Avg Rating: 
4.4 ( 25 total votes )
R. Kelly is more than an artist, he’s a writer’s dream. Now that Michael has passed, he’s the most fascinating man in music, an artist whose overwhelming talent has created a bubble around him in which the rules of normal society don’t apply. Most people would never dream of doing a multi-part, quasi-schizophrenic, hip-hopera featuring love octagons, midgets and a gay Reverend. Not R. Kelly. Most people would never be able to pull off both uplifting songs for Disney movies and tracks so sexually explicit they’re illegal in the state of Utah. Not R. Kelly. … ...Read the full album review
Fans can also check out R. Kelly's previous albums: R. Kelly - Untitled | R. Kelly - Double Up
DJBooth Album Review
R. Kelly is more than an artist, he’s a writer’s dream. Now that Michael has passed, he’s the most fascinating man in music, an artist whose overwhelming talent has created a bubble around him in which the rules of normal society don’t apply. Most people would never dream of doing a multi-part, quasi-schizophrenic, hip-hopera featuring love octagons, midgets and a gay Reverend. Not R. Kelly. Most people would never be able to pull off both uplifting songs for Disney movies and tracks so sexually explicit they’re illegal in the state of Utah. Not R. Kelly. Never have we seen someone with such an incredible musical gift spend that gift on songs about yodeling during sex, and unraveling the enigma that is Robert Sylvester Kelly’s music was always half the fun.
Which is why Love Letter is the most boring, and in many ways the best, album of R. Kelly’s career. As stunned as I am to write this, Love Letter is a completely serious, completely earnest album that showcases Kelly’s extraordinary sense of harmony, melody and peerless voice. That’s it. No Sex Planet. No In My T-Shirt. No Love Zoo. (All actual R. Kelly song titles, by the way.) Instead, Love Letter is simply superbly crafted music that simultaneously serves as a history lesson in over three decades of soul, gospel and R&B. And just when I thought Kells could no longer surprise me.
We may as well start with the title track, Love Letter, a sparkling ballad sure to become an instant must play at weddings everywhere. Where Kelly often goes overboard, here he shows incredible restraint, keeping the production softly muted – all the better to let his voice take front stage. It’s the kind of song that even the toughest thugs will find themselves playing when trying to win the heart of that special someone. Crucially, Love Letter is the rule, not the exception. The album is packed with top shelf tunes, from the ‘50s soul styled When a Woman Loves, a song that proves Kelly has one of the best voices of all-time, not just of the last decade, to the old school duet Love Is, which brings in his newfound protégé K. Michelle for a lesson in on mic chemistry. I….I….I just really don’t have any jokes. This is simply beautiful music.
There are a few moments on Love Letter that for just a moment seem as if they could veer off into tantalizing territory, most notably the deeply layered Taxi Cab. Kelly has a flair for taking completely ordinary events, chopping vegetables in the kitchen for example, and turning them into sexually charged anthems. On Taxi Cab he does the exact opposite, taking a late night bump ‘n grind session in, you guessed it, a cab and turning it into an emotional meditation on the pleasure and pain of that brief encounter. Seriously. For a moment a title like Just Like That carries notes of promise, but instead we get a modern two-step classic, and in How Do I Tell Her? the protagonist isn’t leaving his woman because he’s knocked up his mistress, but because he knows the pain of putting her through a broken relationship will be worse than leaving her now. And while I Just Can’t Get Enough may be the album’s most openly scandalous, its sexual overtones are softened by lightly tapping percussion and Kelly’s airy vocals. If you were looking for a R. Kelly album you could listen to with your mom without flinching, you’ve found it.
If I sound a little disappointed, it’s because in a strange way I am. I love listening to R. Kelly because there’s a constant sense of impending danger – he could say anything, at any time – but his more, shall we say avant garde tendencies were always backed by undeniably great music. It was that juxtaposition that made him so fascinating. Love Letter is that music stripped of its taboo appeal. Instead of writing him off as a talented by unstable hitmaker, Love Letter forces us to consider Kelly as, simply put, the best male r&b voice or our generation. It’s a prospect that leaves me with far less jokes to write, but is also far more impressive. The man is, and I don’t use this word lightly, a genius. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to listen to Feelin’ On Yo Booty.
Listen to More: R. Kelly Written by Nathan S.
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Member Reviews and Ratings
Average Member Rating: Total Ratings: 25
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DJ Booth Member |
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this is a great R&B album it's great to hear R.Kelly getting back to doing great R&B songs and not tryin to be a rapper
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| Posted on Dec 16, 2010 |
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DJ Booth Member  Total Ratings: 39 |
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4.5 stars but I'll round up. I was a little apprehensive about this after some of the leaks but the intro alone subsided any fears that Kels ha lost his way. The only complaint I'd have is that some of the production is obviously synth based and there are not real string/brass instruments (see "When a woman loves") and that a number of the songs blend together. All in all, Love Letter once again sets Kelly so far apart from the rest of the mediocre musicians out there.
