R. KellyΓÇÖs fifth album, TP-2.com, is in some senses, a sequel to his 1993 solo debut 12 Play. That albumΓÇÖs sexual romps ΓÇ£Bump NΓÇÖ Grind,ΓÇ¥ ΓÇ£Your BodyΓÇÖs CallinΓÇÖ Me,ΓÇ¥ and ΓÇ£Freak Dat BodyΓÇ¥ are reincarnated, conceptually, at least, on the ΓÇ£The Greatest Sex,ΓÇ¥ ΓÇ£Like A Real Freak,ΓÇ¥ ΓÇ£Feel On Yo Booty,ΓÇ¥ and a number of equally racy tracks.
But whatΓÇÖs most interesting about Mr. KellyΓÇÖs return is that many of his new songs exude a bit more remorse about relationships gone bad than heΓÇÖs dealt with in the past (ΓÇ£When A WomanΓÇÖs Fed UpΓÇ¥ from R., his last album, was a loner until now). Hear him apologize on ΓÇ£I DonΓÇÖt Mean It,ΓÇ¥ have a change of heart on ΓÇ£I Decided,ΓÇ¥ and work to keep the relationship together on ΓÇ£All I Really Want.ΓÇ¥ He even closes the album with the country-influenced ΓÇ£The Storm Is Over Now.ΓÇ¥ The albumΓÇÖs consistent warm vibe finds the Chicago native singing over the soft, syrupy R&B that initially won him fans, music beds that revisit smooth ΓÇÿ70s stylings and some pretty cool hip-hop Latin rhythms that arenΓÇÖt over the top.
Though R. KellyΓÇÖs bad-boy demeanor has probably limited his fanbase, his musicianship speaks for itself.
R. Kelly: All recordings courtesy of Jive Records. All songs written by R. Kelly; courtesy of Zomba Songs, Inc./R. Kelly Publishing, Inc. administered by Zomba Songs, Inc. (BMI).
