R Kelly is the Rick James of our Generation…

I know, I know…substitute unending appetite for drugs with self-destructive drive for sexual predation. But there it is? Who does it like the R…in any genre of contemporary music? Just when you think there’s nowhere new to go in the realm of outrageous behaviour, here comes Robert, going on about ‘closets’ and whatnot…

No, you did not imagine this...

This isn’t even judgment here; I would never consider myself an R Kelly dude. But I feel that because of my respect for Rick James alone (R.I.P.), if not his catalogue of music, this is a favourable comparison for that guy (no, not you Aaron) that puts the ‘R’ in R&B. I’m talking about creating an influence that transcends mere musical planes, about that ‘larger-than-life’ personality to go with the songs.
Recently, things have been kinda crazy for R, and I feel it’s more symptomatic of ‘these days and times’ than anything else. And I stand by that, but that being said, I’m not here for a fight. I have felt no need to judge contemporary <ahem> urban music since the post-Bad Boy era. Especially anything remotely falling in the category of ‘Club’ music. Thus, I feel no need to engage that sensitive ‘homo-thug’ mentality that permeates through much of this younger generation’s listeners: I’m not here to tell you how much doper things were 10 to 15 years ago and I’m not trying to dis your artists. Enjoy Jeezy. Please.
Even tho his career has spanned through more than a couple of decades, and those that know the ‘old’ R can argue about the questionable direction of his career and some of the musical choices he has made along the way. I’m not here for that, either. What brought this whole notion of the R to mention was his performance on the ‘Let It Rain’ remix.
I was pretty ambivalent to the original: to me, it was what it was…for the clubs, cute little hook with the usual pimp posturing…I wasn’t mad. So why, or shall I say, how is it that Kells outshines all the rappers on the remix? I mean, Robert went there…not the closet, per say, but some ig’nant shit nonetheless…and came out fresher than…well, everyone else on the track. Could it be that this is the first time ever an R&B artist kicks in the best verses on a rap remix? Who else could do this?
Let’s face it, all these lil’ artists want to take their sexy to a place R has been to and back virtually his whole career. The best years of Ginuwine seem past him and while Trey Songz clearly wants it, he actually appears to have the best chance at carrying on tradition. It’s just a question of avoiding the blatant rip off.
But anybody even remotely associated with a boy band; from B2K to…<cough> N’Sync, you’re just not built for this. Usher, when you get back, stick to dancing. Even Neo, who I’m not really that mad at, needs to stick to his comfort zone in the PG-13 confines of ‘sexy’ lovin’. Taste is not a question (because these days, it never is…): all popular male R&B artists (and even some of the Neo Soul-ish cats) want what the R got. It’s like Puba said, they can ‘try and copy, but they just can’t sketch it…’
But now the rappers wanna front like him too…and guess what: a lot of them aren’t winning. Damn, dudes don’t even wanna be their favourite O.G. rhymer anymore, they wanna be Robert.
Like Rick did back in his day, what other contemporary artist is able to go there (possibly making you cringe in the process) and then bring it back to you...like that? Y'all know the name...but for those who forgot: it’s Kells, bitches…

"Kells, is that you behind those shades...I guess this is a pre-mask flick?"

Enjoy the remix...

And to end on some synergy, when can you cover this Robert? I know, it's complicated. Maybe, after the trial...