R. Kelly is reportedly looking for a record label to release his new record on, sources close to the artist have said.
Over the last few weeks, R. Kelly has undoubtedly been feeling a lot of pressure. Following the premiere of Lifetime’s Surviving R. Kelly documentary, numerous artists have come forward to sever their ties with the controversial rapper, including Lady Gaga, who removed her collaboration with the artist from streaming services.
The documentary itself provides an in-depth look at the accusations made against the controversial artist, including such claims that he has had sex with underage girls, has physically abused numerous women, and even ran a “sex cult” from his Chicago home.
Incidentally, the documentary also featured interviews with a number of people who had worked with R. Kelly, including Chance The Rapper, who explained that their 2015 collaboration was “a mistake”.
While the documentary has broken viewership records for the US network, it’s also had a rather unfortunate side-effect, with Kelly’s music receiving a 16% surge on streaming service Spotify.
Despite this, Kelly’s reputation has undoubtedly taken a hit, with a number of radio stations banding together to #MuteRKelly, and Sony and RCA officially dropping him from their roster.
However, it seems that R. Kelly plans to fight back, with a source telling Billboard that he’s on the lookout for a new record label to release his new album through.
The new album (which would be his 15th) was reportedly recorded while he was still under contract with Sony and RCA, though Kelly reportedly managed to reclaim ownership of his works as part of an agreement to leave the label.
This source claims that while R. Kelly had reportedly been looking for a new distributor before the premiere of Lifetime’s documentary, the following backlash has required him to seek out new avenues.
However, with R. Kelly’s reputation being tarnished by these allegations of sexual abuse, he could be in a tight spot to find anyone willing to partner with him.
Of course, he could utilise Spotify’s artist upload feature, which is currently in its early days. Though, with Spotify recently allowing people to block artists they don’t wish to hear from, this could make things a bit difficult.
Check out part of the Surviving R. Kelly documentary:
