R Kelly has written 25 albums while in prison
R Kelly claims he’s written 25 albums since he was imprisoned in 2022. The disgraced singer is currently behind bars at the Federal Correctional Complex in Butner, North Carolina, after being hit with federal racketeering and sex trafficking charges involving the sexual abuse of minors.
During a recent Inmate Tea With A&P podcast episode, Kelly called in on a monitored prison phone line. He admitted feeling “great” and said singing was “a beautiful disease that’s incurable. That’s not gonna happen, not singing.”
Kelly went on to reveal he’s written “like 25 albums” since he was sentenced to 30 years in prison. He said he was trying to get out of prison so he could get back to “what it is God gave me, my talent.”
Despite his wishes, Manhattan’s 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals rejected Kelly’s bid to appeal his New York conviction in February. His attorney, Jennifer Bonjean, was “disappointed” by the ruling but refused to back down.
“We believe the United States Supreme Court will be interested in reviewing this unprecedented opinion that gives the government limitless discretion to apply the RICO statute to situations absurdly remote from statute’s intent,” she told USA Today.
“The statute was intended to punish organized crime — not individual conduct. This decision paves the way for prosecutorial abuse of the RICO statute.”
Earlier this year, Kelly was sued after allegedly failing to pay a large sum of money to his victims after losing a judgment two years ago. The lawsuit, on behalf of six victims, was filed against Kelly and Universal Music Group on February 8th, alleging they’re still owed $9.9 million.
After he was sentenced in 2022, US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Breon Peace, said, “R. Kelly used his fame, fortune and enablers to prey on the young, the vulnerable and the voiceless for his own sexual gratification, while many turned a blind eye. Through his actions, Kelly exhibited a callous disregard for the devastation his crimes had on his victims and has shown no remorse for his conduct.”