All the sounds on ‘Trapped in the Closet’ – the knockin’ on the door, when I grab the keys, when I walk down the stairs, the car horns – we sampled all of those things around my house.
I had a cyst on my tonsils, and I couldn’t sing. I had to have an operation.
I want people to notice my writing abilities are real and that I’m not just stuck in one situation.
If you’re gonna tell your life story, you gotta be honest, or don’t do it.
You can’t satisfy everybody. I will continue to do my job until I get fired, and the only people who can fire me are my fans.
Well, I believe that the depth of your struggle can determine the height of your success. I was inspired to come out of everything I’ve been through and end up in a place where I never thought that I would be.
I’ve really been writing a lot of country songs. I used to get criticized for doing a ‘Bump & Grind,’ then turning around and doing a gospel song. But the truth is I’m glad I have a gift that allows me to switch lanes.
My mother wasn’t rich, and I never seen my father. I was a street performer. I’ve been shot. And now I’m known around the world, and I’ve touched a lot of people with my music. That’s one of the great testimonies that’s gonna go down in history.
On many different singles, I was able to marry my music with rappers who understood the natural bond between us.
I had a cyst on my tonsils, and I couldn’t sing. I had to have an operation.
‘Trapped In The Closet’ lives in a place on the earth on its own. It pays its own rent, it’s its own landlord, it owns the building, it’s everything. And it’s so separate from what R. Kelly does; that’s the great thing about it.
My mom actually had a band called Six Pack – even though there were seven of them – who went around Chicago performing popular songs. Her voice was like Gladys Knight mixed with Aretha Franklin.
Just listen to all this sweet, sweet music. I’m working the music.
Downstairs in my house, I have a museum room. I keep all of my awards down there, and childhood photos, and even all the clothes I’ve worn on tour, in videos and on album covers.
I’ve always had mostly women come out to see me perform. That’s the reason the guys show up; they know R. Kelly is going to draw the women. Most of the songs I’m singing are catering to women anyway.
You don’t want R&B singers to get into beef. Leave that to the rappers, let them do that – R&B, be classy.
I love that I can play around with all types of music.
When you hear romantic music, it makes you want to take your girl out to dinner or buy her something or take her out in the moonlight or take her on a walk.
I really don’t chase songs. I get in the studio, I know what I gotta do; I’m pretty much programmed to do it.
I’ve been blackmailed a billion times. I’ve been sued for ridiculous things. At one point in my life, I was an ATM machine. But I’m used to that. You don’t get used to it, but I’m used to the fact that people will do this, even your own family members, and I don’t hate none of them.
When I think of musical geniuses, I think of Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson and Prince. That’s who comes to mind.
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