R. [PA]

Performer: R. Kelly
Artist: Celine Dion; Noreaga; Vegas Cats; Foxy Brown; Jay-Z; Kelly Price; Crucial Conflict; Nas; Cam'Ron; Keith Murray; Suzanne LeMignot
Distributor: BMG (distributor)

Notes: Personnel includes: R. Kelly (vocals, various instruments); Tone (rap vocals, programming); Rob Bacon, Greg Landfair, Keith Henderson, Jeff Vereb (guitar); Kendall D. Nesbitt (keyboards, drum programming); G-One (keyboards, programming); Antonio L. Daniels, LaFayette Carthon, Jr. (keyboards); Roy Hamilton (drum programming); Stephen George, Blake Chaffin, Paul J. Falcone, Anthony Kilhoffer, Brian Garten, Joey Donnatello, Chris Brickley, Eric N. Yoder (programming); Kelly Price, Blackie, Rock (background vocals); Celine Dion, Hart Hollman, Foxy Brown, Jay-Z, Crucial Conflict, Nas, Cam'Ron, Noreaga; The Motown Romance Orchestra. Producers: R. Kelly, G-One, Sean "Puffy" Combs, Ron "Amen-Ra" Lawrence, Tone And Poke. Engineers include: Stephen George, Chris Puram, Charles McCrorey. R. was nominated for the 2000 Grammy Award for Best R&B Album. "I'm Your Angel" was nominated for the 1999 Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals. "When A Woman's Fed Up" was nominated for the 2000 Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance. Personnel includes: R. Kelly (vocals, various instruments); Tone (rap vocals, programming); Rob Bacon, Greg Landfair, Keith Henderson, Jeff Vereb (guitar); Kendall D. Nesbitt (keyboards, drum programming); G-One (keyboards, programming); Antonio L. Daniels, LaFayette Carthon, Jr. (keyboards); Roy Hamilton (drum programming); Stephen George, Blake Chaffin, Paul J. Falcone, Anthony Kilhoffer, Brian Garten, Joey Donnatello, Chris Brickley, Eric N. Yoder (programming); Kelly Price, Blackie, Rock (background vocals); Celine Dion, Hart Hollman, Foxy Brown, Jay-Z, Crucial Conflict, Nas, Cam'Ron, Noreaga; The Motown Romance Orchestra. Producers: R. Kelly, G-One, Sean "Puffy" Combs, Ron "Amen-Ra" Lawrence, Tone And Poke. Engineers include: Stephen George, Chris Puram, Charles McCrorey. R. was nominated for the 2000 Grammy Award for Best R&B Album. "I'm Your Angel" was nominated for the 1999 Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals. "When A Woman's Fed Up" was nominated for the 2000 Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance. At the beginning of the '90s, R. Kelly was seen as a lewd, lascivious soulman. By the end of the decade, he had stripped those adjectives away and was seen as a contemporary equivalent of Marvin Gaye, thanks to the enormous success of "I Believe I Can Fly." Appropriately, R., the double-disc album that followed "I Believe I Can Fly"'s parent album, finds Kelly trying to live up to that legacy. He may be talented, but he has neither the vision nor the depth to match such classic soulmen as Al Green, Stevie Wonder, Prince, or Michael Jackson, all artists he emulates on R. Kelly's main strength is fusing contemporary material together into a slick, palatable, radio-ready record. Nobody else could have Jay-Z and Celine Dion on his album, and he's about the only one who could make it work, since he can work sensuous grooves as well as he can deliver a soaring ballad. To some, this may sound like nothing more than calculation -- a big part of the reason why he doesn't instantly enter the hall of greats -- because it's easy to see how he pieces it all together. When he's on, however, such calculation doesn't really matter, since it all flows, but such incidents only occur through about 40 percent of R. That's a major problem, considering the sheer length of the album. Clocking in at 29 long tracks, it takes real effort to sit through the record from beginning to end, especially since Kelly begins to repeat himself. If it was pruned a bit, the album would arguably be his best. As it stands, R. is an admirable effort, one that is among his better records even with all of its faults. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine R. Kelly proves that he's as prolific as he is talented on the two-disc set R., which not only culls together his most noteworthy and successful work, but is bursting with new tracks as well. Filled from start to finish with Kelly's unique blend of smooth vocal stylings and no-nonsense lyrical stance, this album also features the work of a few of his prominent friends--the opener, "Home Alone" sports a guest rap courtesy of Keith Murray, while "Money Makes The World Go Round" is graced by Nas. A more mainstream pairing is witnessed in the dramatic show stopper "I'm your Angel," which finds Kelly alongside superstar Celine Dion, but the collaboration which really makes its mark is "We Ride," which features Cam'Ron, Noreaga, Jay-Z and Vegas Cats in a veritable who's who of Hip Hop's brightest stars. As if all this weren't enough, the mega-hit "I Believe I Can Fly" is included for good measure. Newcomers to the world of R. Kelly will be attracted by the hits, but they're sure to stay for the instant classics and star-studded party jams which make up the rest of R. R. Kelly proves that he's as prolific as he is talented on the two-disc set R., which not only culls together his most noteworthy and successful work, but is bursting with new tracks as well. Filled from start to finish with Kelly's unique blend of smooth vocal stylings and no-nonsense lyrical stance, this album also features the work of a few of his prominent friends--the opener, "Home Alone" sports a guest rap courtesy of Keith Murray, while "Money Makes The World Go Round" is graced by Nas. A more mainstream pairing is witnessed in the dramatic show stopper "I'm your Angel," which finds Kelly alongside superstar Celine Dion, but the collaboration which really makes its mark is "We Ride," which features Cam'Ron, Noreaga, Jay-Z and Vegas Cats in a veritable who's who of Hip Hop's brightest stars. As if all this weren't enough, the mega-hit "I Believe I Can Fly" is included for good measure. Newcomers to the world of R. Kelly will be attracted by the hits, but they're sure to stay for the instant classics and star-studded party jams which make up the rest of R.

