Download R. Kelly MP3s
Since first appearing on the R&B scene in 1992, windy city native R. Kelly has gone from singing in subway station to becoming the premier soul man on the planet. From dancing in the streets on "Step In The Name Of Love" to the inspirational hurrah of "I Believe I Can Fly" to the sweet sexiness of "Ignition", R. Kelly has made music that straddles the high wire between the profane and perverse. Still, nothing that has come before could possibly have prepared the man's devoted fans for the carnal knowledge passed down on the groove master's 10th disc, TP.3 Reloaded.
Knocking aside all pretenders to the soul throne, R. Kelly comes correct on TP. 3. Combining all sides of his various musical personas to create a complex drama of sex and love in the heart of the city, R. Kelly has fashioned TP.3 as a series of booty shaking beats, romantic romps and dramatic flair that would make his hero Marvin Gaye quite proud. As music journalist Tonya Pendleton once expressed, "Greatness was thrust upon Kelly, a gift from a power much larger than himself."
Opening with the soon to be dancefloor classic "Playas Only", featuring Compton's latest wordsmith The Game, this is the perfect track for nocturnal macks (colorful gators, loud suits) and the real women that love them. Reminding one of a black Hugh Hefner (who also hails from Chicago), homeboy Kells paints an aural picture of Chi-town clubland, "where the chicks be jerkin' their bodies...where playas be spendin' a lot of dough," that easily translates to any nightspot in the world. With The Game riding shotgun, "Playas Only" is gangsta without the bullets.
While "Playas Only" has sparked at radio, it is the unconventional five-song cycle of "Trapped In The Closet" that has caused an inferno on radio stations across the nation. Described by New York Times critic Kelefa Sanneh as "one of pop music's weirdest geniuses," R. Kelly has constructed a bizarre storyline of lust, revenge and betrayal for this urban operetta. Using pure narration reminiscent of yesteryear radio serialss, these songs have no tradtional hooks, but that hasn't stopped folks from getting addicted. Always down to please his fans, all five video chapters of "Trapped In The Closet" will be packaged with TP.3 Reloaded.
The genius of R. Kelly also shines bright on the sparkling songs that precede the drama of "In The Closet". Like Sly Stone for the jiggy generation, "Happy Sunshine" is a hot fun in the sunshine adventure in the land of a thousand dances. With his homie Snoop dropping verbal jewels over the smooth velvet of this driving music (diamond shaped sunglasses tilted as he stares at Chi-town girls), R. Kelly lays down his personal brand of thug passion. As respected scribe Rob Mariott precisely pointed out, "in spite of the thuggery, his lyrics betray a deep understanding of how women feel, what women want and what women want to hear. Even when nothing more than pretty lies put to music, his songs rarely fall prey to pretension. He is that rare R&B cat who makes music for women that men can feel."
Experimenting with wicked riddims on "Reggae Bump Bump" and "Burn It Up", R. Kelly boldly goes where few new milliennium R&B dudes have taken their music. Teaming with the prince of dancehall Elephant Man on "Reggae Bump Bump", this unlikely duo is fresh as akee and salt fish in the morning. Conjuring the kind of bubble butt girl that "will break the bed," R. Kelly sounds quite at home in the reggae zone. On the other hand, the big beat of "Burn It Up", with its frantic drums and reggaeton rhythms, is destined to become a dancehall smash both on and off the island.
Taking R&B back to the early days of the Delfonics and the Moments, R. Kelly blesses us with an old school sound on "Remote Control". Sounding like he is harmonizing beneath a red lightbulb streetlight, this quiet storm slow jam is baby-making music at its best. Also in this category is the between the sheets track "Touchin'", which manages to be sweet and nasty simultaneously, R. Kelly knows the way to a woman's heart and her G-spot.
As one of the most inventive performers in modern soul, R. Kelly's dazzling TP.3 Reloaded is naughty fun for the bump 'n' grind crews, sweet love for romantics and high drama for the soap opera watchers. Listen, because this is the beginning of a brand new experience.
