T.I. On R. Kelly's 'Ecletric Art'

Did you happen to catch the latest installation of R. Kelly's hip hopera Trapped in the Closet over Thanksgiving?

No, I have not, man! Please tell me it’s good. I like Kellz on the Love Letter stuff; I like to hear that Kellz. I know he has the ability to do different, eclectic arrays of all presentations of art but my favorite happens to be that area. I think R. Kelly’s range is so vast and broad that in order to stimulate himself creatively as an artist, he has to step so so far outside the box or else he feels like he’s not challenging himself. I’ve felt like that before. You know when I put out records that may not work or connect with the audience it’s because I’m pushing myself as an artist creatively, because I’m just bored doing what everyone wants me to do.

Source

Carmen Ejogo: I Learned A Lot About R. Kelly From Whitney

I was pleasantly surprised to find that R. Kelly was involved in the music of Sparkle. Did you interact with him much?

CE: I learned a lot about R. Kelly from Whitney because they go back forever, and I didn’t know that. Whitney would talk about certain people in her life – she’s very reflective, I found, in lots of ways, and would talk about times with Michael Jackson who she really knew when she was a teen, and R. Kelly who she’s known forever. I never actually got to meet him. He remains in the shadows.

[Source]

Keke Palmer Wants to Work With R. Kelly

EBONY: Who’s a dream collaboration?

​KP: I know it’s gonna sound crazy when I say this one, but R. Kelly, because I really love him. It makes me really nervous to say that, but R. Kelly, I really do love him and I would like to do music with him one day. Whenever I say that, people always acting all crazy. But he really is an inspiration to me. [x]

The Making of 'Street Dreams (Remix)'

Nas: “When I got the track, I wanted Denise Williams—who is one of my favorite singers—to sing on it. I reached out to her and I was trying to write the song first. I saw R. Kelly becoming more of a hip-hop singer and when I called him, he told me he just did ‘I’m Fucking You Tonight’ with Biggie. I was like, ‘Damn, I wanted to be the first rap dude with an R. Kelly hook.’

“Biggie beat me to it but Biggie’s song didn’t come out yet so I beat Biggie to it because my song actually came out first. It didn’t stop nothing. Biggie’s record was the better record but I still was just happy to see Robert."

Poke: “There was actually two remixes, and what happened was, just to make a more radio friendly version of it and that’s what we did for that particular remix. But there was another underground remix that we made that was even harder than the original.

“When we went out on tour with Chubb Rock—I was Chubb Rock’s DJ and Tone was Chubb Rock’s hypeman—we were on tour with R. Kelly for the 12 Play. So we used to play basketball with R. Kelly everyday for four months.

“So we kind of got to know each other on just a cool-out basis and we would just play basketball, every single day. We used to put the buses in a square and that would be the basketball court, and we’d just play basketball. So that was how we got to know Rob.

“Then—Barry Hankerson who was managing Timbaland at the time—said to Steve Stoute, who was managing us, 'Rob never works with anybody, ever. But he likes your guys. So lets try to get them in the studio together and see what we can do.' The first that came of that was 'Street Dreams.' We flew to Chicago, Rob did the hook, and it took like 15 minutes.

Steve Stoute: “I was proud of myself. That’s when I knew I could do it as a marketer, as a record executive, as a manager, the whole thing. That’s what my skills culminated.”

Nas: “I saw R. Kelly in a different light. I saw him with chains on and I brought the big chains around him. I called him the R&B thug and he later made a song called ‘R&B Thug.’ That was my man. We got down there and he was cool as ice, he was so easy to work with. He was fast and brilliant and when he jumped on, he had no problem.

“When we shot the video, I talked to some of the street dudes out there in Robert Taylor Homes and Cabrini-Green—when it was still standing—two of the roughest neighborhoods in the nation. Hype Williams was crazy as hell so he didn’t mind shooting the video in Cabrini-Green. It made it easy for R.Kelly because he wasn’t the guy you see coming out everywhere so we figured if we were in Chicago, it’d be cool.

“After a while, the street guys said they wanted to see more R. Kelly and they wanted to see him show love. Robert came out, we hung out with the guys in the projects, smoked with them, drank Hennessy with them and shot the videos for the kids in Chicago. It was a beautiful day.”

