Avg Rating: 
4.0 ( 18 total votes )
R. Kelly - Untitled
Label: RCA
Production: Berris Bolton & DeWayne Swan, Christopher "Deep" Henderson, Eric Dawkins & Antonio Dixon, Infinity & Darhyl Camper, Gaz, Jazze Pha, Jack Splash, Lil' Ronnie, Los Da Mystro, R. Kelly, Roy Hamilton & Raphael Hamilton, Soulshock & Karlin, Willy Will
Lead Single: Number One
Now that Michael Jackon is no longer in our lives, R. Kelly is the most fascinating man in music. Much like MJ, Kelly is an r&b idol with an astounding sense of harmony who frequently engages in bizarre behavior that’s either evidence of a purposeful disregard for social norms, or a complete inability to understand how he appears/sounds to the world at large (plus they were both charged and acquitted of sex crimes). If Kells didn’t make such damn good music it’d be easy to dismiss him, but the constant stream of quality - even … ...Read the full album review
Fans can also check out R. Kelly's previous albums: R. Kelly - Love Letter | R. Kelly - Double Up
DJBooth Album Review
Now that Michael Jackon is no longer in our lives, R. Kelly is the most fascinating man in music. Much like MJ, Kelly is an r&b idol with an astounding sense of harmony who frequently engages in bizarre behavior that’s either evidence of a purposeful disregard for social norms, or a complete inability to understand how he appears/sounds to the world at large (plus they were both charged and acquitted of sex crimes). If Kells didn’t make such damn good music it’d be easy to dismiss him, but the constant stream of quality - even occasionally classic - material he puts out makes him impossible to ignore. Put it this way: If I said “you’ve got to hear this new R. Kelly track, it’s insane” there’s no way you’re not listening. No way.
Untitled is R. Kelly’s shakiest album to date, there’s no question about that. Its highs are high but not atmospheric, and years from now hardcore Kells fans will prefer to pretend like the lows never happened. Comfortingly, this rare miss from Kelly is at least partially explainable. Untitled was originally supposed to come out in 2008 under the title 12 Play, 4th Quarter, but an early leak forced Kelly to scrap the album and start over again, perhaps accounting for Untitled’s lack of a real title and the album’s somewhat thrown together feel. More importantly, even a mediocre Kelly album is better than 90 percent of the pretenders out there; to put it eloquently, the man’s farts sound better than anything Ray J’s ever done. But enough intro, let’s get into it.
Good news or bad news first? Hmmm….let’s get the bad news out of the way.
If you only heard Untitled’s first track Crazy Night before the album cut off you’d assume the entire project was atrocious. Kelly’s never been shy about atuo-tune, and usually uses it well, but here he sounds like knockoff Ron Browz, (imitating Browz on a track? Gimme $20!) and the barely-there production isn’t nearly enough to cover for the track’s vocal sins. Still, Crazy Night isn’t Untitled’s worst track, that dubious honor goes to Supaman High, a track that, like Rocky 5, I’m going to pretend never happened. One of the best r&b artists of the decade did a track with OJ da Juiceman, the poor man’s Gucci Mane, over some production that blatantly rips off the Clipse’s Grindin? I’m sorry, I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m not as clearly against I Love the DJ, a track that sounds like T Pain’s Bartender if it was produced by will.i.am, but I do have to throw Like I Do into this group, if only because it so openly copies The-Dream’s style, right down to Kelly’s falsetto ad-libs. I know Kelly is one of his musical heroes (and mine), but if imitation is the highest form of flattery, then Dream should be pretty f**king flattered.
If it wasn’t for Number One you might be hearing whispers – premature whispers, but whispers none the less – that Kells had lost his hit making touch. Luckily, the aptly-titled Number One, a hypnotizing track featuring the always likable Keri Hilson and a hook that will slowly invade your entire cranium, proves that Kelly can still hit home runs, he’s just striking out more often. And then of course there’s Pregnant, easily my favorite track of the album. (I serenaded my pregnant fiancée with the “knock you up, gonna knock you up!” section until she slapped me – it was worth it.) Pregnant is everything I look for in a Kelly song: a musically impeccable song centered around an absurd premise and equally absurd lyrics. I could point out that unlike Kells, Tyrese and Thicke, only The-Dream seems to have thought about what’s going to happen post-impregnation, but it doesn’t matter. Pregnant is the one song off Untitled that belongs on a R. Kelly Greatest Hits album, along with sure to be underrated Elsewhere, perhaps one of the most traditional and serious r&b songs he’s ever done.
