Starting off from MGM, which not only featured on the American talent television contest show for singers and musicians- Big Break, but also won the cash prize of 1,00,000 USD on the same show, R Kelly has been gliding quite smoothly throughout his career until his involvement in criminal charges was presented before the world.
No doubt that R Kelly (Robert Sylvester Kelly) is amidst controversies today, but it is also a fact that this American singer, songwriter, record producer, and basketball player got much acclaim as the King of R&B Music. The Chicago-born singer has a notable contribution to the R&B genre, which earned him extensive fame and fortune in his name. During his golden era, R Kelly net worth was as massive as 100 million USD which took a total 360-degree turn after several criminal charges were added to his name.
Give this article a read to know what makes R Kelly net worth a hot topic of recent times.
R KELLY NET WORTH 2022: -2 MILLION USD: BROKE
R Kelly has always been in the limelight for his contributions to the music industry, to be more precise, to R&B. And there aren’t any second thoughts on the fact that the industry celebrated the favours of the ‘King of Pop-Soul’ like anything. So if the work of Honey Love songwriter was really crazily celebrated in the industry, what made R Kelly net worth so broke to stand at -2 million USD (read as negative or minus two million USD)? Scroll down a little to know about that….
THE RISE
Kelly started off very well with his music career in the late 90s. In 1992, he debuted with the music album Born into the 90s in collaboration with Public Announcement. 12 Play which happens to be his first solo album released in 1993 grasped top rankings on the Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart for Bump N Grind. He also booked the Grammy nominations in his name for writing, composing, and co-producing Michael Jackson’s You Are Not Alone. His work in the 1995 released studio album R Kelly was much appreciated by the critics. Several of his albums and songs got accolades one after the other, to name a few, You Remind Me Of Something, Down Low, I Can’t Sleep Baby.
The singer’s I Believe I Can Fly, which was originally featured in the soundtrack of the Space Jam, was listed on the Billboard Hot 100, ranked Number 1 on the UK charts for three weeks in a row, plus earned him 3 Grammy Awards (1998).
The fifty-five-year-old did not just write for himself but has also managed songwriting and production for other artists as well. Each album released by him fetched him gold and platinum certifications that too multiple times, which means 5,00,000 and 10,00,000 copies, respectively, have been sold. No wonder they added huge amounts to R Kelly net worth, not to forget he produced some of them on his own entirely. Kelly also joined and presented the Atlantic City Seagulls in the United States Basketball League (USBL). He managed both of his professions really well.
The year 2000 marked celebrations for Kelly as he won the Favourite Male Soul/R&B Artist in the American Music Awards, Best R&B Vocal Performer, along with his name listed for several Grammy nominations. Gradually with time, the Pied Piper of R&B gave more hits like TP-2.com, The World’s Greatest, The Best Of The Both Worlds, Chocolate factory, Unfinished Business, Epic, and Write Me Back to the industry. His recent releases include My Story, The Buffet, Wake Up Everybody, and Backyard Party.
THE FALL
The most successful R&B male artist of the 1990s, R Kelly’s decline started when he was caught in lawsuit dilemmas. He reportedly paid huge amounts to wash off multiple claims of physical assault against his name.
R Kelly net worth and popularity both had seen a dramatic downward shift after heinous claims of his involvement in human trafficking, child pornography, assault of underage girls, kidnapping, bribery, violation of the Mann Act, and racketeering were reportedly raised against him. He, along with his management, continuously denied the charges while several videotapes supporting the allegations were presented publicly. Finally, in 2021, the jury held him guilty, and the singer was ordered to be under custody pending sentencing by the judge which might be reviewed in June this year. Kelly often responded to the allegations with his songs, namely, I Admit and Surviving R. Kelly. Today the name of this singer is regarded as the worst sexual predator who ruined the life of a lot of people in his vicious circle.
His career was adversely affected as many big names like RCA Records dropped Kelly due to allegations and the ‘Mute Kelly Movement,’ which did run like a social media campaign. There was only a rise in the counts of allegations against him with time.
Kelly’s relationship with Alliyah Dana Haughton had also caught the attention of the media and public as the proof of their secret and illegal marriage was out because Alliyah was 15 at that time. However, the couple claimed to only be close but not married. People also find the industry to be blamed for not taking appropriate actions against the singer’s intolerable behaviour because of his big name.
The Love Letter singer also paid huge alimony and child support for his divorce settlement with Andrea Lee in 2009. Though the amounts weren’t disclosed openly in public, rumors are that it settled at approx. 1.3 million USD as one time-payment, approx. 13000 USD per month, plus to that an amount of approx. 342000 USD per year as child support. R Kelly net worth is not that blooming now for a long time, so the singer has also requested to reduce the child support asked from him. Andrea has also backed up the facts of his misconduct.
The big R&B highlighter was also accused of not paying taxes in 2012, which amounted to around 5 million USD. And as of today, he owes 1.9 million USD to the IRS alone, which he took as debt numerous times to pay off his expenses. No wonder this is the reason he is so broke today.
All this together makes R Kelly net worth stand at -2 million USD today. Kelly has blamed the protests against him that blocked his tours along with the actions taken by renowned music platforms, namely Pandora, Spotify, and Apple Music which did put a stop to promoting his albums.
This was what made a huge fortune star and celebrity singer R Kelly’s financial status dwindle to this level. Once a celebrated charm, Kelly is now broke and under a pile of debts.