Name	R Kelly
Height
Naionality	American
Date of Birth	January 8, 1967
Place of Birth	Chicago, Illinois
Famous for

In 1989, Kelly formed the group MGM with friend Marc McWilliams and released his first single "Why You Wanna Play Me" on Tavdash Records. The following year, the group appeared on the TV talent show Big Break (hosted by Natalie Cole) and won. Kelly was discovered by Wayne Williams (current senior vice-president of A&R at Jive/BMG), and Kelly's manager Eric Payton agreed to let Kelly sign with Jive. In late 1991, the 24-year-old songwriter and his group Public Announcement recorded much of what would become their first release Born Into the '90s. Released January 14, 1992, the album had two Billboard Top 40 hits including "Honey Love", and "Slow Dance (Hey Mr. DJ)." "Dedicated" was the groups biggest pop hit, spending two weeks at number one on the Billboard R&B Singles chart.

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By 1993, Kelly had left the group to forge a solo career. Kelly's solo debut, 12 Play, yielded three top 40 singles: "Sex Me (Pt. 1)", "Your Body's Callin Me", and the chart-topping "Bump N' Grind." In 1994, he completed singer Aaliyah's debut album, Age Ain't Nothing But a Number. Released that summer, the album eventually sold more than 3 million copies in the U.S on the strength of the singles "Back and Forth" and "At Your Best."

Kelly returned to the studio to record his third album, his second solo effort. His 1995 self-titled album "R. Kelly" was another big success, selling more than 5 million copies and spawning hit singles such as "You Remind Me of Something", "I Can't Sleep (Baby If I)" and his collaboration with legendary R&B group The Isley Brothers featuring Ronald Isley, "Down Low (Nobody Has To Know)". The album was hailed by some as the singer's most mature to date. In 1995, Kelly found success as a songwriter, penning hits for the R&B group Changing Faces and pop and R&B music stars Janet Jackson (producing the remix for Jackson's 1994 smash, "Any Time, Any Place") and Michael Jackson (penning and co-producing the single, "You Are Not Alone" for Jackson's HIStory). SABAM, Belgian right society, however, confirmed that the melody for "You Are Not Alone" was originally composed in 1993 by Eddy & Danny Van Passel, veteran Belgian songwriters, producers and music publishers.

In 1996, "I Believe I Can Fly" was released from the Space Jam soundtrack. R. Kelly has stated Michael Jordan asked him to write the song, and it was composed while touring with The Notorious B.I.G. in Detroit. "I Believe I Can Fly" was a cross-genre hit, reaching No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, and No. 1 on the UK Pop Charts. The single was a huge worldwide success and is R. Kelly's most famous song to date. Rolling Stone Magazine named it as the 408th of its top 500 songs of all time. Following his 1997 Grammy performance of "I Believe I Can Fly," he received a standing ovation. In 1997 he also had a hit with "Gotham City." In 1998, the double disc "R." was released to enormous success. The duet "I'm Your Angel" with Céline Dion topped the Billboard Hot 100 for 6 weeks. Other singles included the Sam Cooke inspired "If I Could Turn Back The Hands Of Time," "When A Woman's Fed Up" and "Home Alone." The "R." album has since been certified eight times platinum by RIAA.