September 4, 2012

R. Kelly has been all about romance on his last two albums, but the self-proclaimed Pied Piper of R&B says he isn't going to abandon the explicit music that helped make him famous.

"Absolutely not, and I tell people all the time man," R. Kelly said in a phone interview last week. "Make no mistake about it, R. Kelly is not going anywhere, it's just that R. Kelly has such a unique talent, and I've been blessed to be able to do all type of genres of music... I'm exploring my gift right now."

Kellz's recent "Write Me Back" and 2010's "Love Letter" were a departure of sorts for the singer-songwriter, whose hits include classics like "Your Body's Callin'."

He described those acclaimed albums as a way of taking a break from his typical explicit material to try something new.

"When you've done twentysomething years, man, of giving people what they want, and satisfying people -- people like to say they're making babies off your music, they're doing all this -- it makes me feel good, but at the same time, it makes me say, 'OK, now it's time to go and do something that's in me that I want to do and get out,'" he said.

He said his upcoming album will be on more familiar R. Kelly ground.

"The name of my next album is Black Panties' -- that's my next '12 Play,'" he said, referring to his classic album filled with sexual material. "I'm going to have some fun on it."

R. Kelly also plans to have fun on his upcoming "Single Ladies" North American tour, which kicks off Oct. 13 in Columbia, S.C., and runs through December. Kelly said he aims for it to be "one big giant 'Dating Game.'"

"We really want the single ladies up there, and where guys know there's single ladies, they're going to be in the mix, because they're looking for a woman," he said.

R. Kelly is also focusing on the next chapters in his "Trapped" musical soap opera; he's been filming in his native Chicago and promises new characters, more surprises and an explanation of what the mysterious "package" is.

"Everybody remembers when Chuck was in the hospital, and ever since then, people have been asking me of course, 'What is the package, what is the package?' And that's what these chapters are about, is leading you up into what the package is going to be," he said. "This thing is an alien, it has taken on a life of its own, but I love doing it because it's stories."

Tour itinerary:

Oct. 13 - Columbia, SC- Township Auditorium
Oct. 14 - Birmingham, AL - BJCC Concert Hall
Oct. 18 - Atlanta, GA - Fox Theater
Oct. 21 - Miami, FL - JL Knight Center
Oct. 23 - Memphis, TN - Orpheum Theatre
Oct. 25 - Chicago, IL - Arie Crown Theatre
Oct. 31 - Oakland, CA - Paramount Theatre

Nov. 2 - Los Angeles, CA - Nokia Theater - LA Live
Nov. 7 - Houston, TX - Jones Hall
Nov. 8 - Grand Prairie, TX - Verizon Theatre
Nov. 10 - Milwaukee, WI - Milwaukee Theater
Nov. 11 - Cincinnati, OH - P&G Theatre: The Aranoff
Nov. 14 - Louisville, KY - Palace Theater
Nov. 15 - St Louis, MO - Fox Theatre
Nov. 17 - Detroit, MI - Fox Theater
Nov. 18 - Detroit, MI - Fox Theater
Nov. 21 - New York, NY - The Theater at Madison Square Garden
Nov. 24 - Washington, DC - Constitution Hall
Nov. 27 - Baltimore, MD - Lyric Theater
Nov. 29 - Upper Darby, PA - Tower Theater
Nov. 30 - Upper Darby, PA - Tower Theater

Dec. 2 - Columbus, OH - Veteran's Memorial
Dec. 6 - Cleveland, OH - State Theatre
Dec. 7 - Merrillville, IN - Star Plaza

http://www.billboard.com/...UAisEFq.99" target="_blank">Link

Is Depends one of his tour sponsors?

Consediring his last album was about as interesting as watching grass grow. I guess i somewhat see why he would do this..... But it will probably suck

Love Letter was great, but everything he has made after, that song after his surgery... that last boring ass album he made. Those shitty songs he wrote for Sparkle....

