her away while she screamed Kelly's name.
Shortly thereafter, she was found lifeless downstream. Kelly calls Lulu his
very first musical inspiration. At age 11, he was shot in the shoulder while riding his bike home; the boys stole his bike while he lay bleeding on the sidewalk; the bullet is reportedly still lodged in his shoulder.
Kelly entered Kenwood Academy in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood in the fall of 1981, where he met music teacher Lena McLin, encouraged Kelly to perform the Stevie Wonder classic "Ribbon in the Sky" in a high school talent show. McLin encouraged him to leave the high school basketball team.
An undiagnosed learning disability left Kelly unable to read or write. He dropped out of high school and as a teenager, Kelly began street performing under the Chicago Transportation Authority "L" tracks and eventually formed a group with friends Marc McWilliams, Vincent Walker and Shawn Brooks. In 1989, they formed the group MGM (Musically Gifted Men). In 1990, MGM recorded and released one single "Why You Wanna Play Me"; after its release the group disbanded. In 1991, Kelly signed with Jive Records and teamed with a new group from Chicago called Public Announcement.
Kelly was extremely close to his mother Joanne who took him with her to church and a local club where she performed. She died from cancer in 1993. He would later name his eldest daughter after her.
As of 2019, Kelly was the 55th best-selling music artist in the United States, with over 32 million album sales according to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).He has released 12 solo studio albums, and sold over 75 million records worldwide, making him the most successful R&B male artist of the 1990s and one of the best-selling music artists of all time. He is credited for helping redefine R&B and hip hop, earning the nicknames "King of R&B" and "King of Pop-Soul".
He is listed by Billboard as the most successful R&B/Hip Hop artist of the years 1985-2010 and the most successful R&B artist in history. He has won awards including BET, Soul Train, Billboard, NAACP, and American Music Awards.
Since the 1990s, Kelly has been the subject of numerous allegations of sexual abuse and misconduct, often with underage girls, all charges he "categorically denies". In 2002 he was indicted on 13 counts of child pornography, but was acquitted of all charges in 2008.
In January 2019, a widely viewed Lifetime docuseries titled Surviving R. Kelly detailed allegations of sexual abuse by multiple women, allegations Kelly denies. Facing pressure from the public using the Mute R. Kelly hashtag, RCA Records dropped Kelly. On February 22, 2019, Kelly was indicted on 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse.
In 1996, Kelly married Andrea Lee, his former backup dancer and mother of his three children. In 1997, he built a house in Olympia Fields and moved in. Andrea filed a restraining order against Kelly in September 2005 after a physical altercation, ultimately filing for divorce in 2006. In January 2009, it was reported that Kelly's divorce was finalized. His Olympia Fields house became the subject of a foreclosure lawsuit in 2011, and has since been bought by Rudolph Isley.
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