In a bizarre turn of events, the latest album from disgraced R&B superstar R. Kelly was reportedly released Friday on multiple digital platforms, including Apple Music and Spotify, while the Grammy-winning artist is still in jail serving a 30-year sentence for sex trafficking and other crimes.
But the album, provocatively titled I Admit It, was mysteriously pulled from the streamers just hours after going live.
R. Kelly’s I Admit It was dropped Friday without any prior promotion or announcement. The 13-song album features tracks “I Found Love,” “Good Ole Days,” and “Freaky Sensation,” according to a TMZ report. The title track — ” “I Admit it (I Did It)” — features a confessional-style list of some of the artist’s past sins, including sleeping with his girlfriend’s friend.
At one point in the album, R. Kelly appears to allude to the accusations made against him. “They’re brainwashed, really? Kidnapped, really? Can’t eat, really? Real talk, that shit sound silly,” he reportedly says.
While some outlets reported that the upload was a bootleg, Billboard reported that the album was in fact uploaded by Ingrooves, a distributor owned by Universal Music Group, even though the label behind the album is Legacy Recordings, a division of Sony.
Executives at Ingrooves reportedly worked to have the album pulled from the streamers once word got out.
It remains unclear how the album got out and who was ultimately responsible for the confusion.
Earlier this year, R. Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in jail after being convicted of racketeering and sex trafficking — including subjecting minors to sexual abuse. It marked a spectacular fall from grace for the once-popular R&B artist who ranked as one of the biggest pop stars of the 90s.
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