Spin (12/98, pp.180-182) - 7 (out of 10) - "...On his fourth album, the dude with the shades and shiny pate juggles street and schlock, Foxy Bown and Celine Dion, smoove-groove erotomania and anguished contrition. Prolonged exposure may leave you wondering if he isn't actually schizophrenic..." Spin (12/98, pp.180-182) - 7 (out of 10) - "...On his fourth album, the dude with the shades and shiny pate juggles street and schlock, Foxy Bown and Celine Dion, smoove-groove erotomania and anguished contrition. Prolonged exposure may leave you wondering if he isn't actually schizophrenic..." Q (12/99, p.118) - Stars (out of 5) - "...brooding, intense songs of regret and self-accusation over broken affairs, delivered in passionate, slowburning style....a tremendous accomplishment, a watershed for Kelly, who has never been so accessible, so memorable, so interesting..." Q (12/99, p.118) - Stars (out of 5) - "...brooding, intense songs of regret and self-accusation over broken affairs, delivered in passionate, slowburning style....a tremendous accomplishment, a watershed for Kelly, who has never been so accessible, so memorable, so interesting..." Mojo (Publisher) (1/99, p.102) - "A rare beast this, a double CD over two hours long that doesn't outstay its welcome....All soul giants need songs like [these] in the repertoire." Mojo (Publisher) (1/99, p.102) - "A rare beast this, a double CD over two hours long that doesn't outstay its welcome....All soul giants need songs like [these] in the repertoire."

If you're looking for the perfect music to cap a romantic evening or, for that matter, get one started, slow-jam master R. Kelly might just do the trick. Whether he's turning out heart-on-sleeve love ballads (the R. Kelly-penned Michael Jackson 1995 hit "You Are Not Alone"), gorgeous spiritually oriented compositions ("I Believe I Can Fly"), down-and-dirty R&B jams (2001's "Feelin' on Yo Booty"), or multi-part ghetto-narrative "hip-hoperas" (the infamous "Trapped in the Closet" single, which as of summer 2006 had 12 chapters), Kels really does have all the bases covered.

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