Spanning more than two decades of sheer R&B perfection, THE ESSENTIAL R. KELLY is the first collection to cover the three-time Grammy Award®-winning artist’s entire major label recording career from 1991 (“She’s Got That Vibe” with Public Announcement) to 2012 (“Feelin’ Single”). The deluxe 35-track, double-CD set will be available starting May 19th through RCA/Legacy, a division of Sony Music Entertainment.
In the tradition of Legacy Recordings’ top-selling Essential series, which has sold more than 20 million combined catalog sales worldwide to date, The Essential R. Kelly is a chronological history of the hit-making artist. Adding critical perspective is a liner notes essay by senior editor at VIBE Magazine, Keith Murphy.
Headlining The Essential R. Kelly are an amazing 11 hits that went to #1 on the Billboard Hot R&B Singles and/or Hot 100 charts, comprising “Honey Love” – Radio Fade (1992), “Slow Dance (Hey Mr. DJ)” – Video Mix (1992), “Bump n’ Grind” (1994), “You Remind Me Of Something” (1995), “Down Low (Nobody Has To Know)” featuring Ronald and Ernie Isley (1996), “I Can’t Sleep Baby (If I)” – Radio Edit (1996), “I Believe I Can Fly” – Radio Edit (1996), “Be Careful” by Sparkle featuring R. Kelly (1998), “I’m Your Angel” – Radio Version duet with Celine Dion (1998), “I Wish” (2000), and “Step In The Name Of Love” – Remix (2002).
Beyond his litany of #1 hits, The Essential R. Kelly weighs in with an impressive additional 18 tracks that rose to Top 5 or Top 10 status. They range from his 1991 chart debut “She’s Got That Vibe” (with Public Announcement, his first vocal group) to 2009’s “Number One,” featuring Keri Hilson. Among this grouping of Top 5s and Top 10s are such touchstones as 1993’s “Sex Me (Part I)” – Street Radio Edit (his debut single under his own name and his first certified RIAA gold million-seller); 1994’s “Your Body’s Callin’”; 1999’s “When A Woman’s Fed Up”; 2001’s “Feelin’ On Yo Booty”; 2002’s “Ignition” – Remix; 2003’s “Thoia Thoing”; 2004’s “Happy People” – Radio Edit; 2005’s controversial “Trapped In The Closet (Chapter 1)”; and many more.
Packed with this lion’s share of top-charted R&B and pop hit singles are original album versions, hard-to-find remixes, rare movie soundtrack cuts (several of them out of print), and career-defining collaborations. The Essential R. Kelly is the source of several important “firsts”:
• The first collection to include his collaborations with Ronald and Ernie Isley (the #1 “Down Low”), Nas (“Did You Ever Think” – Remix Radio Edit), Celine Dion (the #1 “I’m Your Angel” – Radio Version), T.I. & T-Pain (“I’m A Flirt Remix” – Main Version), Usher (“Same Girl”), and Keri Hilson (“Number One”);
• The first collection to include his outside collaborations (‘featuring R. Kelly’) with The Notorious B.I.G. (“#!*@ You Tonight”), Sparkle (the #1 “Be Careful”), Ja Rule (“Wonderful,” also featuring Ashanti), and Cassidy (“Hotel”);
• The first double-CD collection to gather three of R. Kelly’s major movie soundtrack chart hits, namely the three-time Grammy Award®-winning “I Believe I Can Fly” – Radio Edit (from 1996’s Space Jam), “Gotham City” – Remix (from 1997’s Batman & Robin), and “The World’s Greatest” – Radio Edit (from 2001’s Ali).
It was 1998 when R. Kelly made Grammy Awards® history with “I Believe I Can Fly,” the first R&B artist in 25 years to sweep three categories with one song, since the Temptations at the 1973 awards (with “Papa Was a Rolling Stone”). At the 40th annual Grammy Awards® on February 25, 1998, “I Believe I Can Fly” won for Best Male R&B Vocal, Best R&B Song, and Best Song Written for a Motion Picture or Television. Only three R&B artists’ songs have achieved a rare triple-play Grammy® win since then: Alicia Keys with “Fallin’” (2001), Luther Vandross with “Dance With My Father” (2003), and Beyoncé with “Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)” (2008).
To date, R. Kelly has another 21 Grammy Award® nominations under his belt, including R&B Album Of the Year nominations for his last three consecutive albums, Untitled (for 2011), Love Letter (2012), and Write Me Back (2013). Also to R. Kelly’s credit, his Trapped In The Closet Chapters 6-12 package was nominated for the Best Long Form Music Video Grammy Award® for 2005; and the Trapped In The Closet Chapters 13-22 package was nominated for the Best Long Form Music Video Grammy Award® for 2007. Most recently, iTunes made all 33 chapters available of the entire Trapped In The Closet video narrative.
With some 78 chart singles as lead artist (and his name attached to more than 50 more chart single collaborations, plus dozens of guest appearances on albums), combined with an astounding 18 RIAA gold and platinum awards and over 54 million records sold, R. Kelly is far and away the best-selling R&B male artist of our time. The point is underscored in Joel Whitburn’s authoritative Hot R&B Songs 1942-2010 where R. Kelly is ranked the #1 Artist Of the 1990s, and the #3 Artist Of 2000-2010.
