R. Kelly is the eponymously titled second studio album by American R&B singer-songwriter R. Kelly. It was released on November 14, 1995, by Jive Records. The production was handled entirely by Kelly himself. It spawned three number one R&B singles: "You Remind Me of Something", "Down Low (Nobody Has to Know)" and "I Can't Sleep Baby (If I)".
Critical reception
R. Kelly received mostly positive reviews from music critics. Callum Jones of Rolling Stone wrote, Kelly "has grown out of his unthinking misogyny to the point where he makes a plea in 'As I Look Into My Life' to 'brothers in the ghetto' to 'love and respect that woman and bring her happiness.' Make love not war is an old message, but Kelly delivers it with sincerity. By spreading it in the hood in these violent times, he believes he's doing God's work, and who's to say he is wrong? Predecessors like Marvin Gaye and Prince have shown that great sex is spiritual, and Kelly's make-out music ranks with the best."
Entertainment Weekly editor Ken Tucker noted that "where his last collection, the hugely successful 12 Play, was shot through with raunch and roll, Kelly is now infatuated with, as one song title has it, "Tempo Slow" [...] There are times when Kelly confuses sincerity with dolorousness, but for the most part, he's pulled it off: An album that moves him into a new realm of pop ambitiousness."
Accolades
In August 1996 at the MTV Video Music Awards, "Down Low (Nobody Has to Know)" was nominated for Best Male Video.
Commercial performance
R. Kelly debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200. On June 22, 1999, it reached 5× Platinum status for shipments figures in excess of 5.0 million units.
- Ray Bady – vocals (background)
- Chris Brickley – engineer
- Lafayette Carthon – keyboards
- Kirk Franklin – choir director, guest artist
- Stephen George – engineer, mixing, programming
- Bernie Grundman – mastering
- Barry Hankerson – executive producer
- Charlotte Horton – vocals (background)
- Ernie Isley – guest artist, guitar, performer, primary artist
- Ronald Isley – guest artist, performer, primary artist, vocals (background)
- R. Kelly – composer, keyboards, mixing, multi instruments, primary artist, producer, vocals, vocals (background)
- Mr. Lee – guest artist, mixing, multi instruments, programming
- Peter Mokran – engineer, keyboards, mixing, programming
- The Notorious B.I.G. – guest artist, primary artist, rap
- Jim Slattery – multi instruments
- Marinna Teal (Strings) – vocals (background)
- Mario Winans – programming
Charts
Weekly charts
{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ Weekly chart performance for R. Kelly
! Chart (1995–96)
! Peak<br /> position
|-
! scope="row"| Australian Albums (ARIA)
| 63
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Year-end charts
{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ Year-end chart performance for R. Kelly
! Chart (1996)
! Position
|-
! scope="row"| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)
| 98
|-
! scope="row"| US Billboard 200
| 17
|-
! scope="row"| US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)
| 4
|}
Certifications
See also
- List of number-one albums of 1995 (U.S.)
- List of number-one R&B albums of 1995 (U.S.)