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R. Kelly | |
|---|---|
 Kelly in 2017 | |
| Born | Robert Sylvester Kelly January 8, 1967 |
| Other names |
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| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1989–2019 |
| Works | |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 3 |
| Awards | Full list |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | |
| Instruments |
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| Labels | |
| Formerly of | Public Announcement |
| Criminal information | |
| Criminal status | Imprisoned |
| Criminal charge | |
| Penalty | 31 years imprisonment[2][3] |
| Website | r-kelly |
Robert Sylvester Kelly (born January 8, 1967), known as R. Kelly, is an American former singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is credited with prolific commercial success in R&B, hip hop, and pop music recordings, earning nicknames such as "the King of R&B", "the King of Pop-Soul",[4][5] and "the Pied Piper of R&B".[6] Kelly's career ended in 2019 following his arrest and subsequent convictions on federal racketeering and sex trafficking charges involving sexual abuse of minors.
Born on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois, Kelly began performing in the subway under the Chicago "L" tracks, and regularly busked at the "L" stop on the Red Line's Jackson station in the Loop. During his recording career, Kelly released 18 studio albums which yielded a number of hit singles, including "I Believe I Can Fly", "Bump N' Grind", "Your Body's Callin'", "Fiesta (Remix)", "Ignition (Remix)", "Step in the Name of Love (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, he won three Grammy Awards for "I Believe I Can Fly".[7] Alongside his recording career, Kelly's songwriting and production work was credited on albums by Michael Jackson, Britney Spears, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, Justin Bieber, Janet Jackson, Chris Brown, Aaliyah, Usher, Ciara, Toni Braxton, Luther Vandross, and Mary J. Blige. Kelly received a Grammy Award nomination for his contributions to Jackson's 1995 single, "You Are Not Alone", which earned a Guinness World Record as the first song to debut atop the Billboard Hot 100 in the chart's history.[7] Kelly's 1998 collaboration with Dion, "I'm Your Angel", did so once more.
Kelly sold over 75 million albums and singles worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time,[8][9] and the most successful R&B male artist of the 1990s. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has recognized Kelly as one of the best-selling artists in the United States with 40 million albums sold.[10] In 2011, Kelly was named the most successful R&B artist of the last 25 years by Billboard. Kelly won Grammy Awards, BET Awards, Soul Train Music Awards, Billboard Music Awards, NAACP Image Awards, and American Music Awards.
Kelly had long been the subject of accusations of sexual abuse, including that of minors, dating back to the 1990s. Following leaked video recordings, Kelly was prosecuted on child pornography charges in 2002, leading to a controversial trial that ended with his acquittal in 2008 on all charges. The 2019 documentary Surviving R. Kelly re-examined Kelly's alleged sexual misconduct with minors, prompting RCA Records to terminate his contract. Renewed interest in the allegations resulted in additional investigations by law enforcement beginning in 2019, which led to multiple indictments and Kelly's arrest. In 2021 and 2022, he was convicted on multiple charges involving child sexual abuse. As of 2024, he is serving a 31-year combined sentence at FCI Butner Medium I in North Carolina.
- ^ "R. Kelly convicted of racketeering and sex trafficking by a federal jury in New York". CNN. September 27, 2021. Archived from the original on September 28, 2021.
- ^ "R. Kelly, already serving 30 years for sex trafficking, sentenced to 20 years in federal child porn case". CNN. February 23, 2023.
- ^ "U.S. prosecutors ask for 25 more years in prison for R. Kelly". NPR. Retrieved July 30, 2023.
- ^ Jet. Johnson Publishing Company. December 28, 1998 – January 4, 1999. p. 56. Retrieved October 27, 2014 – via Google Books.
- ^ Holden, Stephen (December 17, 1995). "Pop Briefs". The New York Times. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
- ^ "Who Is The Pied Piper? The Mysterious Fairytale That Inspired R. Kelly". Oxygen Official Site. January 11, 2019. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
- ^ a b "R. Kelly". National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. March 17, 2014. Archived from the original on September 28, 2021. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
- ^ "Spotify joins the growing chorus to #MuteRKelly". Asia Pacific Daily. May 11, 2018. Archived from the original on May 15, 2018. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
- ^ "Top 90's R&B/Hip-Hop Artists". December 25, 1999 – January 1, 2000. Retrieved January 25, 2012.
- ^ "Top Selling Artists - September 10, 2012". RIAA. Retrieved September 10, 2012.