If Love Letter had been his final album it would have been a great finale.

Gunsnhalen said:

Consediring his last album was about as interesting as watching grass grow. I guess i somewhat see why he would do this..... But it will probably suck

Love Letter was great, but everything he has made after, that song after his surgery... that last boring ass album he made. Those shitty songs he wrote for Sparkle....

If Love Letter had been his final album it would have been a great finale.

All Rounds On Me, Clipped Wings, and a couple others were good on Write Me Back. Hopefully he brings back the sexual soul from 12 Play, not just the sexual.

scriptgirl said:

Is Depends one of his tour sponsors?

There's a rumor that Viagra has secured an official sponsorship deal with Robert.

They were insistent on naming it the "Can't Get Hard" Tour, but his management team objected.

...

[Edited 9/4/12 15:54pm]

HA!

aardvark15 said:

Gunsnhalen said:

Consediring his last album was about as interesting as watching grass grow. I guess i somewhat see why he would do this..... But it will probably suck

Love Letter was great, but everything he has made after, that song after his surgery... that last boring ass album he made. Those shitty songs he wrote for Sparkle....

If Love Letter had been his final album it would have been a great finale.

All Rounds On Me, Clipped Wings, and a couple others were good on Write Me Back. Hopefully he brings back the sexual soul from 12 Play, not just the sexual.

All rounds is the only one i kept on my ipod

I would love to hear that sexual soul from 12 Play... but honestly i just don't think Kells has got that ''thing'' he once had before.

This could end up being a shitest like Untitled

I want that belt he got on in that pic.

Anyways.

I thought the Black Panties album was cancelled? Good to see him bring it back.

Gunsnhalen said:

aardvark15 said:

All Rounds On Me, Clipped Wings, and a couple others were good on Write Me Back. Hopefully he brings back the sexual soul from 12 Play, not just the sexual.

All rounds is the only one i kept on my ipod

I would love to hear that sexual soul from 12 Play... but honestly i just don't think Kells has got that ''thing'' he once had before.

This could end up being a shitest like Untitled

Man Echo is MY SHIT!!! If he makes something like again I'll have fatih in R again.

he's gross

He wrote some reasonably good songs for the new Sparkle movie, by no means are they in the league with Curtis. That is about as much nice words I can muster for Kells. Bye.

"Absolutely not, and I tell people all the time man," R. Kelly said in a phone interview last week. "Make no mistake about it, R. Kelly is not going anywhere, it's just that R. Kelly has such a unique talent,

Am I the only one who's really creeped out by people who refer to themselves in the third person?

Arbwyth said:

"Absolutely not, and I tell people all the time man," R. Kelly said in a phone interview last week. "Make no mistake about it, R. Kelly is not going anywhere, it's just that R. Kelly has such a unique talent,

Am I the only one who's really creeped out by people who refer to themselves in the third person?

Kells is getting old, maybe he think's there is 2 R. Kelly's now

The explict make the same beat for 50 songs Kells & the boring put to sleep ballad Kells on Write Me Back. It's a loss either way

That's the Kellz I like...

[img:$uid]http://pic80.picturetrail.com:80/VOL2084/9118410/23349317/392750004.jpg[/img:$uid]

[Edited 9/4/12 20:34pm]

R.Kelly better stick to making grown folks music if he wants to continue to be taken seriously

Kellz at his best. Looking forward to it!

OHHH I can't stand this guy....if he fell off the face of the earth it would be a much better place!!!!!

Ego much?

Gunsnhalen said:

Arbwyth said:

Am I the only one who's really creeped out by people who refer to themselves in the third person?

Kells is getting old, maybe he think's there is 2 R. Kelly's now

Yeah, Come-to-Jesus Kells and Raunchy Kells. Hell, for all we know, he may think there are more than two. (I'm sure there's some great Photoshop memes just waiting to be created around this concept...)