At the beginning of the '90s, R. Kelly was seen as a lewd, lascivious soulman. By the end of the decade, he had stripped those adjectives away and was seen as a contemporary equivalent of Marvin Gaye, thanks to the enormous success of "I Believe I Can Fly." Appropriately, R., the double-disc album that followed "I Believe I Can Fly"'s parent album, finds Kelly trying to live up to that legacy. He may be talented, but he has neither the vision nor the depth to match such classic soulmen as Al Green, Stevie Wonder, Prince, or Michael Jackson, all artists he emulates on R. Kelly's main strength is fusing contemporary material together into a slick, palatable, radio-ready record. Nobody else could have Jay-Z and Celine Dion on his album, and he's about the only one who could make it work, since he can work sensuous grooves as well as he can deliver a soaring ballad. To some, this may sound like nothing more than calculation -- a big part of the reason why he doesn't instantly enter the hall of greats -- because it's easy to see how he pieces it all together. When he's on, however, such calculation doesn't really matter, since it all flows, but such incidents only occur through about 40 percent of R. That's a major problem, considering the sheer length of the album. Clocking in at 29 long tracks, it takes real effort to sit through the record from beginning to end, especially since Kelly begins to repeat himself. If it was pruned a bit, the album would arguably be his best. As it stands, R. is an admirable effort, one that is among his better records even with all of its faults. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
Celine Dion (Performer), Tar (Photography), Tony Black (Programming), Tony Black (Engineer), Yvonne Gage (Vocals (Background)), Dennis Collins (Vocals (Background)), Nas (Performer), R. Kelly (Arranger), R. Kelly (Vocals), R. Kelly (Vocals (Background)), R. Kelly (Multi Instruments), R. Kelly (Producer), R. Kelly (Rap), R. Kelly (Main Performer), Tawatha Agee (Vocals (Background)), Robert Bacon (Guitar), Jeff Bova (Keyboards), Jimmy Bralower (Drum Programming), Bob Cadway (Engineer), Lafayette Carthon, Jr. (Keyboards), Sean "Puffy" Combs (Producer), Brian Gardner (Mastering), Humberto Gatica (Engineer), Diva Gray (Vocals (Background)), Keith Henderson (Guitar), Loris Holland (Organ (Hammond)), Loris Holland (Vocals (Background)), Hart Hollman (Conductor), Hart Hollman (Orchestration), The Luv Club (Choir, Chorus), Paulette McWilliams (Vocals (Background)), Tony Maserati (Mixing), Rob Mathes (Arranger), Rob Mathes (Conductor), Michael Patterson (Engineer), Anthony Ransom (Vocals (Background)), Paul Riser (Conductor), Johnny Rutledge (Vocals (Background)), Steve Skinner (Drum Programming), Gerard Smerek (Engineer), Larry Sturm (Engineer), Fonzi Thornton (Vocals (Background)), Richard Travali (Engineer), Rob Trow (Vocals (Background)), Joan Walton (Vocals (Background)), Spencer Washington (Vocals (Background)), Cheryl Wilson (Vocals (Background)), Elisabeth Withers (Vocals (Background)), Keith Murray (Performer), Robert Moe (Vocals (Background)), Jeff Morrow (Vocals (Background)), Chris Puram (Engineer), Chris Puram (Mixing), Taylor (Photography), Stan Wood (Assistant Engineer), Al West (Producer), Lisa Lougheed (Vocals (Background)), Stephen George (Programming), Stephen George (Engineer), Stephen George (Mixing), Cynthia Jernigan (Vocals (Background)), Crucial Conflict (Performer), Jay-Z (Performer), Tom Recchion (Art Direction), Tom Recchion (Design), Nathan Dean (Assistant Engineer), Stevie J. (Producer), Ron Lowe (Assistant Engineer), Kevin Crouse (Mixing), Mikael Ifversen (Engineer), Charles McCrorey (Engineer), Poke (Producer), Jason Goldstein (Assistant Engineer), Corey Rooney (Producer), Kelly Price (Vocals (Background)), Stevie Robinson (Vocals (Background)), Barry Hankerson (Executive Producer), Nancey Jackson (Vocals (Background)), Chris Brickley (Engineer), Jackie Murphy (Art Direction), Jackie Murphy (Photography), Howard Simmons (Photography), Greg Thompson (Assistant Engineer), Jason Bacher (Assistant Engineer), Blake Chaffin (Programming), Paul J. Falcone (Programming), Paul J. Falcone (Engineer), Jason Groucott (Engineer), Jason Groucott (Assistant Engineer), Ed Tucker (Vocals (Background)), Trackmasters (Mixing), Don Hachey (Assistant Engineer), Carl Robinson (Engineer), Sparkle (Vocals (Background)), Chris Brooke (Assistant Engineer), Chuck Bailey (Assistant Engineer), Champ! (Assistant Engineer), Brian Garten (Assistant Engineer), Ayuana George (Vocals (Background)), Ron "Amen-Ra" Lawrence (Producer), Kendall D. Nesbitt (Keyboards), Aliesh Pierce (Grooming), Anthony Kilhoffer (Programming), Anthony Kilhoffer (Engineer), Anthony Kilhoffer (Assistant Engineer), Bryon Rickerson (Producer), Bryon Rickerson (Assistant Engineer), Jason Stasium (Assistant Engineer), Robin Hannibal (Groomer), Rick Behrens (Assistant Engineer), Jeff Vereb (Assistant Engineer), June Ambrose (Stylist), Brian Calicchia (Assistant Engineer), Antonio L. Daniels (Keyboards), Marjette Alston (Vocals (Background)), Marek (Assistant Engineer), Mark Johnson (Assistant Engineer), Blackie (Vocals (Background)), Robert Bowker (Vocals (Background)), Troy Bright (Vocals (Background)), Michael Anthony (Make-Up), Ruth Varella (Assistant Engineer), Cathy Richardson (Vocals (Background)), Opal Staples (Vocals (Background)), UB Tirado (Assistant Engineer), Dana Walsh (Assistant Engineer), Bill Douglass (Assistant Engineer), Jake Ninan (Assistant Engineer), Chris Ribando (Assistant Engineer), Tone (Vocals (Background)), Tone (Producer), Jeffery Lane (Assistant Engineer), Esther Nevarez (Assistant Engineer), Reisig (Photography), Russell Hinton (Vocals (Background)), Roy "Royalty" Hamilton (Vocoder), Roy "Royalty" Hamilton (Drum Programming), Latasha Jordon (Vocals (Background)), Johnny Allen (Assistant), Johnny Allen (Assistant Conductor), Robin Robinson (Vocals (Background))
All songs were written, produced, and arranged by R. Kelly himself. (except tracks 1, 2, 3, 8, 11 for Disc 1 and 3, 4, 12 for Disc 2)
Disc one
All Songs
"Home Alone" (Featuring Keith Murray) (Produced by G-One) (R. Kelly, K. Price, K. Murray, G. Archie)
"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)
"If I'm Wit You" (Co-Produced by Tone & Poke for Trackmasters Ent.) (R. Kelly, C. Mayfield, J.C. Olivier, N. Robinson, K. Robinson, S. Barnes)
"We Ride" (Featuring Jay-Z, Cam'ron, Vegas Cats & Noreaga) (Produced by R. Kelly, Tone and Poke For Trackmasters Ent.; Co-Produced by Cory Rooney) (R. Kelly, C. Giles, V. Santiago, S. Carter, R. Hamilton, S. Sledge, C. Broadus, A. Young, H. Casey, R. Finch, S. Barnes, J.C. Olivier, C. Rooney)
"The Opera" (R. Kelly)
"The Interview" (Featuring Suzanne LeMignot) (R. Kelly)
"Did You Ever Think" (Produced by R. Kelly, Tone and Poke For Trackmasters Ent.; Co-Produced by Cory Rooney) (R. Kelly, C. Mayfield, J.C. Olivier, S. Barnes)
"Dollar Bill" (featuring Foxy Brown) (Produced by R. Kelly, Tone and Poke For Trackmasters Ent.; Co-Produced by Al West) (R. Kelly, J.C. Olivier, I. Marchand, S. Barnes, S. Otis)
"Reality" (R. Kelly)
"2nd Kelly" (R. Kelly)
"Ghetto Queen" (featuring Crucial Conflict) (R. Kelly, W. Martin, M. King, C. Johnson, R. Leverson)
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