Poke: "While we were there, Barry and Steve cut a deal like, 'Yo lets get your boys in with Rob to give him some uptempos.' That’s when we went in and did the R. album and 'Fiesta' and all of those records. Then formed a relationship.

"Later, Rob was like, 'Yo I need a rapper on this record.' Since we were cool with Jay-Z, we were like, 'Yo, lets get Jay-Z.' When Jay came to do the rap, that’s how Best of Both Worlds came about. It’s funny how life works and one thing leads to another.”

[Source]

Barry Michael Cooper On R. Kelly, 2006

Then there was R. Kelly. That was really memorable because, first of all this guy does not go to sleep. He might sleep in 15 minute intervals, but I stayed up for almost two days hanging out with this guy. And it was strange in a sense that I was expecting this bizarre person, and parts of R. Kelly - and this is not an act with this dude - he is really kinda strange. Somethin’s going on with him. But he’s a real genius.

When I sat in the Chocolate Factory studios and watched this dude play like Beethoven, like really, really play – it was awesome. I didn’t think he could play like that. I had heard things, but I’d never seen him in concert so that was my first time, and there’s nobody like R. Kelly. Like Teddy, he is a real genius, he’s one of those rare people like Stevie Wonder, like Prince, like Todd Rundgren, but he’s tortured for real.

He started crying while he was playing this 'soldier’s song' – it was a double entendre about these guys in Iraq and I think the Lord Jesus Christ, I’m not really sure, but I know he started crying while he was playing it. And then right after that, he started playing like he was a lounge lizard, and started laughing. And I said to myself, you know what? It’s either I’m sleepy right now, or this guy is really crazy. It’s either one of the two, and maybe it’s a mix of both.

And another thing that stood out about the R. Kelly interview: he had his studio made up like a jungle with real live plants and trees! When I started walking through the hallway to get to the actual recording studio I noticed that I started having to move leaves out of my face. So at that point, I was saying to myself, I know I haven’t been asleep in 18 hours but I’m moving leaves out of my face in a recording studio!

He said he did that because he wanted to create that effect of being in Africa. He had all these pictures of lions and apes, and these books and maps of Africa...it was crazy man. He explained, "when I get into something I really try to study it and get into it and absorb it. I know I can’t go there."

I asked him if he was afraid to fly and he didn’t answer that. But his manager Regina Daniels kinda alluded to the fact that I think he has a fear of flying. I think he will fly but it takes a lot to get him on a plane. That was a memorable interview too.

Celebrities talk about R. Kelly - Part 6

Billie Woodruff: "You never know what's going to happen when you walk in an R. Kelly studio, sometimes you feel like you're in the world of Beethoven. He's yelling 'Bring up the strings,' there's all this classical music going, and he's acting like maestro. Another time he'll have people playing spades in the sound booth while he's recording because he wants that vibe. He's a musical genius. He totally goes there."

Tony Sunshine:

YouKnowIGotSoul: Another song I heard around that time was the song you had with R. Kelly “Everywhere I Go”. Was that from that same period?

"Yea, that was when I was signed to Jive."

YouKnowIGotSoul: Was that a song you’d say was the style you liked?

"Pretty much R. Kelly is one of my idols. I think that he’s such an incredible artist, he’s one of the greats regardless of what his personal life is like. I supported him 100% when everyone was kicking him down, I love R. Kelly, I’ve got all of his albums, I study him. Again, I was excited to know that we were going to Chicago to meet with him and I was going to sit down with one of my idols and get a record from him. It didn’t happen that way. We went to Chicago, we went to the Chocolate Factory, and Kelly is a busy dude, he writes for a lot of people and he’s got his own career. He was pretty much busy and he wasn’t able to come down and meet with us. We spent two days in Chicago waiting on him and never got to really sit with him at that time and pick a record myself or give him an idea of what I wanted to do. I didn’t pick the record, but I heard through the grapevine that Kelly had said that this was it, this was a magical record, this is what people want to hear right now, this is hot. I went ahead and recorded the joint and it was leaked out and never really got put out. It’s not even mixed or mastered, it’s just somebody leaked it out. A lot of people ask for the record, they think it’s a great record. I think the whole idea of being able to record a record that R. Kelly wrote is highly appreciated, I’m grateful and I thank God that I got to record a record that a musical genius wrote. How many individuals can say that? Was I happy with the record? I can’t say that. I’m grateful and I’m honored, but I wasn’t happy with the record because I wanted one of them baby making love joints. I wanted to sing. If Kelly was going to write me a record, I wanted to smash it, that was it. It wasn’t it. Then I recorded the record, then about three weeks later I’m watching BET, and I hear these young kids, I forgot their name [ATL], and Kelly had wrote them a record. The record was so similar, the wordplay and the melody and surrounded by pretty girls, it was crazy to me. Not only was it a record that I didn’t want to record, but it was a record that was so similar to something that he had given somebody else. Again, I was honored and grateful and I thank God for that, but it was like “Wow”.

