R. Kelly might still command a pretty powerful fanbase. The embroiled singer/songwriter is currently behind bars serving time for his crimes spanning back over the last three decades. With so many people continuing to champion his music, many were curious to see how his supporters would show out for his latest release, “I Admit It.”
While the project was later called a “bootleg” by Sony Music and pulled from streaming platforms, it appeared to perform pretty well on the charts prior to its removal from the internet. “I Admit It” dropped without a word from R. Kelly, his team, or his label. The project, which featured his previously released 2018 song “I Admit It, I Did It,” was a repackaging of several other demos that had been living online for years as well. As soon as fans caught word of it, they began blasting the new body of work. Lil Boosie took to his social media to declare that R. Kelly was back while fans began celebrating by running up his streams. The only issue? Robert and his team did not approve the project.
R. Kelly immediately released a statement from prison saying he felt the project was the result of someone trying to sabotage him since he is currently seeking a retrial in his case. Kelly is serving 30 years for his convictions in New York (and is still awaiting his sentencing for his case in Chicago, Illinois. He alleges that several witnesses lied and feels that this project was an attempt to make him look bad.
The label confirmed that they did not release the project and immediately took it down, calling it an illegal upload and a “bootleg.” On the song, Robert “confesses” to not being able to read or write, signing bad contracts, and being intimate with female fans. The singer also discussed family issues and being violated by a family member when he was younger. However, he does not confess to ever being with anyone underage or abusing anyone – as he’s been charged with.
R. Kelly told authorities that hundreds of his songs went missing in February of this year. He reported that a “group of roadies” took his master recordings to Los Angeles and told his team they’d have to fork up $160k to buy them back. Unfortunately, the case was closed with no arrest. Kelly’s team says that “300 to 500 recordings were taken,” with them being valued at over a million dollars.
A campaign for R. Kelly’s release has been ongoing on Twitter, with those fans frequently donating money to his commissary and rallying outside of courts. They got to show their full support by streaming the unauthorized project. They streamed it so much that Kelly’s “I Admit It” reached the #2 spot on the R&B Soul charts before it was pulled. His girlfriend Joycelyn Savage posted it with the caption, “The KING OF RNB is Back #Rkelly #FreeRkelly #SoonTobefree.”
R. Kelly’s project was blocked from the top spot by SZA’s “SOS.” One fan responded, “I’m still rocking ALL HIS MUSIC.”
