Career and success By now the convictions of R. Kelly, born in 1967, are no longer counted so much that he is spoken of only and exclusively of the judicial troubles that have invested him in recent years. The singer began his musical career since his college years. In the mid-90s he collaborated with artists such as Michael Jackson, Celine Dion, Jay-Z, Mariah Carey, Puff Daddy. In 1995 the singer creates a stir by marrying the American singer, dancer and actress Aaliyah, she is only 15 years old. Shortly after, the wedding is cancelled. In 1996 he recorded “I Believe I Can Fly”, the soundtrack song of the animated film Space Jam. It will become one of his greatest achievements, also winning three Grammys. In 2009 he dedicated the single “I Believe” to the newly elected president Barack Obama. R. Kelly, pseudonym of Robert Sylvester Kelly, is a singer, songwriter, rapper and record producer of R&B and Soul music and has 12 albums to his credit.
The dark side of R. Kelly But R. Kelly hides a dark side. Celebrated as one of the greatest R&B singers of all time and famous for his lifestyle of luxury and excess, he has often been the focus of American tabloids. Several girls, attracted by his charm, fame and wealth, by his skills as a Latin lover, have abandoned their families, ending all relationships, and have gone to stay with him. Young women, some minors, lived under surveillance, verbally attacked and physically punished by the singer if they did not obey him, forced to ask permission to perform the simplest actions such as eating or going to the bathroom. From the gossip pages, R. Kelly’s life moved to the courtrooms, where the allegations of violence, sexual harassment and pedophilia were confirmed.
The arrest in 2019 R. Kelly was arrested in Chicago in 2019 on charges of soliciting minors, child pornography and obstruction of justice, while he was free on bail in a previous case, also in the state of Illinois, of suspected sexual abuse of four women, three of which were minors at the material time. For these last events, the singer has already been sentenced to 30 years for organized crime and sex trafficking.