Of course there are a slew of songs that fall somewhere between these two extremes. Text Me, a song about, you guessed it, sexually explicit text messaging (“sexting” if you will) is fun but ultimately forgettable, and Echo is a enjoyable slow jam that’s mostly notable for Kelly’s demand that his lady yodel while she orgasms, but these aren’t songs that will go down in R. Kelly history. Untitled isn’t anything special, but with a track record like Kelly’s he should easily be forgiven for the occasional lapse. The remarkable thing isn’t that R. Kelly’s made a merely decent album, what’s truly remarkable is how rarely it happens.
Listen to More: R. Kelly Written by Nathan S.
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Member Reviews and Ratings
Average Member Rating: Total Ratings: 18
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Tastemaker  Total Ratings: 1192 |
I think you've got the picks & the mixtape ready tracks mixed around nathan, thats in my opinion & what you have writen in the your review.
'Superman High' is probably the worst track Kellz has ever made |
| Posted on Dec 01, 2009 |
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DJ Booth Member |
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I mess wit this album minus three songs. Kells came hard wit this one. Supaman High is definitely one of tha worst songs on tha album. But overall, this is a solid album to me.
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| Posted on Dec 01, 2009 |
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DJ Booth Member  Total Ratings: 63 |
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I've had this album on rotate for quite a while.
my favourite tracks 1. Echo 2. Religious 3. Elsewhere |
| Posted on Dec 01, 2009 |
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DJ Booth Crew  Total Ratings: 2476 |
Aussie_Pride No, the above selections right on. I loved Pregnant and Elsewhere, would have relegated Supaman High and Be My #2 to a mixtape if I could have.
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| Posted on Dec 01, 2009 |
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Tastemaker  Total Ratings: 365 |
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I really enjoyed this album. There were definitely some misses, Supaman High sounds like Kellz lost a bet to OJ and had to put it on there! There were some amazing highs though, Pregnant is just so silky smooth, and Number One has hit written all over it.I thought tracks like Whote Lotta Kisses & Bangin the Headboard were also done nicely, nothing to blow my mind but I can say I've repeated them a few times. Hands down though, Elsewhere is one of the most beautiful songs I've heard. It's one of those "it changed my life" kind of tracks I know I am going to love and reference for a very long time. All in all, I'm pleased with "Untitled" for giving me some Kellz I needed!
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| Posted on Dec 01, 2009 |
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Tastemaker  Total Ratings: 1345 |
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This album is Classic, but not as classic as Double Up. I would seriously make some babies to Pregnant, I LOVE IT! Bangin The Headboard aint no joke either! The only songs I haven't learned to appreciate off of this album are Supaman High and Be My #2.
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| Posted on Dec 01, 2009 |
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i've read a lot of reviews out there, and I see recurring themes: too much auto tune (wow 1 song), this album is all over the place in terms of styles, and that it's just not as good as his other stuff.
Personally, i've just been starving for new Kellz. Sure i'd love another Chocolate Factory, but it's not like I'm holding my breath. I just wanted new music. And I got it. And for me personally, the bar is whether or not the music is enjoyable. And I think this album is enjoyable. Sure it's not his best, but I enjoyed listening to it. I think Crazy Night is one of my favorite tracks. I loved the contrast of the verses just over the beat, and the hooks building with a more musical touch. There are lows for sure. I don't think Supaman High shoulda been added, but it's not the worst song in the world. It's actually catchy. I wasn't too excited about Kellz using outside producers, and Like I Do is the result. Not a bad song per se, but yeah, too much Dream. But I think the worst is adding 2 songs from the unreleased TP4Q. They just didn't feel like they belonged. I Love the DJ is interesting. When I first heard it, I had a typical "WTF is Kellz on" reaction, but it stayed in my head for a long time. I won't bump it in my ride, but it's still an enjoyable track, and if Kellz ever decided to hook up with the Black Eyed Peas, I could see him succeeding. The highs are high enough for me to give it 4 stars: Echo, Pregnant, Text Me, Elsewhere, the ones I already mentioned... Here's a question for everyone: what exactly are you expecting from this album, when it doesn't even have a title, and Kellz said he was just gonna throw out an album and ya'll can call it whatever you want? Did you have lofty expectations? Were you just hoping it was enjoyable? Did you even know Kellz said that? |
| Posted on Dec 01, 2009 |
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as Nathan said, a mediocre Kellz album is better than 90% of what's out there. 90%, that's a GREAT percentage to be in. To me, anything that comes out of that percentage is satisfying.
