BET’s Lowkey Sneak Peek at R. Kelly’s “Untitled”

Take a look inside the monster that is “Untitled”…..I don’t frequent Chicago. Not that I have a problem with the “Windy City”, but for some odd reason, the Chi has never called my name to visit- business or personal. But when I got the invite to take a quick excursion out to R.Kelly’s estate for an intimate and extremely exclusive listening session for his new project, “Untitled”- no questions were asked..I was there.

When I touched down, I didn’t really see much of Chicago- except maybe the skyline on the way to the W Hotel. After dropping us off, we grabbed a bite to eat and rested up for the nights activities. Chatter among ourselves revolved around where exactly we were going to listen to Kelly’s new piece of work; A studio? His house? The hotel? And furthermore, would he be in attendance?

6:00pm came- it was time. Two black party vans whisked us away to Kellz’s estate somewhere 45 minutes outside the city. DJ Skee, who anchored Kelly’s most recent street offering, “The Demo Tape” alongside DJ Drama, was in attendance as well. By us I’m referring to Shaheem from MTV, Miss Info, BDot from RapRadar, Vanessa Satten from XXL, Jake from HHDX and a slew of other respected journalist in the game.

During our drive, I spoke with DJ Skee about how the three of them linked up for the project. Skee, who is a very well respected DJ/radio personality in Los Angeles explained that Kellz already had a batch of the work done and initially wanted to deem the tape a remix effort in which he would just redo a bunch of hits that were planted on Urban radio today. Surprised to say the least, Skee also acknowledged how down to earth Kellz was. I would soon embrace that same gesture later that evening.

After waiting outside Kelly’s gates (one of his bodyguards thought for some reason our van was occupied by Day 26. WEIRD), we finally received the greenlight to enter the property. MAN! I’ve been to nice estates before, but this one takes the cake. R.Kelly’s crib is astonishing. To the right were 3 sets of basketball/Tennis courts. Behind the courts you saw Kelly’s tour bus (he drives everywhere, he doesn’t fly). I’m in awe and yet we still haven’t reached the house.

After walking inside, the exterior played to the theme of a cabin. Polished golden brown wood beams, a 25 ft high ceiling and a miniature stage which could be pegged as a practice platform for Kelly. Still in awe. To the left, an extensive kitchen that every chef in America would gawk over. The center of the room housed a plush sofa which faced a 66 inch flat screen TV (which later would rise off the ground during the showing of his new video “Number One” featuring Keri Hilson.

A dozen waiters scurried around serving us drinks of our choice (Sex In The Kitchen is what they called the premiere drink of the night) as we chatted amongst each other about how ravishing this man’s pad was. Towards the back of the living room, a shelf filled with many of Kelly’s accolades sat pretty awaiting our approval. Several Grammy, American Music Award, BET, VIBE and SoulTrain trophies sparkled back at all of us wide eyed spectators. Still in awe.

Several minutes later, dinner was served. Fried/Baked chicken, Mac-N-Cheese, Yams, String Beans, Peach Cobbler, Corn Bread, Beans and White Rice were for the taking. For a minute, I forgot I was at R.Kelly’s house. It felt like Christmas dinner at my Aunt’s house in V.A. Weren’t sure if the man himself would actually show up, so the wish factor became a distant memory once we didn’t see him 5 minute after our arrival. I guess I spoke to soon.

Says Bdot, “Oh sh*t, there he is”. I looked up and saw him- R.Kelly. His look was plain but aura was vibrant. He made his way around the room with a light heart and a quick step. This wasn’t the same man who’d been ridiculed for the past 8 years because of the obvious. This was a man who reinvented himself. R.Kelly was ready to be born again and this was his coming out party. With his cigar lit, Kelly danced around the room greeting each and everyone of the “Untitled” attendees.

