R. Kelly (b. 1967)

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Biography

Robert Sylvester Kelly is an American former singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. 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", and "the Pied Piper of R&B". In 2021 and 2022, Kelly was convicted of multiple charges of child sexual abuse, and was sentenced to 31 years in prison, effectively ending his career. In 2025, Billboard ranked him 9th on their list of the "Best R&B Artists of All Time".

Timeline

The story of R. Kelly, told in moments.

1967 Birth

Born Robert Sylvester Kelly in Chicago. Raised by his mother in the Ida B. Wells housing projects. He was functionally illiterate through much of his life.

How did growing up in the Ida B. Wells projects shape your view of the world? What was it like being functionally illiterate while making music? Did your mother give you something no one else could?

1993 Event

Released his debut album 12 Play. "Bump N' Grind" stayed at number one for 12 weeks. He produced Aaliyah's debut album the same year. She was 14.

What does it mean that you produced Aaliyah's album when she was 14? Did 12 weeks at number one feel like enough? Were you already the person you'd become?

1996 Event

Wrote and produced "I Believe I Can Fly" for the Space Jam soundtrack. It won three Grammy Awards. For a time, he was the top-selling male R&B artist in America.

Did writing 'I Believe I Can Fly' feel like your best self? Were those three Grammys the peak? Was there ever a version of you that stayed on that path?

2022 Event

Sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for racketeering and sex trafficking. A second conviction in Chicago added another year. Victims testified they were minors.

What would you say to the people you harmed? Does 30 years feel like justice to you? When did you stop being able to tell yourself it was okay?