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| Posted on Dec 01, 2009 |
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Tastemaker Total Ratings: 1192 |
@Nathan - the error has been corrected, when the review was 1st posted, Pregnant & Elsewhere were mixtape ready tracks, which obviously wasnt right since those two tracks are great & Superman High was one of your picks, which is probably the worst track Kellz has ever put on a album
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| Posted on Dec 02, 2009 |
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DJ Booth Member |
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This def dont live up to Kellz standards i aint fellin this
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| Posted on Dec 02, 2009 |
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DJ Booth Member |
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Hate him or love him...Even if you think he's weird, you gotta admit the guy is talented as hell.
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| Posted on Dec 02, 2009 |
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| Posted on Dec 02, 2009 |
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DJ Booth Member |
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This album is the ish. It continues to show his range and versatility how he just adapts. Be my #2 has that discoish/funk, exit is very catchy and so is crazy night, elsewhere and religious r beautiful ballads. Go low, whole lotta kisses, pregnant and echo r sexy tunes. Like I do will take some time to grow on me but only dream comparison is based on the production. Text me is super tight and simple and I love the dj techno-ish/house vibe is great. Supaman high is a club banger courtesy of his second verse
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| Posted on Dec 05, 2009 |
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DJ Booth Member |
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this has been onw of my favourite albums latly
amazing music |
| Posted on Dec 06, 2009 |
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Tastemaker  Total Ratings: 736 |
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this can easily be best r&b album of the year. my fav off this album are
1) religious 2) pregnang 3) echo |
| Posted on Dec 09, 2009 |
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DJ Booth Member |
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Not a bad album from a talented performer. The theme of sex comes a little too often for my liking.
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| Posted on Dec 09, 2009 |
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DJ Booth Crew Total Ratings: 2476 |
Update: This is currently the number 4 album in the country, and the only new album in the top 10. So basically America loves them some Pied Piper.
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| Posted on Dec 11, 2009 |
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DJ Booth Member |
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I found this a really odd R Kelly album. On the one hand you have tried and tested Kellz with Bangin on the headboard and Pregnant and then you have the outside produced tracks like Be My#2 and I love the DJ. Not that I don't enjoy the album- it just doesn't feel like typical Kellz and that thought stayed in my head while listening. Saying that, this album will be in my ipod for a good couple of months!
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| Posted on Dec 13, 2009 |
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DJ Booth Member  Total Ratings: 213 |
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Loved the review and i thought it was pretty much spot on. I have to say, I love R. kelly's music, and to me this album was great. Not as good as some of his others, but still great!
I do agree that Supaman High was absolutely horrible, but I actually liked Crazy Night. Can't wait for more from the King of R&B! My fav tracks were: Exit, Go low, Elsewhere, Banging the Headboard, Echo |
| Posted on Dec 23, 2009 |
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DJ Booth Member  Total Ratings: 15 |
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Love this album. Straight up slapping belly's music lol
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| Posted on Dec 30, 2009 |
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| Posted on Jan 11, 2010 |
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| Posted on Apr 12, 2010 |
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Professional  Total Ratings: 21 |
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I'm still waiting for people to get over Kelly's past. Bottom line he is an artist and he makes those sensual bedroom songs that are undeniable. I got a few from this CD in rotation. Hands down my listeners were not ready for "Pregnant" that collab with The-Dream, Tyrese and Robin Thicke. I had women groovin knowing they love it but pretending they don't. SMH Get over it already.
Creative DJ who mixes many genres & enjoys taking listeners on a Musical Journey. Huge supporter of Indie Artists, something bout that new & raw love for the music! Read more: http://www.djbooth.net/index/dj/profile/98347/#ixzz0o7r0Nh6y http://SerenityGroove.com/ http://twitter.com/DeeJayClyde |
| Posted on May 16, 2010 |
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