We all know that Robert Sylvester Kelly is a pervert of immense proportions. Which is interesting, because lost in that perversion is his possibly permanent impact on Black music.

I was listening to his latest album “Untitled” this past weekend and like usual, it’s full of good music and totally retarded Captain Obvious-style songs.  Either R. Kelly doesn’t think much of people anymore or he’s just screwing with everybody.  And truthfully, I think it’s a bit of both.  My guess is that every time he releases a project, his entire goal is to see just how ridiculous he can get and still sell albums.

How else do you get songs titled, “Pregnant”, “Bangin’ The Headboard”, “Be My #2″, and “Text Me”.  It’s like he’s not even trying anymore.  Frankly, it’s kind of offensive but then again, some silly trollop out there thinks its genius so who am I to judge?  He’s making millions while I’m writing this post at 1056pm on a Sunday night.

I suppose I lose.

But one thing that stood out to me while I was listening was just how many songs sounded identical to songs that The-Dream has either created, is currently creating, or has written.  Hell, this whole album sounds like a Dream album, ironic considering how The-Dream songs all sound like R. Kelly songs.  It’s like the most confusing simplicity ever.  Except The-Dream only gets writing credits on one song which leads me to believe that R. Kelly has done it all himself.

Which means that perhaps R. Kelly decided to big league The-Dream and remind him where the style came from.  Which is sad and slightly impressive at the same time.  As you can see, R brings out lots of conflicting emotions.  And also beckons to a larger point…

…R. Kelly is pretty much responsible for all the “R&B” music we here today.  Think about the straight forward nature of all the music.  There’s no nuance anymore, there’s no innuendo.  For instance, Trey Songz, “I Invented Sex”.  The song is some straight up take you home and bone music.  There’s no romance in it.  There’s no appreciation for the woman, it’s just f*cking.  That’s the whole point.

Credit: R. Kelly

When 12 Play hit, it was monumental.  It was so different from the deferential, begging man songs of the Keith Sweats and Babyfaces. In fact, the only other group to really come at the genre from an edgy angle was Jodeci, but even they still attempted to woo the women with romance.  But R let us know that there wasn’t anything wrong with a little Bump ‘N Grind.  In fact, aside from “Sadie”, 12 Play was pretty much f*cking music, thru and thru.  Then he took that strange left turn where he started having conversations in his music, not really singing lyrics.  Then Mr. Big and him were acting out plays in song and next thing you know he starts feeling on booties and asking for a beep beep.

Then the yodeling.

Now, amidst some of his stranger antics were still prized gems, but they were fewer and further between.  Now he’s just like to hell with it all together.  It’s all pop culture references and songs that won’t be relevant 20 years from now, unlike 12 Play.

He sounds like a follower in the genre’s he created.  Every song nowadays sounds like a sung conversation with no real attempts at romance.  It’s all straight to the hotel, because really, you’re not gonna be my main lady anyway.  Which is sad, because if you think about it that’s how a lot of men think nowadays anyway.  There’s no romance, just room service for a lot of women who seem to have accepted it.  All the songs these R&B thugs have been singing (a friend of mine called them rappers that sing) allude to treating women like something you do then toss and since most of us men hear these songs we realize that if women like it like that, why go all out and try to treat her like a lady.

R. Kelly created the R&B of today, and perhaps unintentionally, killed romance in Black America.

So I guess the main bullet point is this, the next time you go out and some man just wants to hit..

…blame R. Kelly.

Am I giving R. Kelly too much credit? Is Black romance dead, like Nas said of hip-hop??  If so, what killed it?

J.R.???? <——Old head reference and joke.

What happened to Black love and the R&B song?

-VSB P aka THE ARSONIST aka TANGLE JIG P aka GIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRL, HE A 3