R. Kelly: Superstars, Super Predators, and a 20-Year Reign of Sexual Terror (Rewind)

DISGRACELAND

This rewind episode of Disgraceland explores the dark legacy of R. Kelly, a music superstar whose career was built on a foundation of sexual abuse and

Key takeaways

• R. Kelly used his fame and musical talent to manipulate and exploit young girls, often disguising abuse as mentorship or friendship.
• His collaboration with Michael Jackson on 'You Are Not Alone' was a strategic move to deflect scrutiny from Jackson's own allegations while building his own image as a soulful artist.

Main topics

• R. Kelly's grooming of underage victims
• Illegal marriage to a 15-year-old girl

Notable quotes

Cindy said I had to choose between the truth and my family, and I had to choose the truth.

Conclusion

R. Kelly's story is a chilling reminder of how fame can shield predators and how art, even

Transcript preview

Speaker 2 (0:01) This is exactly right. Double Speaker 7 (0:11) Elvis. Speaker 5 (0:13) I'm Nancy Glass, host of the Burden of Guilt Season 3 podcast. This is a story about a horrendous situation that destroyed two families. It's a scorched earth war that shows just how far someone will go to get what they want. Speaker 8 (0:29) Cindy said I had to choose between the truth and my family, and I had to choose the truth. Speaker 5 (0:34) Listen to Season 3 of Burden of Guilt on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Speaker 6 (0:43) Betrayal Weekly is back with brand new stories from threatening text messages disturbing a small Midwestern town. It was from an unknown number. Who else is getting these messages? Why did it start with us? To long cons and stolen identities. Who Speaker 3 (1:00) lies about being this sick? This was the last time I ever believed a word she said. Speaker 6 (1:06) Listen to Betrayal Weekly on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Speaker 2 (1:13) Welcome aboard season six of The Girlfriends, Flight or Fight, which takes place 30,000 feet in the sky. A beautiful woman smiles and hands you a scotch, but you have no idea just how messed up her job actually is. It Speaker 4 (1:30) was the most sexist job I think you could have. Speaker 2 (1:35) Until one day, a group of stewardesses spark a revolution that reshapes America. Listen to The Girlfriends, Flight or Fight, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Speaker 2 (1:53) All Speaker 7 (1:53) right, guys, welcome into another episode, rewind episode of Disgraceland. Appreciate you being here. This one, we're going back to June 4th, 2024, when we released our R. Kelly episode. This was a long time in the making. And, you know, honestly, we could have done 10 episodes on this story. It's a very hard story to tell in 30 minutes, but I think we did a pretty good job. R. Kelly's in the news lately. He's formally asked the president. to pardon him. If that happens, my head will explode and you'll be hearing from me shortly afterward. But until then, enjoy this rewind episode of Disgraceland on R. Kelly. This episode Speaker 8 (2:37) contains content that may be disturbing to some listeners. Please check the show notes for more information. Speaker 7 (2:44) Disgraceland is a production of Double Elvis. The stories about R. Kelly are insane. He openly groomed teenage victims while on trial for child pornography. A trial based on sex tapes that were once sold at Tower Records. He wrote a song designed to help Michael Jackson turn attention away from his own troubling allegations. A song he wrote while he was illegally married to a 15-year-old. A marriage that would eventually bring about his downfall. But not before R. Kelly went on a 20-year reign of terror. all conducted in plain sight while he was one of the biggest artists in the world. And I know some of you don't want to hear me say this, but this all happened while R. Kelly made great music. Wedding playlist music, backyard barbecue music, music made for Saturday night bump and grind sessions and Sunday morning church services as well. Very much unlike that loop I played for you at the top of the show. That wasn't great music. That was a preset loop from my Mellotron called Bad Trip in Zuma, MK1. I played you that loop because I can't afford the rights to Lollipop by Lil Wayne featuring Static Major. Why would I play you that specific slice of auto-tuned double entendre cheese, could I afford it? Because that was the number one song in America on June 13th, 2008. And that was the day R. Kelly was acquitted by a Chicago jury of 14 counts of child pornography. A decision that enabled another decade plus of abuse before the singer was finally brought to justice. On this episode, mental and physical abuse, sex tapes, an illegal marriage, a reign of terror, and the downfall of R &B superstar and super predator R. Kelly. I'm Jake Brennan, and this is Disgraceland. The Speaker 1 (5:22) singer stood next to a huge buffet of Chinese Speaker 7 (5:24) food in the recording studio's lounge, nervously rehearsing a greeting for the superstar who was due to arrive any minute. The greeting had to be just right. The superstar was already an hour late, and who knew what kind of mood he would be in when he arrived. The wrong greeting could throw off the whole session. Then the singer's dream of music stardom would be over. A dream that was so close to coming true. Because any moment now, the superstar was going to walk through that door. And then, he and the singer were going to record a song together. Of course, the singer