R. Kelly

Also known as Robert Sylvester Kelly, Robert Kelly

American singer, songwriter, and record producer

AI overview

R. Kelly is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer who rose to fame in the 1990s and 2000s with hit songs and albums that made him one of the most commercially successful artists in R&B and hip-hop music. He is a significant figure in music history due to his influence on the genre and his major chart success during his career.

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Film & TV

Chicago, Illinois, U.S.

Robert Sylvester Kelly (born January 8, 1967) is an American former singer, songwriter, record producer, and convicted sex offender. Known professionally as R. Kelly, 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 2025, Billboard ranked him 9th on their…

Known for

IMPACT x Nightline: Diddy: Drugs, Lies, & Freak Offs — Self (archive footage)2024
Surviving R. Kelly: The Impact — Self (archive footage)2019
The Gayle King Interview with R. Kelly — Himself2019
Surviving R. Kelly — Self (archive footage)2019
R Kelly: Sex, Girls and Videotapes — Himself (archive Footage)2018
Trapped in the Closet: Chapters 23-33 — Narrator / Sylvester / Pimp Lucius / Dr William T. Perry / Reverend Mosley James Evans / Beeno / Interviewer2012
Trapped in the Closet: Chapters 1-33 — Sylvester/Pimp Lucius/William Perry2012
The One8 Project: Hands Across the World — Himself2011
Trapped in the Closet: Chapters 13-22 — Narrator / Sylvester / Pimp Lucious / Reverend Mosley James Evans / Randolph2007
R. Kelly: Live - The Light It Up Tour — CANTOR2007

via TMDB

Wikidata facts

Instance of: human
Family name: Kelly
Gender: male
Citizenship: United States
Place of birth: Chicago
Spouse: Andrea Kelly
Occupation: singer
Languages spoken: English language
Native language: English language
Award: Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media
Notable work: I Believe I Can Fly
Genre: pop music
Instrument: voice
Record label: RCA Records
Sport: basketball
Country for sport: United States
Official website: r-kelly.com
Image: R. Kelly mug shot.jpg
Number of children: 3
Voice type: tenor
Convicted of: statutory rape

Show 13 more facts

Commons category: R. Kelly
date of birth: 1967-01-08
topic's main category: Category:R. Kelly
birth name: Robert Sylvester Kelly
start of work period: 1989-00-00
ethnic group: African Americans
topic has template: Template:R. Kelly
pseudonym: R. Kelly
end of work period: 2019-00-00
name in native language: R. Kelly
social media followers: 3380000
writing language: English language
place of detention: Federal Correctional Complex, Butner

Sources (9)

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Encyclopedic overview

Robert Sylvester Kelly (born January 8, 1967), known professionally as R. Kelly, is an American former singer, songwriter, and record producer who is credited with prolific commercial success in contemporary R&B, hip hop, and pop music recordings. Nicknamed "the King of R&B", "the King of Pop-Soul", and "the Pied Piper of R&B", Billboard has him ranked as the 9th greatest R&B artist of all time. His career ended following his 2021 and 2022 convictions and subsequent 31-year sentence for a series of child sex offences.

Born on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois, Kelly began performing in the subway under the Chicago "L" tracks, and regularly busked at the "L" stop on the Red Line's Jackson station in the Loop. During his recording career, Kelly released 18 studio albums which yielded a number of hit singles, including "I Believe I Can Fly", "Bump N' Grind", "Your Body's Callin'", "Fiesta (Remix)", "Ignition (Remix)", "Step in the Name of Love (Remix)", "If I Could Turn Back the Hands of Time", "The World's Greatest", "I'm a Flirt (Remix)", and the hip hopera Trapped in the Closet. In 1998, he won three Grammy Awards for "I Believe I Can Fly".

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “R. Kelly” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

R. Kelly

Film & TV

Known for

Wikidata facts

Encyclopedic overview

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What links here2,538 pages