Three years into his 30-year sentence for sex trafficking and racketeering, R. Kelly called into the Inmate Tea With A&P podcast, where he claimed to have written 25 albums since being incarcerated in 2022.
Speaking from a monitored prison phone line, the disgraced R&B star told the hosts he was feeling “great” before breaking into an a cappella rendition of his 1998 song “When a Woman’s Fed Up” as one of the hosts sang along and laughed. The women referred to him as the “King of R&B” and used his former nickname, the “Pied Piper of R&B.”
Asked if he’s still using his talents while behind bars, Kelly called music a “beautiful disease that’s uncurable” and said he has no plans to stop. “I’ve written like 25 albums,” he claimed.
Before his conviction, Kelly was known for his prolific output, releasing 18 studio albums between 1992 and 2016 and producing the 33-chapter Trapped in the Closet series from 2005 to 2012.
In addition to writing music from his federal prison cell in North Carolina, Kelly said he’s focused on getting out of prison and returning to his career. However, his legal battle recently suffered a major blow, as the 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Manhattan rejected his bid to overturn his New York conviction. If he serves his full sentence, he could remain locked up into his 80s.
Kelly’s downfall followed decades of allegations of sexual abuse, coercion, and controlling behavior. He was convicted in 2021 on federal sex trafficking and racketeering charges and again in 2022 on child pornography and coercion of a minor.
Many of the accusations were detailed in the bombshell docuseries Surviving R. Kelly, in which multiple women shared harrowing accounts of abuse and manipulation. Kelly and his legal team have repeatedly denied all allegations, but with multiple convictions and a lengthy sentence, his chances of release remain slim.
