R Kelly has sung about his troubles and battles in a new 19-minute song, addressing sexual abuse claims against him that have put a halt on his career.
The song, I Admit, was posted to Soundcloud on Monday. The track begins with the lyrics “I admit I have made some mistakes/And I have some imperfect ways”.
R Kelly gets personal throughout the track, singing that he likes “all the ladies, that’s both older and young ladies”, following it up with: “But tell me how they call it paedophile because that [expletive] is crazy.”
Today is the day you’ve been waiting for. 🎶 I ADMIT 🎶
LISTEN: https://t.co/ncQiDOC6Gq pic.twitter.com/DR8Aijj62N
— R. Kelly (@rkelly) July 23, 2018
The embattled entertainer has long been accused of behaviour that has ranged from questionable to criminal.
He was accused of child pornography after a widely circulated videotape appeared to show him having sex with a teenage girl.
He was acquitted of all charges in 2008 and continued to rack up hits and sell out stadiums around the country.
On I Admit, he sings that he is “not convicted, not arrested, dragged my name in the dirt/All this work to be successful, when you abandon me ’cause of what you heard”.
R Kelly is one of pop music’s best-selling artists and his hits include Ignition, I Believe I Can Fly and Bump N’ Grind.
He has also written hits for artists ranging from Celine Dion and Michael Jackson to Lady Gaga.
Despite having a catalogue of hit songs, he says he had to borrow money from his record label to “put food on the table”.
In April, R Kelly’s concert in his home town of Chicago was cancelled around the time the Time’s Up campaign took aim at the singer over allegations that he sexually abused women.
Weeks later, Spotify removed his music from its playlists, citing its new policy on hate content and hateful conduct.
In May, a woman filed a lawsuit against R Kelly, accusing the singer of sexual battery, knowingly infecting her with herpes and locking her in rooms for punishment.