R Kelly - R. [Bonus Track]

Primary Artist
R Kelly
Album Title
R. [Bonus Track]
Release Date
March 23, 1999 
Time
 
Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
At the beginning of the '90s, R. Kelly was seen as a lewd, lascivious soulman. By the end of the decade, he had stripped those adjectives away and was seen as a contemporary equivalent of Marvin Gaye, thanks to the enormous success of "I Believe I Can Fly." Appropriately, R., the double-disc album that followed "I Believe I Can Fly"'s parent album, finds Kelly trying to live up to that legacy. He may be talented, but he has neither the vision or the depth to match such classic soulmen as Al Green, Stevie Wonder, Prince or Michael Jackson, all artists he emulates on R. Kelly's main strength is fusing contemporary material together into a slick, palatable, radio-ready record. Read More