August 11, 2005 @ 12:10 pm

R. Kelly is Out of the Closet

by: Alyssa Rashbaum

R. Kelly may speak for half a dozen characters and counting in the epic “Trapped In The Closet” saga, but the pied piper has been fairly tight-lipped about the process of recording his latest album. Many fans want to know, ‘What inspired the R&B master to compose an operetta?’ "I didn’t even know with ‘Trapped in the Closet’ what I had until I finished up (chapter) five. Once I knew what I had, as far as people loving it, I’m up to like 15 chapters... and I'm just trying to continue to grow with it because it’s definitely something groundbreaking,” Kelly said over the phone. "I think I’ve tapped into a rare place where no man has ever gone, when it comes to music and movie put together.” Kelly also revealed that he’s planning to turn the “ghetto ‘Desperate Housewives’” saga into a movie, and has already started auditioning and casting actors to help bring the series to the stage. And for those hungry for more installments of the scandalous storyline, which includes cheating husbands and wives, and a preacher coming out of the closet, the Chicago native has made a promise to keep delivering. He has already shot videos for chapters 6-12. “We continued the chapters after five ‘cause we got a lot of nosey people out here,” he said. “Everybody wants to know what’s next.” “I’m going to keep doing it until the last chapter is out of me.” With his newfound theatrical prowess, Kelly also said he would consider taking his acting chops to the big screen. “After ‘Trapped in the Closet,’ everybody and their mom is telling me, ‘boy, you need to go into the movies, you need to act, this is what you need to be doing,’” he said. With a green light from fans and offers on the table, Kelly said, “The door’s wide open.” For now, R. will cure the acting bug with his always theatrical live show, as he solidifies plans to take TP.3 Reloaded on tour in two to three months. The singer’s other projects are also musically focused. “I just did a whole Africa album, a whole Jamaican album, and I did a whole Brazil album. I’m planning to put those albums out in those [places] and let ‘em go at the same time,” he said. “It’s called a musical virus. It’s designed to come out in those [regions] and then the music is supposed to spread.” Kelly explains that his three albums are tailored to the sound of each culture, “[They’re] three feel-good albums and it’s very authentic. It sounds just like their music.” The singer is also planning to collaborate with Ron Isley. The two are putting together an entire album based on the track “Down Low,” in which he would finish the story that he said left a lot of people hanging. While Kelly didn’t say a word about his current troubles, he made sure to note that he is content in his career and his solid position in the R&B industry - although he still feels he has a lot of work to do before he can say he’s arrived. “I feel really good right now for the first time more than ever with my music and my writing,” he said. “I’m really comfortable with my writing. I think I’ve found my niche in the way I want to write, which is real stories and real songs…. but I don’t think I’ve arrived yet. I think that there’s other places that I want to go with music and writing and everything.”

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Article tags: R. Kelly, Trapped In The Closet, TP3.com, Ron Isley 

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