On The Cover:R.KELLY

Sylvester Robert Kelly Born January 8, 1967, better known by his stage name R. Kelly, is an American singer-songwriter and record producer. A native of Chicago, Kelly began performing during the late 1980s and debuted in 1992 with the group Public Announcement. In 1993, Kelly went solo with the album 12 Play. He is known for a collection of major hit singles including “Bump n’ Grind”, “Your Body’s Callin’”, “I Believe I Can Fly”. “Gotham City” etc. Kelly won three Grammy Awards for “I Believe I Can Fly”. Kelly has also written, produced and remixed songs for many artists including Quincy Jones and Luther Vandross, K-Ci & JoJo, Janet Jackson, Whitney Houston, Toni Braxton, Celine Dion, Mary J. Blige, and Jennifer Lopez, among others. As a teenager, Kelly began street performing under the Chicago ‘L’ trains before he eventually formed a group with his friend Marc McWilliams. In 1989, Kelly and McWilliams formed the group MGM (Musically Gifted Men) along with Vincent Corey Walker and Shawnth Brooks. Kelly performed for the first time in Africa in Johannesburg, South Africa on June 20, 2009. He also performed in Cape Town before heading to Nigeria. Kelly also performed in Kampala, Uganda in January 2010. Kelly performed the inspirational song “Sign of a Victory” at the 2010 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony on June 11, 2010. Recently, Kelly collaborated with several African musicians forming a super group known as One8. The group features 2Face from Nigeria, Ali Kiba from Tanzania, Congolese singer Fally Ipupa, 4X4 from Ghana, hip-hop artist Movaizhaleine from Gabon, Zambia’s JK, Ugandan hip-hop star Navio and Kenya’s Amani, the only female in the group. The first release from the group is “Hands across the World” written and produced by Kelly. In March 2011, Kelly was named the R&B artist of the last 25 years by Billboard. Kelly is presently working on his memoirs entitled Soulacoaster. The book is said to be an intimate look at the events of his life. Ends