Embattled musician R. Kelly has denied any involvement with the recent release of I Admit It, calling it a plot to undermine him in court, according to audio obtained by TMZ.
Kelly’s attorney, Jennifer Bonjean, claimed that the convicted superstar musician recorded the audio on Friday after they met but the disgraced singer denied releasing any music, saying he is trying to appeal his current federal conviction, and said that he hoped people recognized his voice and “know that,” TMZ reported.
Bonjean told Variety that the singer’s team is not behind the release, and that he “is having intellectual property stolen from him.”
Sony Music, which owns rights to a significant portion of Kelly’s repertoire, said that the release did not come from them. While Sony Music’s Legacy Recordings is listed on the release credits, sources at the record label told Billboard that the company was not involved with the project and that they are investigating how the album was delivered to streamers including Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music. By 3 p.m. EST on Friday the album was taken down.
The album’s title track, “I Admit It,” was previously released as a 19-minute song on SoundCloud in 2018. Kelly’s last studio LP was a holiday album titled 12 Nights of Christmas on October 21, 2016, his final album with RCA Records before the label dropped him after the Surviving R. Kelly documentary aired on Lifetime.
In September, Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison after being found guilty of racketeering, sexual exploitation of a child and kidnapping at federal trial last fall.
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Author: Saul Goode
Photo: Nicholas Ballasy