This
is a story about an entertainer named R. Kelly. It is a story about the
remarkable, but also very strange, pop talent he has. It is a story
about the difficult places he came from and the ways they may, or may
not, have shaped who he has become. It is also the story of a man who
has been publicly accused of multiple sexual offenses with underage
women, and who stood trial for making child pornography. He was
eventually acquitted of that charge, and his career has continued
uninterrupted, but for the most part he has evaded even the most basic
questions that might help people understand what is true about him.
For
this story, R. Kelly agreed to speak about his whole life without
restrictions. We met three times over three days in his hometown of
Chicago. The second and third meetings were at his favorite cigar bar.
The first meeting was on the ninety-ninth floor of the Sears Tower.
