Content Warning: This article about R. Kelly discusses sexual abuse and domestic violence. If you or someone you know is affected by the following story, you are not alone. To speak to someone, you can call Lifeline on 13 11 14, or 1800 RESPECT on 1800 737 732
The new bootleg album ‘I Admit It’ by R. Kelly has been pulled from both Spotify and Apple Music just hours after its release.
The disgraced R&B star, who is currently serving time on trafficking and racketeering charges, saw his album released on Friday for just five hours before it was removed after Sony Music representatives told Variety the album was an unofficial bootleg release.
They also said that Kelly did not have the album released, and rather had “intellectual property stolen from him.”
The album features 13 tracks – including a shocking 19-minute song that where Kelly “confesses” to having relationships with fans and cheating on a partner, while also denying his sex crime convictions.
“They’re brainwashed, really? Kidnapped, really? Can’t eat, really? Real talk, that shit sound silly,” he sings on one song, referring to one testimony from the trial.
Kelly, whose real name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, was sentenced in June to 30 years in prison after being found guilty of all counts of racketeering and sex trafficking against him at his Brooklyn federal trial last year.
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Prior to sentencing, seven of Kelly’s survivors addressed the court to share impact statements and speak directly to their abuser. “I am a representation of every woman, boy, child, man that you have ever afflicted with your deplorable, inexplicable acts and with that I leave you with yourself, Robert Sylvester Kelly,” “Angela” — who also testified during the trial — said to Kelly. “You used your fame and power to groom and coach underage boys and girls for your own sexual gratification.”
Another survivor, Jane Doe 2, also aimed her impact statement at Kelly. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be whole. What you did has left a permanent stain on my life that I will never be able to wash away. I’m sure you never think about that,” she said. “You are an abuser, you are shameless, you are disgusting and you are self-serving.” As for Kelly’s sentence, she said, “I hope you go to jail for the rest of your life.”
Judge Ann Donnelly sentenced R. Kelly to five years more than the minimum prosecutors sought, saying, “These crimes were calculated and carefully planned and regularly executed for almost 25 years.
“You taught them that love is enslavement and violence.”
In handing down the sentence, the judge also acknowledged Kelly’s child pornography trial, where he was acquitted, as an opportunity to turn his life around. Howdever, “It seems that the only thing you took from that trial was ways to hem your victims in [with non-disclosure agreements],” Donnelly said.
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