Remember in the 90s when R. Kelly was a singer, but not just any old singer, one of the most promising singers R&B had ever seen? He had a great voice, great songs, great stage presence, a nice little backing group behind him and matching outfits, dance routines, and the whole nine. He was constantly spitting out hits and amazing tours to back it all up. If you research, you’ll probably find at least one of his songs or records on the top of the charts for the majority of the 90s era. He was one of those rare talents who could sing a variety of styles from r&b to country, to gospel. He even tried some opera based on his classical training. He gave you a show every time he performed. He had the costumes, the choreography, and the voice to pull it all off. Not many artists can claim this fame.
I guess what makes him as equally as amazing was his ability to produce subpar vocalists and make stars out of them and his genius to work with legends and make them relevant even after their expiration dates had long expired. In other wors, I guess you can say he loved the art of his craft.
These days, he’s less of the R in R&B and moreso the R in Rap. What a shame. He’s not a good rapper. His efforts from day one on such hits as “She’s Got That Vibe” were less than credible but at least you could tolerate them because the r&b songs were so good. He started rapping more and more with the succession of each album such as “12 Play” until he eventually started collaborating with hip hop artists on such as Nas on “R.” He then did the ultimate and formed the first ever R&B/Hip Hop megastar duo with Jay-Z. His parts were more sing-rapping than actually singing.
Working with artists like Lil Jon and T-Pain has actually made him more of a rapper than a singer these days. It’s more like he’s “singing” rap lyrics than actually belting out a melodic tune. It’s not so much his age that makes this unappealing but why is he always talking about being in the club and hood? Do we want him singing about sex over and over? Well at least those songs were musically good. We have enough talented and skilled rappers. R&B is dying and skilled musicians are rare and almost unheard. We’d rather R. Kelly return back to what worked. Does he need to have backup singers? Not necessarily. It would help if he just took off the chains and bandanas and dressed it up and just crooned for us. We also wouldn’t be mad if he started producing for others again. A lot of artists are in need of good material. R. Kelly, come back and put these wannabes to bed and show these youngstas how it’s really done!
Listen to R. Kelly the r&b singer on Urban Music 200 Radio - http://www.urbanmusic2000.com/radio/rhythmandgrooves.asx
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