R. Kelly (album)

This article is about the self-titled album by R. Kelly. For other albums by Kelly, see R. Kelly discography.

R. Kelly
Studio album by R. Kelly
Released	November 14, 1995 (1995-11-14)
Genre	R&B
Length	62:47
Label	Jive Zomba
Producer	Barry Hankerson (exec.) R. Kelly
R. Kelly chronology
12 Play (1993) R. Kelly (1995) R. (1998)
Singles from R. Kelly
"You Remind Me of Something" Released: October 27, 1995 "Down Low (Nobody Has to Know)" Released: December 11, 1995 "Thank God It's Friday" Released: January 6, 1996 "I Can't Sleep Baby (If I)" Released: June 21, 1996

R. Kelly is the eponymously-titled second studio album by American R&B singer-songwriter R. Kelly. It was released on November 14, 1995, by Jive Records. The production was handled entirely by Kelly himself.^{[citation needed]} It spawned three number one R&B singles: "You Remind Me of Something", "Down Low (Nobody Has to Know)" and "I Can't Sleep Baby (If I)".

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Cash Box	(favorable)[2]
Robert Christgau	(A-)[3]
Entertainment Weekly	(A-)[4]
The Guardian	[5]
Muzik	[6]
Q	[7]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[8]
Yahoo! Music	(favorable)[9]

R. Kelly received mostly positive reviews from music critics. Callum Jones of Rolling Stone wrote, Kelly "has grown out of his unthinking misogyny to the point where he makes a plea in 'As I Look Into My Life' to 'brothers in the ghetto' to 'love and respect that woman and bring her happiness.' Make love not war is an old message, but Kelly delivers it with sincerity. By spreading it in the hood in these violent times, he believes he's doing God's work, and who's to say he is wrong? Predecessors like Marvin Gaye and Prince have shown that great sex is spiritual, and Kelly's make-out music ranks with the best."

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200; it is R. Kelly's first album in his career to chart at number one on the Billboard 200.^{[citation needed]}

Accolades

In August 1996 at the MTV Video Music Awards, "Down Low (Nobody Has to Know)" was nominated for Best Male Video.^{[citation needed]}

Track listing

All songs written, produced, and arranged by R. Kelly

No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Sermon"	3:23
2.	"Hump Bounce"	4:06
3.	"Not Gonna Hold On"	4:04
4.	"You Remind Me of Something"	4:09
5.	"Step in My Room"	3:48
6.	"Baby, Baby, Baby, Baby, Baby..."	4:19
7.	"(You to Be) Be Happy" (featuring The Notorious B.I.G.)	4:36
8.	"Down Low (Nobody Has to Know)" (featuring The Isley Brothers)	4:48
9.	"I Can't Sleep Baby (If I)"	5:31
10.	"Thank God It's Friday"	3:53
11.	"Love Is On the Way"	3:01
12.	"Heaven If You Hear Me"	0:58
13.	"Religious Love"	4:11
14.	"Tempo Slow"	4:10
15.	"As I Look into My Life"	1:30
16.	"Trade in My Life"	6:20

Personnel

Credits adapted from AllMusic.^[10]

• Ray Bady – Vocals (Background)
• Chris Brickley – Engineer
• Lafayette Carthon – Keyboards
• Kirk Franklin – Choir Director, Guest Artist
• Stephen George – Engineer, Mixing, Programming
• Bernie Grundman – Mastering
• Barry Hankerson – Executive Producer
• Charlotte Horton – Vocals (Background)
• Ernie Isley – Guest Artist, Guitar, performer, Primary Artist
• Ronald Isley – Guest Artist, performer, Primary Artist, Vocals (Background)
• R. Kelly – Composer, Keyboards, Mixing, Multi Instruments, Primary Artist, producer, Vocals, Vocals (Background)
• Mr. Lee – Guest Artist, Mixing, Multi Instruments, Programming
• Peter Mokran – Engineer, Keyboards, Mixing, Programming
• The Notorious B.I.G. – Guest Artist, Primary Artist, Rap, Unknown Contributor Role
• Jim Slattery – Multi Instruments
• Marinna Teal (Strings) – Vocals (Background)^[11][12]
• Mario Winans – Programming

Uses in media

In 1996, songs from this album were featured several times in the first season of the UPN sitcom Moesha. "Hump Bounce" featured in the third episode, "Down Low (Nobody Has to Know)" was featured in the tenth episode and "You Remind Me of Something" can be heard and was referenced in the fifth episode.

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1995–96) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[13] 63 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[14] 26 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[15] 69 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[16] 30 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[17] 32 UK Albums (OCC)[18] 18 US Billboard 200[19] 1 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[20] 1

Year-end charts Chart (1996) Position Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[21] 98 US Billboard 200[22] 17 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[23] 4

Certifications

Certifications for R. Kelly

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[24]	Gold	50,000^^
Netherlands (NVPI)[25]	Gold	50,000^^
United Kingdom (BPI)[26]	Gold	100,000^^
United States (RIAA)[27]	5× Platinum	5,000,000^^
^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

• List of number-one albums of 1995 (U.S.)
• List of number-one R&B albums of 1995 (U.S.)

References

1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (November 14, 1995). "( R. Kelly > Overview )". AllMusic. Retrieved June 25, 2010.
2. Robertson IV, Gil L. (December 16, 1995). "Urban" (PDF). Cash Box. p. 11. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
3. "CG: R. Kelly". Robert Christgau. Retrieved June 25, 2010.
4. Tucker, Ken (November 24, 1995). "R. Kelly". Retrieved October 3, 2022.
5. Sullivan, Caroline (November 24, 1995). "Music: This week's pop cd releases". The Guardian.
6. Springer, Jacqueline (January 1996). "R Kelly: R Kelly" (PDF). Muzik. No. 8. p. 90. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 2, 2022. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
7. "R Kelly R. Kelly CD". Cduniverse.com. Retrieved June 25, 2010.
8. Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian David (2004). The new Rolling Stone album guide – Google Books. ISBN 9780743201698. Retrieved June 25, 2010.
9. Derogatis, Jim (November 14, 1995). "R. Kelly Reviews on Yahoo! Music". Yahoo! Music. Archived from the original on July 24, 2008. Retrieved June 25, 2010.
10. "R. Kelly – R. Kelly – Credits – AllMusic". AllMusic.
11. "Strings Credits". AllMusic.
12. "Sonicbids". Sonicbids.com. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
13. "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 1 August 2005" (PDF) (805). Australian Recording Industry Association. Australian Web Archive. August 1, 2005: 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 19, 2005. Retrieved August 2, 2016. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
14. "Dutchcharts.nl – R. Kelly – R. Kelly" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
15. "Offiziellecharts.de – R. Kelly – R. Kelly" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
16. "Charts.nz – R. Kelly – R. Kelly". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
17. "Swedishcharts.com – R. Kelly – R. Kelly". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
18. "R Kelly | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
19. "R. Kelly Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
20. "R. Kelly Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
21. "Jaaroverzichten – Album 1996". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
22. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1996". Billboard. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
23. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1996". Billboard. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
24. "Canadian album certifications – R. Kelly – R. Kelly". Music Canada. Retrieved August 17, 2022.
25. "Dutch album certifications – R. Kelly – R. Kelly" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved August 17, 2022. Enter R. Kelly in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 1997 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
26. "British album certifications – R. Kelly – R. Kelly". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved August 17, 2022.
27. "American album certifications – R. Kelly – R. Kelly". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 17, 2022.