R. Kelly |
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Mon. August 15.2005 3:15 PM EDT |
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R. Kelly: Out of the ClosetThe tycoon of temptation has written more "Trapped in the Closet" episodes. He talks about the big screen, the stage, and the rump-shaking of reggaeton. by By VH1 Staff |
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(Photo Credit: Jive Records) |
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They said it couldn't be done... but the Pied Piper of R&B is so caught up with his "Trapped in the Closet" saga that he's gone and written ten more installments. The soulful soap opera helped propel R. Kelly's humping new album
VH1: What was the idea behind the "Trapped in the Closet" series? I didn't even know what I really had until I finished up Part 5. Now I know that people are loving it, I'm up to like 15 chapters now! I'm trying to continue to grow with it, because it's definitely ground-breaking. I think I tapped into a realm where no man has ever gone when it comes to music and a movie put together. What made you decide to continue the stories after the first five chapters? We've got a lot of nosy people out here. Everybody wanted to know what's next. They can't sleep without knowing what's next. Once I found that out, I said, "You know what? I want to know what's next, too, because I'm really nosy." I'm going to keep doing it until the last chapter is out of me. Did you ever think something like "Trapped in the Closet" would take away from the rest of the album? After I got done with the first five chapters, that question came to mind. But I felt real confident because all of the songs that were there felt really good to me. I thought people would see them both separated: "Trapped in the Closet" would be something for them to see, and then the album would be something for them to hear. Do you have any plans to maybe spin off the songs into a feature-length film or stage play? We're auditioning and casting people for a major play, and "Trapped in the Closet" has been scripted out for a movie. So that's what we're working on right now as we speak. The video for "Down Low" was the first one you made that had a movie theme. When did you realize that you had tapped into a really good concept? Once I started coming up with the character names of Mr. Biggs and Lila and matching those character names with the lyrics and putting it within the music, that's when I found out that things like "Down Low" and "Trapped in the Closet" could be big. I could really take that all the way and make a movie out of just singing lyrics. Will you ever bring that Mr. Biggs character back? I just did a song for Ronald Isley. We're definitely talking about doing a whole album called Down Low. It's going to be something like the "Trapped in the Closet" thing, but it's bringing the Down Low situation back, because I know we left a lot of people hanging. Your last album Happy People/U Saved Me focused a lot more on spirituality and family. What made you return to the more sexually charged material of this album? I wouldn't say I "returned" to the sexual songs, because it's something I've never left. A true writer is going to write everyday life experiences. It's no different than a director making movies. They're not going to make the same movie every time. They're going to branch out and do other types of movies. I want people to see me as a guy that will write a gospel album, but then he's going to write a party record or a sexual record. I'm very versatile! When it comes to your live show, are you concerned with how the gospel and the sex songs are arranged on the set list? No. Most of the time, people will get too caught up into R. Kelly singing a sexual song or singing a gospel song. I come to bring reality to people, and sometimes reality hurts. A lot of people go to church, and they come out and go to their lover's house. It's like how there's a lot of fat people in the health club. I would rather be going to the health club than to not be going to the health club, because at least I'm getting some kind of balance in my life. When I do a gospel song, I'm trying to bring a balance to my life, so people won't think that R. Kelly doesn't know how to write no other songs. I had to write "I Believe I Can Fly" to show people that I'm not just about the sex songs. Are you finally at a point in your career where you feel like, "I made it?" I feel really good right now for the first time with my music and my writing. I've found my niche in the way I want to write, which is real stories and real songs. But I don't think I've arrived yet. There are other places that I want to go with this music. Your contribution to the reggaeton movement with TP.3 Reloaded's "Burn It Up" is bananas. What was the motivation behind doing reggaeton? I go to clubs, so I'm very close to the streets. When music starts to change in the club and it's something that I like, I say, "Wow, I want to do a song like this." R. Kelly loves reggaeton. I love listening to it and I love dancing to it. So it was very easy for me to go in the studio and say, "Hey, you know what? I'm going to do a song like this." Any other type of genre of music that you want to experiment with? Yes. I just did a whole African album, a whole Jamaica album, and I just did a whole Brazil album. I plan to put those albums out in those countries at the same time. It's called The Musical Virus. It's designed to come out in those countries, and then the music is supposed to spread. The reason I chose those three is because there's a lot of rhythm coming out of those three countries. Spiritually, I thought that that would work. Once the music is spread around, everybody (can) go get it. It's three feel-good albums, and it's very authentic. It sounds just like their music. That's my next project. |
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