A Look At The Rise And Fall Of R Kelly's Career | TheRichest.com
Born in Chicago, Robert Sylvester Kelly dropped out of high school to pursue his career in music. After signing with Jive Records, he released his albums in the early 1990s, which became a worldwide success. Along with creating his music, Kelly used his talents to produce beats for other notable artists. His songs sold millions of copies worldwide, and the singer earned multiple accolades for contributing to the music industry. While his music was on the rise, Kelly found himself amidst numerous legal and financial allegations that made him lose a fortune from his career. After being arrested on counts of multiple accusations, he now serves an irreversible prison sentence.
From being one of the best-selling artists who gained success as a singer and producer to becoming a blacklisted celebrity in Hollywood, R Kelly’s career took a hit after his heinous crimes came into the light for the world to see. Let’s look at the rise and fall of R Kelly’s career as a promising artist who got derailed.
R Kelly grew up with his mother in the south of public housing in Chicago, Illinois. He was instilled with Christian faith which would eventually influence a large part of his music. He wanted to focus on his music, and the dream led him to quit high school and sing in subways to make a living. According to Celebrity Net Worth, he participated in the talent show Big Break, where he won $100,000, which helped him kickstart his career. Jive Records signed him in 1990 and helped him release his debut album two years later.
The singer collaborated with the vocal group Public Announcement on his debut album and released Born In The 90s to positive reviews. His music with tender vocals won the audience’s favor by combining gospel tones with sensual lyrics. The use of hip-hop rhythms with tender lyrics established his signature music for the subsequent albums. As noted by Britannica, his 1996 single I Believe I Can Fly became his most popular song to date and won him 3 Grammy Awards. His other hits, such as You Remind Me Of Something, Bump n’ Grind, and I’m Your Angel, earned him worldwide stardom, and Kelly had more Billboard Hot 100 Top 40s than any other rapper in the industry.
His third studio album, R, became one of the best-selling albums of 1998 and sold eight million units. Kelly ventured into record producing and created sounds for other artists while working on his music. After Barry Hankerson introduced him to a 12-year-old Aaliyah, he found her talent unmatched and helped blossom her music career. As mentioned by the NY Times, it was later revealed that Kelly and Aaliyah got married in an illegal ceremony in 1994 when the singer was 27 and Aaliyah was only 15. The accusations did not stop his career as he continued producing music.
R Kelly went on to create hits for other artists and their songs. Some of his notable contributions include Stimulate Me by Destiny’s Child, Michael Jackson’s You Are Not Alone, Gigolo for Nick Cannon, and Britney Spears’ Outrageous. In 2002, an unknown source handed out a videotape of Kelly allegedly having sex with an underage girl, and he was charged with child pornography accusations. As the trial was delayed, he continued to release songs and reign on the R&B charts. In 2008, the trial freed him from the charges against him.
The released alleged sex tape was only the beginning of the downfall of R Kelly’s career as many charges came to light. Between 2002 and 2004, the singer was arrested in his Florida holiday home on 12 counts for sexually abusing a child, and the authorities even had the camera under evidence that contained images. While the bad press remained far from Kelly’s career for over a decade, 2017 was another year when new victims came forward. He was accused of running a sex cult wherein he entrapped women who would come to him to help their music careers. He ceased their phones and controlled their lives.
Between 2017 and 2018, women claimed R Kelly sexually assaulted them and detailed information about their non-disclosure agreements. As stated by BBC, a friend testified against Kelly, saying that the singer would look for women with younger features for dating. Countless more charges came to light for sexual assault, sex trafficking, and prostitution. After a trial between 2020 and 2022, R Kelly was found guilty, which ended his career.
R Kelly began his work in music as a talented musician who used his unique beats to entertain audiences. Along with helping other artists, he collected accolades for his contributions. The accusations and his wrongdoings have led him to countless court hearings that ended in June 2022. R Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison for sexually abusing women and children, using his status as a celebrity.
Sources: Celebrity Net Worth, Britannica, NY Times, BBC
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