R. Kelly Speaks From Federal Prison, Wants His Music Left Alone
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Despite being behind bars in federal prison, R. Kelly still has a lot to say.
Last week, seemingly out of nowhere, I Admit It, an album from the disgraced singer appeared on streaming services for people to peruse. Many, including me, were wondering how in the hell could a convicted felon drop an album while he’s serving time in prison.
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Even though the album was eventually removed from streaming services, I had a lot of questions about how such an album could ever have seen the light of day.
It turns out, R. Kelly was thinking the same thing.
On Tuesday, the disgraced singer shared a public statement with the Chicago Sun-Times through an email service for federal inmates that read:
LEAVE MY MUSIC ALONE!!! They already got me in here.
They took my voice.
They messed my whole career up.
They took all my money.
They took my kids away from me.
They took me from my family, my friends and all of my fans.
I have had all my emails and phone calls stolen and shared with government witnesses and God knows who else.
I have gotten tuberculosis while being in here.
I have gotten COVID twice while being in here.
I have been diagnosed with diabetes while being in here.
I have had two surgeries while being in here.
I have gotten attacked while I was sleeping, and had my rib cracked and my jaw fractured while being in here.
I have been diagnosed with PTSD while being in here.
I wish they would just leave my music alone, because it is all I have left, it’s all my fans have left.
And they deserve to be able to listen to the music despite what people try and say about me, what they think about me or even do to me.
So please, again,
LEAVE MY MUSIC ALONE!!!
Nearly a day after Kelly sent this message, people on his team called the police claiming that hundreds of his master recordings were stolen, which could be behind the release of I Admit It.
According to TMZ, the police report said that they were reported missing in February after they were stolen from a warehouse in Illinois. Keith Calbert, the man in charge of the warehouse where the recordings were stored, called the police to report them stolen and claimed that they were worth millions of dollars.
More from TMZ:
It’s interesting ... cops say Calbert told them 2 roadies removed the masters from the warehouse 9 months prior, and took them to California. Police say Calbert also told them he had advised one of the roadies to bring back the recordings ... but was told he needed to pay $160,000 for their return.
Police say Calbert showed them 10 empty shelves he said used to be completely full, and estimated between 300 to 500 missing recordings.
I wonder, if the recordings were stolen in February, why wait 10 months to file a report?
Anywho, it’s still unclear who exactly uploaded the music to Spotify and Apple Music. The two roadies who moved the masters to California, however, are considered high on the list of people the police should talk to, according to TMZ.
Sony Music has denied any involvement in releasing the album. Shortly after it was taken down from streaming services, it was revealed that the album was a bootleg version and claimed to have been released under Sony Music’s catalog division, Legacy Recordings. A Sony Music source denies that claim.
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