Fat Joe: “He’s the best… If you love music, you love R. Kelly. I just heard the remix to ‘Ignition,’ it’s phenomenal …’ Can I get a toot toot! Can I get a beep beep!’ I was like, ‘Oooohhhhh! Oh my God! What is this? That’s that thing, man. The R. gives you that, man!” 

Adele:

Adele says she loves R. Kelly (2011):

Chris Brown

Chris Brown talks about being starstruck by R. Kelly (2010):

Chris Brown talks about the impact of "I Believe I Can Fly" (2007):

Big Boi

Big Boi talks about R. Kelly (2007):

Rodney Jerkins: "Personal problems or issues doesn't stop genius. You know what I mean? We all have problems. We all have struggles. That's life. You go through different things but it doesn't stop the genius in that man. That man is incredible. [...] He's a genius. I mean, I think for our era, for this era, he's the modern day Marvin Gaye meets Babyface. He's able to do music that can penetrate the Pop audience as well as penetrate the Hip-Hop audience. No one does it better than him." (2007)

Dizzee Rascal: "R. Kelly's TP-2.com is baby-making music. I used to fuck to this album, Make that clear: this was my fucking album. What's the scenario? She comes back to the bedroom. You offer her a drink and some crisps. R Kelly comes on and, very shortly after, the clothes come off." (2011)

Neyo: "R. Kelly always does his thing. R. Kelly is one of those cats that can write a joint that is strictly for the hood, and then turn around and write a joint like, “I Believe I can Fly.” Or do a song with Celine Dion or something crazy like that, like he is one of the few writers that can get away with that." (2007)

2NE1:

During that time when you and Will.I.Am worked together, there are surely some interesting things that happened. Can you please tell us some of those?

CL: When we went to Will house, and ate food that he made himself, and talked about music and shared some memories, that was a very precious moment for me. Specially we enjoy James Brown and R. Kelly, that particular taste we had in common. (2012)

Monica Wants to Work with R. Kelly

With her latest video “Until It’s Gone” climbing up the 106 and Park countdown the Atlanta songbird says she’s hoping to work with Mary J. Blige and R. Kelly before she wraps the new LP.

“I have a couple of different people that I really like to work with, I’ve always wanted to work with R. Kelly, I’ve always wanted to work with Mary [J. Blige],” Monica admits.

“I wanted to save that for last because I think it’s always good when you sit down with artists that you admire and love and play them songs and see if anything touches them.” [x].

In 2006, Monica expressed interest in working with R. Kelly. [x].

Celebrities talk about R. Kelly - Part 5

Justin Timberlake: "I truly admire and respect R. Kelly in every single way musically. Say what you want about him, but he is without a doubt the best R&B singer/producer/songwriter in the game right now. I look up to him and hopefully I can get a chance to work with him someday" (2004)

Stephen Hill: "At the Clive Davis party. R. Kelly just destroyed the room with a medley of hits. R+B is alive" (2011)*

  

Houston: 

BallerStatus.net: Who would you say played the biggest influence in your sound/style?

"I would say R.Kelly from the R&B side and Tupac from the hip-hop end. It's a mixture of both"

Rev Run:

Spin magazine: You write about first getting into God while watching a televangelist. Then you heard God speaking through Tom Cruise in Jerry McGuire, and then you heard him through Tony Robbins in an infomercial. What was the last epiphany you had while watching T.V.?  

