The mysterious album release for incarcerated sex offender R. Kelly was removed from streaming platforms on Friday afternoon, hours after outrage at a new album that hinted at his guilt.
On Friday, it was noticed that a new 13-track album was released on streaming services with a very provocative title, I Did It. One of the songs also has the artist confirming that he likes ‘young ladies’ and he also expresses that he sees nothing wrong with dating these ‘young ladies’ even as others think it is pedophilia.
According to Billboard, the album was not released by R. Kelly or his label. Reports are that Sony Music label Legacy Recordings received credit on the project, which was released to Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music on Friday morning by distributor Ingrooves which is owned by Universal Music Group.
Legacy Recordings has offered no official comment on the album’s release, but Billboard reported on Friday afternoon that Ingrooves named another label- Real Talk Entertainment, which was responsible for the release via Legacy Recordings.
According to Variety, a rep for Spotify says distributors requested that the album be removed from the platform. “This content has been removed from the platform at the request of the distributor,” the rep said.
In the meantime, the incriminating album comes amid Kelly’s legal battle in several states and post his conviction in Chicago and New York this year.
It would have been his first album since 2016, but the content was shocking as among the 13 tracks, the final on the list was called “I Admit It (I Did It),” where the R&B singer admits his affliction for women, especially “young ladies.”
“I admit I f**k with all the ladies/They both older and young ladies,” he sings. “But tell me how they call that paedophile/Cause of that?/That sh*ts crazy/You might have your opinions/Entitled to your opinions/But really am I supposed to go to jail, lose my career because your opinion?” the artist asked.
R. Kelly is currently serving a 30-year prison sentence stemming from sex trafficking and racketeering charges in New York in September of 2021. He was also found guilty in a separate child pornography case from his home state of Chicago back in September.
R. Kelly’s team and lawyer, Jennifer Bonjean, have not commented on the album’s illegal release. There are reports that the project was previously released as a mixtape online before being removed.
