R. Kelly - If

About "If"

Robert Sylvester Kelly (born January 8, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is credited with prolific commercial success in R&B, hip hop, and pop music recordings, earning nicknames such as "the King of R&B", "the King of Pop-Soul", and "the Pied Piper of R&B". Kelly's career ended in 2019 following his arrest and subsequent convictions on federal racketeering and sex trafficking charges involving sexual abuse of minors, for which he is currently serving a 31-year prison sentence.

Kelly has released 18 studio albums which yielded a number of hit singles, including "I Believe I Can Fly", "Bump N' Grind", "Your Body's Callin'", "Fiesta (Remix)", "Ignition (Remix)", "Step in the Name of Love (Remix)", "If I Could Turn Back the Hands of Time", "The World's Greatest", "I'm a Flirt (Remix)", and the hip hopera Trapped in the Closet. In 1998, he won three Grammy Awards for "I Believe I Can Fly".In addition to his own recordings, Kelly's extensive songwriting and production work for other artists include credits for Michael Jackson, Britney Spears, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, The Isley Brothers, Aaliyah, Toni Braxton, Luther Vandross, Mary J. Blige, Trisha Yearwood, and B2K, among others. Kelly received a Grammy Award nomination for his songwriting and production on Jackson's 1996 single, "You Are Not Alone", which also earned a Guinness World Record as the first song to debut atop the Billboard Hot 100 in the chart's history. Kelly's 1998 collaboration with Dion, "I'm Your Angel" did so once more.

Kelly has sold over 75 million albums and singles worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time, and the most successful R&B male artist of the 1990s. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has recognized Kelly as one of the best-selling music artists in the United States with 40 million albums sold. In March 2011, Kelly was named the most successful R&B artist of the last 25 years by Billboard. Throughout his career, Kelly has been awarded Grammy Awards, BET Awards, Soul Train Music Awards, Billboard Music Awards, NAACP Image Awards, and American Music Awards.

Kelly had long been the subject of accusations of sexual misconduct with minors, dating back to the 1990s. Following leaked video recordings, Kelly was prosecuted on child pornography charges in 2002, leading to a controversial trial that ended with his acquittal in 2008 on all charges. The 2019 documentary Surviving R. Kelly reexamined Kelly's alleged sexual misconduct with minors, prompting RCA Records to terminate his contract. Renewed interest in the allegations resulted in additional investigations by law enforcement beginning in 2019, which led to multiple convictions and Kelly's arrest. In 2021 and 2022, he was convicted on multiple charges involving child sexual abuse. As of 2023, he is serving a 31-year combined sentence at FCI Butner Medium I.