R. Kelly comes up short at Chicago gig.(News)

0 Comments | Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL), March, 2004 | by Mistretta, Elisabeth

Byline: Elisabeth Mistretta Daily Herald Staff Writer Song collaborations between rappers and singers like R. Kelly are staples in the realm of R&B and hip-hop today. And while this strategy may help artists boost each other up the charts, it posed a major problem during R. Kelly's concert Friday at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont.

Particularly, the self-proclaimed Pied Piper of R&B could barely perform an entire song. On many of today's chart-topping songs like "Hotel," Kelly sings the catchy hook. But it is rappers like Kid Cassidy who perform the verses. So after the singer jogged triumphantly on stage, trailed by about 15 stoic men holding signs that proclaimed Kelly "champ" or "the R in R&B," he burst into an essential melody of his contributions...