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| Posted on Dec 16, 2010 |
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| Posted on Dec 16, 2010 |
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Tastemaker  Total Ratings: 1805 |
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I have been a huge R. Kelly fan forever. And this is an example of why. He makes classic after classic after classic. His music is lyricaly amazing and so deep. And they all touch a special part in your heart.
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| Posted on Dec 16, 2010 |
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great album!! ive been waiting for a strictly R&B Album from Kells and he finally delivered. it between this and Bruno Mars Doo Wops and Hooligans for R&B Album of the year
favorites 1. Lost in your Love 2.Love Letter 3. when a Woman Loves 4.Taxi Cab 5. Radio Message |
| Posted on Dec 18, 2010 |
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DJ Booth Member |
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awesome
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| Posted on Dec 20, 2010 |
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| Posted on Dec 20, 2010 |
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DJ Booth Member |
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R.Kelly is back!
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| Posted on Dec 20, 2010 |
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DJ Booth Crew  Total Ratings: 906 |
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My favorite R&B release of this year. Beautiful music the whole way through. Not a track I would skip.
Curl up with your significant other and press play on this gem. 
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| Posted on Dec 21, 2010 |
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| Posted on Dec 21, 2010 |
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DJ Booth Member  Total Ratings: 56 |
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Not a classic, Nathan? Holy shit.
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| Posted on Dec 21, 2010 |
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DJ Booth Member |
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between 4 and 5, but he has diffenitly not lost his r&b touch
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| Posted on Dec 21, 2010 |
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This is pure R&B music... R. Kelly went straight heart throb on this. On 'How Do I Tell Her?' he's channeling Sam Cooke and may be one of the more underrated tracks. The way he was able to invoke some of the great singers is beyond genius...
'Taxi Cab' and Not Feelin' The Love are MJ; 'Just Can't Get Enough' is Marvin Gaye; 'When A Woman Loves' is Jackie Wilson and maybe some Otis Redding; 'Love Is' is Marvin and Tammi Terrell; 'Music Must Be A Lady' sounds Donny Hathaway but Kellz revealed it was in the spirit of Marvin Gaye; 'Number One Hit' - sounds Sade-esque 'Just Like That' - Stevie Wonder The others like Love Letter and Love Letter Christmas, Lost In Your Love, and Radio Message are all appear to in the mold of R. Kelly with a steppers or motown spin. Of course he did his own penned track for MJ with "You Are Not Alone" a whole lot of justic. Hands down R&B album of the year. Beautiful music from top to bottom (even the bonus songs on the Deluxe version) |
| Posted on Dec 22, 2010 |
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| Posted on Dec 28, 2010 |
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i loved it
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| Posted on Dec 28, 2010 |
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DJ Booth Crew  Total Ratings: 8279 |
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This is the best R&B album of 2010 for me! I am seriously surprised. I was sleeping on this album. R. Kelly delivered an album that was a throwback to the old time music greats who were inventing R&B long before it would be called R&B. R. Kelly was already a musical genius, but this album shows that he has even MORE versatility than I could have imagined. This is an album of Real Music that all ages can relate to. It really does have a "younger" appeal to it somehow even while the song structures are from long ago. I think everyone needs to check out this album. There are 2 or 3 tracks that I would skip, but the rest are just excellent. This is the type of music that R.Kelly can perform on stage and have panties flying at him without even dancing or performing other gimmicks. 5-Star Album for me! I'll be playing this for years to come.
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| Posted on Jan 03, 2011 |
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| Posted on Jan 04, 2011 |
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DJ Booth Member  Total Ratings: 4 |
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Welcome back Kells - This is what we've been waiting for!
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| Posted on Jan 16, 2011 |
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DJ Booth Member |
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The best vocal singer in RnB, gives us a beautiful project !
My fav : When A Woman Loves, Taxi Cab & Number One Hit But, I prefer to hear Kells when he sings catchy songs or when he sings about sex in details^^ |
| Posted on Jan 19, 2011 |
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R. Kelly is arguably the best singer,song writer,producer,and entertainer of all time. The continuously reinvents himself time and time again. Say what you want about the mans past,but take nothing away from the genius that he is.
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| Posted on Jan 19, 2011 |
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DJ Booth Member |
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nice album
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| Posted on Feb 07, 2011 |
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DJ Booth Member  Total Ratings: 143 |
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album of the year!
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| Posted on Feb 28, 2011 |
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DJ Booth Member |
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Great Album. R. Kelly will always be the one on top with the best love songs ever. Keep it up!!!!
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| Posted on Mar 10, 2011 |
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| Posted on Apr 15, 2011 |
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Glad to see he is trying to bring real R&B back. I'm givin' it 4 stars, cause the album as a whole is still not better than Trey's Passion, Pain & Pleasure.
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| Posted on Jul 04, 2011 |
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