"Watching Shaquille O'Neal dunking on people. Basically, I see God all day long, through all types of people. Definitely through R. Kelly." (2000)

Rico Love: "Woooooow!!!! NOBODY is Fucking with R.Kelly!!! Just heard his ReMIX to #Motivation. And I feel like I've officially MADE IT #TTLO" (2011)*

Rick Ross: “When I make music, I go back to my late nights of me by myself, listening to Curtis Mayfield or R. Kelly’s 12 Play" (2011) 

The Weeknd:

Drake: "Kelly is one of the only people who can make remixes better than their originals. That “Ignition” remix was so bouncy, that shit was just so G. That actually goes for both of these songs, because R. Kelly is the king of the remix."

Celebrities talk about R. Kelly - Part 4

Jennifer Hudson: “He’s just a genius,” Hudson says. “He hit it on the head in so many ways. How did he channel me?” (2011)

50 Cent: "As Long as you maintain good material people are going to buy," he says. "Why? Because you leave no room for other people to generate new interest as long as your consistency is there. Look at R. Kelly. People who don't like R. Kelly bought Chocolate Factory! Niggas had a perfect lane to take R. Kelly's spot, but the bottom line is that he's the best." (2004)

Joel Madden:
 

Roy Ayers: "You know who else is unique? This guy R. Kelly. He's unique because he's got a marvelous sense of writing music. He writes so beautifully, and he's so versatile in his writing. I'm not sure there are many people other than the general public who love his music, but there are a lot of musicians who respect his musicianship. He's a wonderful writer."

Jay-Z: "He is a genius talent - it's just that he has other things on his mind." (2011)

“I ain’t never heard somebody sing like that dude before. He made songs like "I Wish"  and things like that. This is a real story. I was listening to this like nah. This is an R&B record, but it was real, you know what I'm saying.”

Jodeci:

Stefanie [Interviewer]: What do you think of the current state of R&B and Hip Hop?

K-Ci: Right now, I can say that the only artist that's making me feel real R&B, real R&B is R. Kelly, number one of course. R. Kelly's doing his thing!

Stefanie [Interviewer]:You're feeling Trapped In The Closet huh?

K-Ci: You know what? Not only that song but also you got to think about what R. Kelly has done the past 4 or 5 albums.

Dalvin: He's been consistent.

K-Ci: Yeah he's consistent. He's a real R&B singer. (2005)

Charlamagne:"This R. Kelly "Love Letter" CD is not getting the respect it deserves."

"This R. Kelly "Love Letter" feels like....LOVE. That's the energy it gives off....LOVE."

"I got R. Kelly "How Do I Tell Her" on repeat and if I was drunk i'd be in here in the fetal position crying."

"I don't care what y'all say about Robert Kelly. That man is anointed. Yeah he's troubled but we all are." (2011)*

Kelly Rowland: "R. Kelly Motivation Remix is CRAAAZZZZZY!!!" (2011)*

XXL (Interviewer): Everyone from The- Dream to R. Kelly to Jeremiah remixed "Motivation." Which One Is Your Favorite?

Kelly: Well you know how men are. They always try to be the dominate one, but we women own the very special pot, the P pot. All of them did a great job. Jeremiah's was cool, but R. Kelly's really hit home. When he started singing, "Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom on the floor, babe," I was like, "Oh my God." We completely hit the jackpot with this one if we got R. Kelly wanting to be on the record.

Bobby V:

TTO (Interviewer): Who’s your hero in the music industry? What artist has a career you want to emulate?

Bobby V: "I like R. Kelly a lot. He’s been in the game for such a long time. He is such a great artist."

Jeremih:

DJ GLEW (Interviewer): Where were you the first time you heard your idol R. Kelly on your song ‘Birthday Sex?’ And what was your reaction?JEREMIH: "I heard it from the plane and when I heard it I just went buck! Well, I heard about it a long time ago and he recorded it back in January. When I was first told R. Kelly is going on your remix but at that time I wasn’t even signed. The song wasn’t really anywhere and I didn’t have no label support. But once I heard it I was just like “Wow” having R. Kelly as an R&B singer is like any rapper having Jay-Z on their record. He’s the King of R&B and he killed it. He had one of the best remixes of ‘Birthday Sex’. It really stood out to me and he represented for Chicago."

