R. Kelly’s Chicago-based music studio may be in need of new owners after the 51-year-old’s failure to pay for the property.
Sources have reportedly told The Blast that Kelly has two weeks to settle $80,000 worth of back rent payments on his West Side recording studio. An eviction lawsuit was filed against the singer in July 2018 by the owner, Midwest Commercial Funding.
The contract originally signed by Kelly guaranteed a 10-year lease at a monthly rate of $22,927.41. After failing to pay two balloon payments (the repayment of the outstanding sum made at the end of a loan period) and the monthly payments, there was no choice but for the eviction process to begin.
The 3.9 million dollar property is the recording studio featured on Lifetime’s Surviving R.Kelly series. The studio is also the site where sex between the R&B singer and underage woman took place since the early ’90s.
There have also been talks of negotiations for the sale of the property, meaning that after the building is under new management, Kelly and his team would vacate the premises.
Given the history of R. Kelly’s recording studio, the bad publicity circulating the property has resulted in a nearly $1.6 million drop in the building’s value.