Kelly’s music sounds as composed as ever… Still, sexual gamesmanship is never far away.
Call him audacious, call him stubborn, call him prolific — R. Kelly is never really gone. Even during what seem like his off months, Kelly is a force. Now preparing his seventh solo album, Double Up (Jive), for release this month, he’s remained a fixture on radio and on video, even as child-pornography charges loom over him.
Yet for a man living under a gray cloud, Kelly’s music sounds as composed as ever, as relaxed and confident as if he were facing an appointment with a masseuse, not a possible date with a correctional facility. It’s as if he’s transcended into total artistic self-absorption, where nothing exists but his own work.
In the past few months, he’s made three guest appearances, recorded one soundtrack single, produced one remix, and made three references to his Phantom.
Not everything he records is so self- indulgent, though. Kelly’s longstanding impulse toward absolution is evident on “Don’t Let Go.” It’s one of his most optimistic songs in years — placed, perhaps dubiously, on the soundtrack to Tyler Perry’s latest film, Daddy’s Little Girls. More typical of Kells’ cheerleading is Young Jeezy’s “Go Getta,” where he plays booster to Jeezy’s thug- life coach. Perhaps with Jeezy’s previous uplift anthem “Soul Survivor” on his mind, Kelly sings the hook — “We trap all day, play all night / This is the life of a go getta” — in a reedy melody that owes a debt to Akon, who made “Survivor” indelible.
Still, sexual gamesmanship is never far away for Kelly. On Snoop Dogg’s “That’s That Shit,” he reminds us where he comes from: “If you’re looking for some good sex / If you’re ever in the 312 / Holla at a playa.” On Bow Wow’s “I’m a Flirt,” he warns fellas about allowing their girls around him lest he steal them away (which is ironic preparation for the song’s eccentric and weird remix, which doesn’t feature Bow Wow at all).
For his scorching appearance on the remix of Fat Joe’s “Make it Rain,” Kelly hits the strip joint and deals some hard decks. “I be drillin’ these chicks like Major Payne,” he quips, before barking, “Don’t ask me what my name is / Stupid bitch, I’m famous.”
His game is slightly smoother on the remix of “Promise,” a tête-à-tête with crunk&B royalty Ciara. Her innocence is offset by his unflinching directness — C: “What you wanna do?” R: “Hit it hard, from the back.” Plus, “Promise” offers some possible insight into why the man never takes a coffee break, even when the stakes are high: “Got cash, got cars, got clothes / So lonely when I roll / That’s why I did this C and K collabo.”
Without work, it seems a player’s life is one of solitude.
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