Katy Perry: "Mumford & Sons melted peoples brains tonight...as they do... Oh yeah and R Kelly & Cher... #legendarystatus" (2011)*

Celebrities talk about R. Kelly - Part 3

Saul Williams: "When I wrote "African Student Movement," I was driving, going through radio stations, and I stopped on an urban station. I heard an R. Kelly song that I'm killing myself for liking. I think it was, "Fiesta," with Fat Joe."

Interviewer: You can't deny that R. Kelly produces clever beats.

SW: "Yeah, I couldn't deny it. I was like, "This is so dope!" I need a song with a beat like that. So I went home and made a beat like it. "African Student Movement" was purely inspired by R. Kelly. I made the beat on a Friday night. I was home alone, and I remember I had all the lights off. My washroom in my house also serves as my studio, so I was making the beat and I turned on the mic and free-styled the whole song. I'd just returned from South Africa. So my mind was on South Africa and my rhythm was [inspired by] R. Kelly"  

Brandy:

Monica: 

"What an entertainer R KELLY is.... He is killing the stage . 

Unbelievable ... The vocals, style and musical history" (2011)*

"I've always been an R. Kelly fan, he and I could probably make some good music." (2006)

Missy Elliot: "Making albums with R. Kelly is a blessing from God."

Alicia Keys: "Still love R. Kelly."

 Alicia covered "Step in the Name of Love" on her As I Am tour, 2008:

@1:53

Whitney Houston: “My dear, dear R. Kelly, some people just have their own world and R. Kelly, he has his own world. You have to step into his world and I kinda stepped in and stepped out for a minute, that’s a story we’ll keep between him and I — forever."

"[There] would not have been a ‘Salute’ or ‘I Look to You’ without Robert Kelly, who is by far one of the best singer-songwriters in the industry today.” (2009)

Whitney refers to R. Kelly as a genius in this interview (2009):

Beyoncé: “R. Kelly, gosh how could I forget? It's still new. It's still brand new and I forgot. I actually didn't get a chance to work with him physically in the studio, but I talked to him on the phone and he's a wonderful person. So talented."

Jennifer Lopez: "R. Kelly is the most moving artist since Marvin Gaye. I love the Chocolate Factory!” 

Joe: “Kelly’s a beast. He continues to show how talented he is. That’s inspiring. I’m motivated by R. Kelly.”

Clay Akin: “I listened to R. Kelly when I grew up and I still listen to some of R. Kelly's inspirational and gospel music because this is what my mom used to play while she was cleaning up. I’ve never listened or liked R. Kelly’s sexual songs or any sexual songs for that matter, but R. Kelly’s inspirational songs are phenomenal.”

Craig David: “I grew up listening to R. Kelly! I have to keep up with the best so I listen to the best. R. Kelly’s new CD (TP-2.COM) is phenomenal.”

Celebrites talk about R. Kelly - Part 2

Questlove 

On his performance with R. Kelly on the Jimmy Fallon show:

"All I could think about is that MIA pitchfork review of her album when they stated "As long as you bring the magic, we could care less about what goes on in your personal life" - or some version of that. I've been a Kelz fencerider. But man oh cotdamn man. He got the first late night AUTHENTIC standing ovation tonight. Not like "Oh, old legend onstage" type ish. But like when you so captivated by a performance you just gotta friggin... man. [....] Man, he wiped everything away. Even the teamsteresque "Jersey yo!" cats that had nuff Chappelle "piss" jokes were like "That shit is magical" [...] That was THEE greatest late night performance I've seen in studio 6B. Hands down yo. Music is magic" (2010) [Source]

Ginuwine: 

"It was not your average collaboration, I wasn't there when he did it. I met him afterward and we kicked it. He's a good dude. A genius. I was just happy to do something that he created. Everything he seems to do is just ridiculous." (2003)

Ginuwine talks about R. Kelly (2007):

Ruben Studdard:

"The opportunity to work with a genius like R. Kelly was a blessing," Studdard says. "And this song was perfect for me. I think it's the I Believe I Can Fly for 2004." (2004)

Claude Kelly:

"R. Kelly is the most important & complex black artist since Michael Jackson" (2011)*

"Let me just say this: R.Kelly is a master of his craft. writer, producer, singer. And he RIPPED to stage just now" (2011)*

