R. Kelly is a singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor from Chicago, Illinois. He rose to fame in the late 1990s with his R&B-influenced solo debut album 12 Play. The album was a crossover success and has been credited with inspiring a generation of hopefuls to enter the industry
Read more
His second album, Chocolate Factory, released in 1998, was his international breakthrough and included the hits "I Believe I Can Fly" and "Bump N' Grind." The next year he achieved even greater success with his greatest hits compilation R. Kelly's Best of Both Worlds. That same year he released his first greatest hits album Love Letter to You under the name Robert Sylvester Kelly.
After another hiatus of over six years he returned with "I'm Your Angel" in early 2002. This was followed by "She's Got That Vibe" in May 2002 which debuted at number one on the Billboard charts, making him the only artist to have three number one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 chart consecutively since Lauryn Hill first did so on May 9, 1998. Kelly then released his third studio album TP-2.com in 2003 which peaked at number two on the Billboard 200 albums chart and spawned two more top 10 singles.
In 2006 he released his eighth studio album Double Up, which became his first number one on the Billboard 200 albums chart after debuting at number two on the week of its release. The album's lead single "You Remind Me of Something" became an international hit reaching top 10 status on charts around Europe and Asia as well as reaching platinum status in South Africa and peaking at number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for seven nonconsecutive weeks beginning February 9, 2006.
The song also earned Kelly a Grammy nomination for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance at the 48th Annual Grammy Awards.