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| '''Robert Kelly''' (born January 8, 1969) is an ] singer and song-writer from ]; he generally uses the name '''R. Kelly'''. | '''Robert Kelly''' (born January 8, 1969) is an ] singer and song-writer from ]; he generally uses the name '''R. Kelly'''. | ||
| After growing up in poor circumstances in Chicago, singing on trains for pocket change, his career took off in 1991, eventually leading to both ]s and ]s. His best known song is the ballad "I Believe I Can Fly". Some of his rap texts have been criticized for their sexual subject matter, but other songs are close to ] and in fact Kelly has confirmed that he has "found God". | After growing up in poor circumstances in Chicago, singing on trains for pocket change, his career took off in 1991, eventually leading to both ]s and ]s. His best known song is the ballad "I Believe I Can Fly". Some of his rap texts have been criticized for their sexual subject matter, but other songs are close to ] and in fact Kelly has confirmed that he has "found God". | ||
Revision as of 13:55, 9 September 2002
Robert Kelly (born January 8, 1969) is an R&B singer and song-writer from Chicago; he generally uses the name R. Kelly.
After growing up in poor circumstances in Chicago, singing on trains for pocket change, his career took off in 1991, eventually leading to both Grammy awards and platinum albums. His best known song is the ballad "I Believe I Can Fly". Some of his rap texts have been criticized for their sexual subject matter, but other songs are close to gospel and in fact Kelly has confirmed that he has "found God".
In 1994, Kelly briefly married the then 15-year-old singer Aaliyah; Aaliyah died in a plane crash in 2001.
In recent years, Kelly has fought or settled several civil lawsuits alleging coerced or underage sexual relationships.
Kelly has been accused of and investigated for having had a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old daughter of an associate; this accusation gained force with a video tape that was sent anonymously to a Chicago newspaper in February 2002 and allegedly shows R. Kelly having sex with the girl. While witnesses have identified Kelly and the girl, the girl herself and her parents have denied that she is shown on the tape. Bootleg copies of the tape are widely available on the black market. The tape shows 7 sex acts, and in June 2002, Kelly was indicted in Chicago for 7 counts of soliciting a minor for child pornography, 7 counts of videotaping the acts, and 7 counts of producing child pornography.
External links:
- Chicago Sun-Times coverage: http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-kelly05.html