R. Kelly, born Robert Sylvester Kelly, is an American singer, songwriter and record producer known for his prolific commercial success in R&B, hip hop and pop music.
He has been credited with nicknames such as the King of R&B, the King of Pop-Soul and the Pied Piper of R&B.
Kelly’s career has been marked by both critical acclaim and controversy.
While he has achieved significant commercial success, he has also faced numerous allegations of sexual abuse and misconduct throughout his career.
Kelly is currently seeking appeals court relief from this sentence, arguing that prosecutors improperly used a racketeering statute written to shut down organized crime organizations to convict him.
| Net worth | -$2 million |
| Profession | Singer, record producer |
| Date of birth | January 8, 1967 |
| Nationality | American |
Background
Kelly was born on January 8, 1967, in Chicago, Illinois, to Joann Kelly, a school teacher, and an unknown father who was absent throughout his life.
His family lived in the Ida B. Wells Homes public housing project, and he began singing in church at the age of eight.
Kelly’s mother enrolled him at the prestigious Kenwood Academy, where he met his mentor, Lena McLin, who inspired him to become a singer.
His music teacher placed him in a local talent show to perform a version of Ribbon in the Sky, a Stevie Wonder song, which marked the beginning of his professional music career.
Kelly’s mother, Joanne, died in 1993 of cancer, and he has claimed that he stayed by her bedside until she died and promised to make her proud with his music career.
However, an investigative book on Kelly called Soulless: the Case Against R. Kelly, by journalist Jim DeRogatis, alleges that Kelly was not close with his mother at the time of her death and refused to deal with her medical bills.
Net worth
Kelly’s net worth is currently -$2 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.Â
His fortune has diminished due to legal troubles, allegations of sexual misconduct, and a decline in record sales and concert revenue.
Kelly’s legal issues have resulted in expensive legal bills and settlements, while allegations of sexual misconduct and abuse have harmed his public image, leading to public condemnation and demands to boycott his music.
Initial net worth
Before his arrest, Kelly had a net worth of approximately $100 million.
However, years of legal problems and financial mismanagement eventually whittled down his personal net worth.
Kelly’s legal troubles included paying millions of dollars to settle sexual abuse lawsuits with several victims, an expensive divorce with his ex-wife, and failing to pay child support.
He also faced tax problems with the IRS, owing millions in unpaid taxes.
Real estate
Kelly has owned several notable real estate properties and houses, each with its own unique history and significance.
In Chicago, his former Lakeview home, where some of his sexual crimes occurred in the 1990s, was sold for $2.9 million.
Additionally, his Olympia Fields estate, purchased for $1.5 million in 1997, featured a 21,000-square-foot mansion with seven bedrooms, 12 bathrooms, an indoor pool space, an elevator, an eight-car garage, a basketball court and a pond.
This property was listed for sale at just under $3.5 million in 2024.
In Atlanta, Kelly was evicted from two properties, including a large mansion rented for $11,542.45 per month, situated on 2.5 acres
Career
Kelly began his musical journey in the late 1980s, forming the group Public Announcement and releasing their debut album, Born into the 90’s, in 1992.
His solo career took off with the release of his debut album, 12 Play, in 1993, which included the hit singles, Bump n’ Grind and Your Body’s Callin’.
Kelly has since released numerous studio albums, including R. Kelly” (1995), R. (1998), TP-2.com (2000), Chocolate Factory” (2003), Happy People/U Saved Me (2004), TP.3 Reloaded (2005) and Black Panties (2014).
Throughout his career, Kelly has achieved significant commercial success, selling over 75 million albums and singles worldwide.
He has been recognized as one of the best-selling music artists of all time and the most successful R&B male artist of the 1990.
Kelly has also won three Grammy Awards, including for his hit song “I Believe I Can Fly.
His work has influenced numerous artists including Chris Brown, Avant, Trey Songz, Bruno Mars, Joe, Tyrese, Ginuwine, Donnell Jones, The-Dream, The Weeknd, Ne-Yo, Tank, Teyana Taylor, Rico Love, Keke Palmer, Jeremih, Zayn Malik and many more.
