R (R. Kelly album)

R.
Studio album by R. Kelly
Released	November 10, 1998
Recorded	1997–98 1996 ("I Believe I Can Fly")
Genre	R&B • soul • hip hop soul • gospel • pop
Length	129:40
Label	Jive
Producer	Barry Hankerson (exec.) • R. Kelly • Trackmasters • Cory Rooney • Sean "Puffy" Combs • Ron "Amen-Ra" Lawrence • Steven "Stevie J" Jordan • G-One • Al West
R. Kelly chronology
R. Kelly (1995) R. (1998) TP-2.com (2000)
Singles from R.
"I Believe I Can Fly" Released: 26 November 1996 "Gotham City" Released: 30 June 1997 "I'm Your Angel" Released: 8 August 1998 "Half on a Baby" Released: 11 September 1998 "Home Alone" Released: 30 October 1998 "When a Woman's Fed Up" Released: 27 February 1999 "Did You Ever Think" Released: 25 May 1999 "If I Could Turn Back the Hands of Time" Released: 28 September 1999 "Only the Loot Can Make Me Happy" Released: 23 May 2000

	"I Believe I Can Fly" R. Kelly's "I Believe I Can Fly" from R.
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R. is the third studio album and the first double album by R&B singer R. Kelly. It was released in the United States on November 10, 1998 (see 1998 in music). This album was the first time Kelly allowed other record producers to produce or co-produce on his album, as opposed to producing the entire album himself, as well as his first time collaborating with various artists on his album. This is currently Kelly's biggest selling album to date, selling 8 million copies in the US according to RIAA and 12.4 million copies worldwide.^[1]

R. went to number one on the R&B albums chart as the third album to do so, and went second place on the Billboard 200 chart with first week sales of 216,000.^[2] It spawned Kelly's second #1 U.S. pop hit, "I'm Your Angel", a duet with Celine Dion. The album also contains the #1 R&B hit, "I Believe I Can Fly," which was released two years earlier on the Space Jam soundtrack.

Track listing

All songs written and produced by R. Kelly, except where noted.

Disc One

1. "Home Alone" (featuring Keith Murray) (Produced by G-One) (R. Kelly, K. Price, K. Murray, G. Archie)
2. "Spendin' Money" (Produced by Sean "Puffy" Combs & Ron "Amen-Ra" Lawrence; Co-Produced by Steven "Stevie J" Jordan for The Hitmen) (R. Kelly, R. Lawrence, S. Combs, S. Jordan, K. Price, D. Romani, T. Willoughby)
3. "If I'm Wit You" (Co-Produced by Trackmasters for Trackmasters Ent.) (R. Kelly, C. Mayfield, J.C. Olivier, N. Robinson, K. Robinson, S. Barnes)
4. "Half on a Baby"
5. "When a Woman's Fed Up"
6. "Get Up on a Room"
7. "One Man"
8. "We Ride" (featuring Cam'ron, Noreaga, Jay-Z & Vegas Cats) (Produced by R. Kelly, Trackmasters for Trackmasters Ent.; Co-Produced by Cory Rooney) (R. Kelly, C. Giles, V. Santiago, S. Carter, Vegas Cats, S. Barnes, J.C. Olivier, M.C. Rooney, C. Broadus, A. Young, H. Casey, R. Finch)
9. "The Opera"
10. "The Interview" (featuring Suzanne LeMignot)
11. "Only the Loot Can Make Me Happy" (featuring Tone) (Co-Produced by Trackmasters for Trackmasters Ent.) (R. Kelly, J.C. Olivier, S. Barnes, D. Townsend, D. Conley. B. Jackson)
12. "Don't Put Me Out"
13. "Suicide"
14. "Etcetera"
15. "If I Could Turn Back the Hands of Time"
16. "What I Feel/Issues"
17. "I Believe I Can Fly" (International Release)

Disc Two

1. "The Chase"
2. "V.I.P." (R. Kelly, Dalvin Degrate, DeVante Swing)
3. "Did You Ever Think" (featuring Tone) (Produced by R. Kelly, Trackmasters for Trackmasters Ent.; Co-Produced by Cory Rooney) (R. Kelly, C. Mayfield, J.C. Olivier, S. Barnes)
4. "Dollar Bill" (featuring Foxy Brown) (Produced by R. Kelly, Trackmasters for Trackmasters Ent.; Co-Produced by Al West) (R. Kelly, J.C. Olivier, I. Marchand, S. Barnes, S. Otis)
5. "Reality"
6. "2nd Kelly"
7. "Ghetto Queen" (featuring Crucial Conflict) (R. Kelly, W. Martin, M. King, C. Johnson, R. Leverson)
8. "Down Low Double Life"
9. "Looking for Love"
10. "Dancing With a Rich Man"
11. "I'm Your Angel" (Duet with Céline Dion)
12. "Money Makes the World Go Round" (featuring Nas) (Co-Produced by Trackmasters for Trackmasters Ent.) (R. Kelly, A. Barnes, J. Malone, N. Jones)
13. "I Believe I Can Fly" (US Release) / "Gotham City" (International Release)

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[3]
Robert Christgau	[4]
Entertainment Weekly	B−[5]
Los Angeles Times	[6]
Q	[7]
Rolling Stone	[8]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[9]
Spin	(7/10)[10]
Yahoo! Music	(mixed)[11]
Yahoo! Music UK	[12]

Awards & nominations

BMI Awards - 1998 Pop Songwriter of the Year (won for "I Believe I Can Fly," "I Can't Sleep Baby (If I)," and "I Don't Want To by Toni Braxton)

Grammy Awards - 1999 Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals (nominated for "I'm Your Angel"), 2000 Best R&B Vocal Performance - Male (nominated for "When a Woman's Fed Up"), 2000 Best R&B Album (nominated)

Soul Train Music Awards - 1999 Best R&B/Soul Single, Male (nominated for "Half On a Baby"), 1999 Sammy Davis Jr. Entertainer of the Year Award (won), 1999 Best R&B/Soul Album, Male (won), 1999 Best R&B/Soul or Rap Album (won)

Personnel

Charts

Certifications

Later samples

• "When a Woman's Fed Up"
  • "K-I-S-S-I-N-G" by Nas from the album I Am...

• "Did You Ever Think"
  • "Streets Love Me" by Foxy Brown from the album Ill Na Na 2: The Fever
  • "The Quan" by Foxy Brown from the album Brooklyn's Don Diva

Covers

• Palestinian rap group DAM has covered "Did You Ever Think".

See also

• List of number-one R&B albums of 1998 (U.S.)

References