"5 most important artist of the last 20 years: Alanis Morissette, R. Kelly, Kurt Cobain, Jay-Z, Lauryn Hill...(Honorable Mention: Eminem)" (2012)*

"R. Kelly = the most original black male artist/sognwriter since Marvin Gaye & MJ. he reinvents n pushes the boundaries of R&B like no other" (2012)*

Erykah Badu:

"I wanna do a song with R Kelley. just thinkin bout how dope he is." (2011)*

T-Pain: 

"OMG I just had a chance to listen to R Kellys last album "Love Letter" and I must say that this man just made a real "RNB" album he is one of the few ppl that still go in the studio and does what the fuck he wants to and the shit comes out right. If more artists today did that and not go in the studio and hop on YouTube to see "what the kids like right now" then maybe the whole "overflow" of auto-tune would have never happened, I'm just sayin. But that being said, you guys should really buy this album that's my co-sign thanx for reading. Sorry for the super long tweet" (2011)*

Tia Mowry:

Foxy Brown:

 

Marques Houston:

BET (Interviewer): Who do you think is the most misunderstood person of the last ten years?

"I think R. Kelly is very misunderstood. To me, I think R. Kelly is a genius since I actually got a chance to work with him.”

Nas

“I think R. Kelly’s shit is really bumpin. I think he is the greatest song writer, I had to rhyme on one of his songs, so I took this one [Sampled When a Woman's Fed Up for K.I.SS.I.N.G]"

 Beenie Man:

“I like R. Kelly. I think that he is a musical genius for this time.”

Celebrities talk about R. Kelly - Part 1

Ronald Isley: "He's a genius - a true musical genius." (2003)

"As a producer, he's got a gift that I don't know if he knows how deep and how far his gift goes. He's like a son to me and he listens and he gets it, man. He knows what to do before I even come to the studio. He knows it, he knows and when he did the song 'Contagious' it just flipped me out. I can stand here and talk about him all night." (2010)

"R. Kelly is a genius, he's able to accomplish things you would have to be a genius to accomplish." (2011)

Etta James: "R. Kelly sings his off and is a motherfucker of a producer" (2003)

S/N: Etta James also covered 'I Believe I Can Fly' for her album, All the Way (2006)

Aretha Franklin: “Do you love the song that R. Kelly just recorded, ‘When a Woman Loves’? I think any woman that’s ever been in love will readily relate to that song. He is singing that song. I mean he is singing his heart and his soul out. You know if he isn’t careful, I might become a cougar" (2011)

Randy Newman:

Interviewer: Do your sons turn you on to new music?

"My younger kids did tell me about R. Kelly, how he's a genius and how I should look up a song called "Real Talk." I did - that guy can really sing. I liked it." (2008)

Michael Jackson:

MTV: “On the new video [You Are Not Alone], is a song that is written and produced by R. Kelly. How did you guys hook up?"

MJ: “It was a song he presented and I liked it. Actually, we produced this one together... It just is a wonderful song, he is a wonderful artist.” (1995) 

S/N: R. Kelly also wrote 2 more songs for MJ, "One More Chance" (2003)  and "Cry" (2001)

Michael Jackson dancing to R. Kelly's "Ignition (Remix)":

Janet Jackson:

Interviewer (FHM magazine): What music boosts you in the bedroom?

Janet: "It all depends on my mood. For softer, down-home loving, I’d say R. Kelly." (2006)

......

Interviewer (People magazine): You're known for your "baby-making" slow jams. Do you and J.D. ever play them when you're, like, alone?

Janet: "(Giggles) No, I've never done that. I don't really listen to my music. But we love R. Kelly."(2008)

S/N: In 1994, Janet asked R. Kelly to remix "Any Time, Any Place" for her remix album, Janet. Remixed

 Montell Jordan: “I like listening to R. Kelly’s music and someday I want to have the same respect as R. Kelly has as far as being a producer and a songwriter.”

El Debarge:

Tweet:

Lionel Richie: “I like people with there own styles, I think R. Kelly has his own style I would love to work with him one day.”

 Lauryn Hill: “R. Kelly is a very good songwriter!”

____

Celebrities talk about R. Kelly [Part 2]
Celebrities talk about R. Kelly [Part 3]
Celebrities talk about R. Kelly [Part 4]
Celebrities talk about R .Kelly [Part 5]