heard the rumors. Everyone had. Claims that the superstar had sexual relations with minors. Sure, he hadn't been convicted of anything. Yet. But right now, at this moment, his reputation was hanging by a thread. The superstar needed a hit. Suddenly, there were footsteps in the hallway, and the singer's nerves were vibrating. The studio door swung open, revealing nothing. Speaker 7 (6:31) The doorframe was empty. And then, bounding into the room came not a man, but a fully grown chimpanzee. The singer stood frozen as 180 pounds of pure chimp muscle darted forward like a lightning bolt. The animal stopped on a dime inches in front of the singer and delivered a gigantic hug. Speaker 7 (6:52) From the hallway, a high-pitched voice called out, Bubbles, get back in here. That was the unmistakable voice of the superstar, Michael Jackson. The singer, R. Kelly, pulled himself away from Bubbles, Michael Jackson's famous pet chimpanzee, and then offered the king of pop some Chinese food in a high-pitched voice that matched the superstar's. In order to achieve total connection with Michael Jackson for this song, R. Kelly opted to, his words here, quote, act real feminine-like because Michael has a feminine thing going on, unquote. And that act included singing the demo version of his song in a spot-on Michael Jackson impression, a bold and bizarre choice that endeared Michael to the younger artists. And R. Kelly was nothing if not bold. He was bold to split off from the groups MGM and Public Announcement in order to become a solo artist. Speaker 1 (7:50) He was bold to sub the New Jack Swing of Public Announcement's album Born in the 90s for the sex-obsessed slow jams of his solo debut record, 12 Play, Speaker 7 (7:59) a bold choice that landed him his first number one hit song, the raunchy Bump and Grind. Now, just a few months later in 1994, in Speaker 1 (8:10) a Chicago recording studio, None other than Michael Jackson himself was giving the bold R. Kelly a pat on the back. Michael loved this new song, said it was going to change the Speaker 7 (8:20) world, and he wanted R. Kelly standing next to him singing background vocals. Speaker 1 (8:24) For this auspicious occasion, R. Kelly didn't write another raunchy slow jam. Instead, he crafted a simple ballad with a five-note Speaker 7 (8:32) earworm of a vocal hook. Admittedly, it was a little schmaltzy, but it worked because beneath that schmaltz lay true pain. Speaker 7 (8:43) R. Kelly knew all about pain. Growing up poor on Chicago's South Side, young Robert Kelly witnessed suffering, even death, early. He was seven years old. After school, he would meet up with a girl, and it was innocent. Just two kids playing in a creek. But the other boys threw rocks at him and called him a sissy. One day, the girl spoke up and told the boys to stop. They came closer. She yelled at them again and told them to leave. One of the boys pushed her. She fell into the water and hit her head. It was late spring and the creek was high. The water was flowing fast. R. Kelly screamed for help as the current carried her away. Adults found her body a few minutes later, but it was too late. The girl was dead. Speaker 7 (9:32) Painful memories like these helped R. Kelly write the song You Are Not Alone. When it was released by Michael Jackson with R. Kelly's background vocals featured prominently in the mix, it was the first song ever to debut at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Sounds crazy? I know, but it's 100 % true. Speaker 1 (9:50) Go ahead and look it up. More importantly, for Michael Jackson, the song's unprecedented success helped to push the allegations against him into the rearview mirror. And for R. Kelly, The song gave him a playbook to use for his own controversy, Speaker 7 (10:02) because Michael Jackson wasn't the only one who had image problems in 1994. Rumors were already swirling about R. Kelly's involvement with an underage girl, specifically the budding R &B singer Aaliyah. Speaker 1 (10:18) Rather than avoid the rumors, R. Kelly played into them by writing and producing Aaliyah's debut album, an album titled Age Ain't Nothin' But a Number, Speaker 7 (10:27) which is all the more gross when you learn that she was only 14 at the time. Speaker 7 (10:32) In interviews, the pair dressed alike and called each other best friends with a wink and a nod. He instructed her to be coy about her age. His team spread rumors that she was older than she said. He waited until she turned Speaker 1 (10:44) 15 before he married her in secret. But just a few weeks after the recording session with Michael Jackson, the secret was out. Vibe magazine published R. Kelly and Aaliyah's marriage certificate. In that certificate, Aaliyah's age was Speaker 7 (10:59) listed as 18. three years older than she actually was. Radio DJs cracked jokes about R. Kelly robbing the cradle. Critics scolded him. But for the most part, people just shrugged. Look at that girl, they said. She's seen 15 to you? Aaliyah's parents were frantic to get her away from R. Kelly. They had the marriage annulled, and they threatened to sue Jive Records if they didn't release Aaliyah from her contract. On her next album, she worked with Missy Elliott and Timbaland instead of R. Kelly, but she refused to comment on their relationship. Just like Tiffany Hawkins, who would, in 1996, sue R. Kelly for emotional distress and injury inflicted during a three-year relationship. a relationship that began, she claimed, when she was also just 15. Speaker 1 (11:45) But Arctelli's