As far as I know, Kellz was pretty familiar with all the faces, or at least a majority of them, in his living room. However, I knew he’d never saw my face a day in his life. But when he approached our table, he put his hand on my shoulder and blurted out, “Whas up, Blood?” (No Kells is not in a gang). It baffled me. I mean dude looked directly in my eye and had a 46 second conversation with me. Usually, I’m the cool and calm one, but for those 46 seconds which felt like 46 minutes, I was nervous as sh*t.

After coming full circle, Kellz grabbed his drink and the party began. He hopped on the living room table as if he was ready to perform the entire album. He informed us on how GRATEFUL he was to have us in his home. He even asked one of us to perform the toast instead of him. And seeing how no one would obviously would handle the task, he took matters into his own hands. “May the best part of our past, be the worst part of our future” Kellz said with a smile. Before entering “Untitled”, Kellz premiered his new video “Number One” featuring Keri Hilson . Shortly after, “Untitled” commenced.

We were taken back when the journey begun. This wasn’t the old R.Kelly we were used to, which wasn’t a bad thing- just an unfamiliar thing. The first half of the project was extremely upbeat a malicious. Tracks like “Text Me”, “Crazy Night” featuring R.City, “Echo” and “Exit” saw Kells playing for the younger but mature demographic. They weren’t blatant radio attempts. These were cuts we could see and hear R.Kelly having fun to. Not for nothing-we were hooked (at least my table was).

The second half of “Untitled” slowed down. “Elsewhere”, “Religious” “Fallin From The Sky” and “Be My Number 2″ were tracks a real R.Kelly advocate could relate to. It’s sort of like he separated the project for different demos. The piano strong power ballad “Elsewhere”, a song that Kelly said “won him his girl back” will probably be a fan favorite. And according to Miss Info, “Fallin From The Sky” was written specifically for Chris Brown (a track that was later rejected by him and his team). “Be My Number 2 Fan” came off as a completely different offering from the entire project. It’s hard to describe, but not exactly. I’d be cliche to call it different, so I’ll deem it “REALLY DIFFERENT”.

At the conclusion of the set, Kellz once again thanked everyone for their time, patience and efforts during the event. We thanked him back. As Kellz sat by the bar, BDot was itching to ask Kellz why he chose the direction he did. It was clear BDot wasn’t thoroughly impressed with the project and from a fans perspective, he needed some answers. So, he went and got them. BDot probed him about the Auto-Tune and why some of his content seemed like it was an attempt to remain relevant.

Kellz kept his cool and basically explained that “Untitled” is basically a set up for his next project “Zodiac” (how many Zodiac signs are there? Get it?). It wasn’t as if Kells was chasing what was current because he’s indeed a musical trendsetter. However, in order to reel folks in and grab their attention, remaining in touch with what’s current is a necessity. Shortly after, Kells took a majority of the crowd down to his studio. Me and Bdot remained upstairs with R.Kelly’s longtime friend/business associate/DJ, Wayne Williams.

We probed him about Kells and his choice of content. And of course, Wayne said the same thing his buddy said. Nothing new here. We digressed over to Trey Songz (Kelly mentioned while we were downstairs that ““If you’re a true king, you don’t get into challenges…you get to a status in life where you don’t ever have to throw another punch. What is an elephant supposed to do when an ant or a fly lands on you? Those guys have some growing up to do…I would have answered [that diss] 20 years ago…but not now.”)

Overall, this was a night I would never let leave my mental. How it unfolded was completely organic. Nothing was forced. Kellz looked extremely comfortable which made allll of us the same way. Earlier in the evening, Kelly mentioned “I did my homework for this event which is why I have all you guys in here.” Hearing that did something to me.

It made me feel a bit more connected to him. An artist of his stature doesn’t have to invite bloggers to his house to get a stamp of approval. That’s R.Kelly. But in doing so, he’s become a more defined and distinct R.Kelly. And since his music is and will always remain timeless, that night he proved to us why he as a person will remain timeless as well.

“Untitled” hits stores October 13th.

Sincerely

Low “Oh what a night” Key