After hitting the festival circuit over the summer, R. Kelly has wrapped up production on his 12th studio album, the suggestively and unsurprisingly titled "Black Panties," and he made the release date known for the first time during an interview with MissInfo.tv. The album will drop on November 11, if all goes according to plan.
It may be needless to say that Kelly likes what he hears on the album, but he went the extra mile to make sure we knew he like what he heard.
"Some people are talented, and some people are gifted," he said. "I'd like to be known as one of those people who is gifted. I took tragedy and somehow turned it into triumph."
What that tragedy is, we may never know, but Kelly is already having a minor triumph with the first single off the album. "My Story," featuring 2 Chainz, is currently rising on the Hip-Hop and R&B charts. Although his 2012 album "Write Me Back" debuted at no. 5 on the Billboard 200, it sold nearly 100,000 less copies than its predecessor "Love Letter." We'll see how "Panties" stacks up on a sales chart.
Kelly's only trouble when describing the album (interview available in the video below) was figuring out what sports metaphor was best for explaining his work. He wavered between a football juggernaut running with the ball and a basketball star jumping for a rebound. As a perpetual "Space Jam" fan, we'll always opt for the basketball player when it comes to R. Kelly.