Kelly has mentored and produced for the likes of Aaliyah, B2K, Changing Faces, Boo & Gotti and K. Michelle, and reignited the careers of Toni Braxton, Luther Vandross, Charlie Wilson, Ron Isley and more.
Artists from many genres have covered Kelly’s music.
In addition to his solo and collaboration success, Kelly has also written and produced several hit songs for other artists, including Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston and Celine Dion.
His collaboration albums with rapper Jay-Z and his guest vocalist appearances for other hip hop artists like Nas, Sean Combs and The Notorious B.I.G. have further showcased his versatility as an artist and his ability to blend genres seamlessly.
Awards and accolades
Kelly has received 110 awards from a total of 274 nominations throughout his career, with a majority of his awards in the R&B and hip-hop genre categories.
He has won three Grammy Awards, including for Best R&B Song for I Believe I Can Fly in 1997.
Kelly has also won numerous American Music Awards, BET Awards, and Billboard Music Awards, among others.
His awards reflect his significant contributions to the music industry and his influence in the R&B and hip-hop genres.
However, Kelly’s personal life and legal issues have overshadowed his musical achievements and have had a significant impact on his career and public image.
Personal life
Kelly has had a number of romantic relationships throughout his career, including with Joycelyn Savage, who has been described as his girlfriend and apparent fiancée.
Savage has been an interesting figure in Kelly’s sex trafficking case, having defended him in the past but later accusing him of being controlling and abusive.
She has also claimed to be pregnant with Kelly’s child, although this has been denied by his attorney.
Savage has maintained that she is not a victim and that she and Kelly are deeply in love, despite his conviction for sexual exploitation of a child, bribery, kidnapping, racketeering, and sex trafficking.
Legal issues
Kelly’s legal problems began in 1994 when he illegally married the then-14-year-old Aaliyah.
In 1996, he was involved in a brawl in Louisiana and was later sentenced to one year of unsupervised probation.
In 1998, a Chicago woman named Tiffany Hawkins filed charges against Kelly for personal injuries and emotional distress she suffered during their three-year relationship in the early ’90s, when Kelly was 24 and Hawkins was 15.
Later in 2002, a video surfaced of the raper allegedly having sex with an underage girl, and he was indicted on 21 counts of child pornography.
In 2008, Kelly was found not guilty after a day of deliberations and in 2017, he was accused of holding women hostage as part of his abusive “cult”.
In 2019, he was arrested on charges ranging from aggravated criminal sexual abuse to sex trafficking.
Two years later, Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison for racketeering and sex trafficking.
His record label was ordered to pay over $500,000 in music royalties to his sexual abuse victims.
Trial and conviction
Kelly faced a series of trials and convictions that culminated in significant legal consequences.
In 2022, he was jailed for 30 years after being found guilty of eight counts of sex trafficking and one of racketeering in a New York court.
The trial involved testimonies from numerous witnesses, including victims who detailed how Kelly had used his fame and fortune to abuse, rape and imprison multiple women and men, many of whom were underage.
The jury’s decision to convict him on all nine counts highlighted the severity of his crimes and the impact of his actions on his victims.
Furthermore, in a separate federal trial in Chicago in 2022, Kelly faced charges of child pornography, obstruction of justice, and other offenses.
The trial revealed disturbing details of his abusive behavior, with a witness testifying that the singer had engaged in sexual activities with her hundreds of times before she turned 18.
Despite Kelly’s defense team’s efforts to portray him in a different light, the jury found Kelly guilty on six out of 13 counts, including three of child pornography.
These convictions marked a significant moment in his legal battles, with the court sentencing him to a total of 31 years in prison for various charges related to child pornography, racketeering, sex trafficking and other crimes.
The judge’s decision to hand down such a substantial sentence underscored the gravity of Kelly’s offenses and the lasting impact on his victims.
His legal challenges continued as he appealed his 2021 conviction for racketeering and sex trafficking, seeking a reversal of the verdict or a new trial based on claims of juror bias and legal errors during the proceedings.
