Timbaland on Club Shay Shay with Shannon Sharpe talks about R-Kelly’s influence and how much he’s being ignored and undermined despite his great efforts and contributions to shaping R&B.
According to him, the world isn’t supposed to brush him under the bus just like that, considering he offered his entire career to serving us with soul-touching and sensational hits.
No debate R-Kelly shaped and influenced R&B worldwide. Born Robert Sylvester Kelly in 1967, he is an American singer, songwriter, and producer who gained fame in the early 1990s for his soul-binding songs, lyrical god and pen master with soothing beats, vocals, and his ability to blend Soul, Hip-hop, and Gospel had everyone flabbergasted, earning him the title of “King Of R&B.”
His songs ‘I Believe I Can Fly’, ‘Bump N’ Grind’, and ‘Ignition’ remix.
These two songs are some of his most iconic tracks, reaching No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, winning 3 Grammy Awards, and becoming an inspirational anthem all over the world. Its message and record made it one of [R-Kelly’s] most celebrated and widely known songs, even serving as a gospel song and at the same time serving his Pop fans.
His record has scaled beyond vocals but also transcends producing and writing songs for some of the biggest and most iconic superstars to ever exist, some of which are; ‘You Are Not Alone’ for Michael Jackson in 1995, most of Aaliyah’s debut album Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number in 1994, including her ‘Back And Forth,’
‘At Your Best.’ He’s also written for Whitney Houston ‘I Look At You’ in 2009, ‘I’m Your Angel’ duet with Celine Dion, ‘I Don’t Want To’ by Toni Braxton, ‘Fortunate’ by Maxwell, ‘Signs Of Love Making’ Remix by Tyrese, The Isley Brothers ‘Contagious’ in 2001, ‘Bump, Bump, Bump’ by B2K in 2002, Sparkle
‘Be Careful’ in 1998, and ‘Where You At’ by Jennifer Hudson in 2011. His talent, and artistry prowess that could craft songs across different genres made him a sought-after producer and songwriter.
Despite this great legacy R-Kelly built throughout his career before it was cut short when he was convicted of multiple charges, including ***ual abuse, chi** ****ography, hum*n trafficking, and racketeering. He was found guilty of running a 10-year scheme that recruited, ***ually exploited, and abused young women and girls.
In 2021, he was convicted in a federal trial in New York of racketeering and *** trafficking under the RICO Acts and was sentenced to 30 years in prison in 2022.
Alongside that, he was also convicted of chi** ****ography and enticement of minors and was charged 20 years in prison, which he is concurrently serving with his New York City RICO Acts sentence.
Timbaland thinks his influence cannot be undermined as people freak at the sight and hearing of his name, urging people to acknowledge his contribution and hard work and let that side of him be, stating that music is a feeling, not a person, so fans have to separate both.
“R-Kelly is the king of R&B, we all know that, and it’s funny, I’m glad you talk about that because I be having a talk about, and everybody jumps up when you talk about R-Kelly.”
“And I’m like, so we all gonna ignore his music he gave us that we all jam to? His art is his art, I’m not gonna bash that. He’s the only one who has some things in his closet, but we still listen to him. And to me, we all gotta learn how to update as a culture. We have to learn how to separate that, and if I say okay talking about R-Kelly, I don’t wanna see you in the comments saying ‘how you gonna handle this.’ Don’t mix music up with a person. Music is a feeling that stands alone, music is something that has no race, it brings together. It don’t have no drama with it, it is a place of enjoyment, of feeling. So don’t bring drama into music, leave that outside. His art is his art. I say the same thing about a lot of people.”
