R. Kelly flies: and talks about women, money, power and religion

Ebony, Sept, 1998 by Kevin Chappell

Kelly now reveals that while his comments at the Franklin concert came from the heart, they were blown out of proportion. He says that he is moving closer to God everyday. But making it from tile party to the Promised Land is a long journey, a journey filled with exercises in "being consistent about being consistent."

One of his first steps has been to learn how to sell records without selling his soul. "When you're successful, especially if you went into it without really having God or church in your life, it's hard," he says. "But I'm at the point now where I'm saying, `I know I got famous from doing these sex songs, but I know there is a God; I believe there is a God.'"

It would be "ludicrous," he says, to come out with a gospel album at this point in his career. "I would be setting me up, my fans up, and lying to God," he says. "You have to be grounded and groomed for something as big as that. You have to take a step at a time."

Kelly says a large step was taken last year when he sat down to write "I Believe I Can Fly," a timeless tune that became one of the biggest songs of the year, and continues to be quoted by pastors, scholars and parents alike. He reveals--for the first time--that he wrote the song in only three hours. "I really do believe that God wrote that song because it was so special when it came to me," he says. "It was not like any of the other songs I've written. I was going through a of things when this song came to me. It was really ministering to me. It made me feel good and gave me life. It made me feel better than anybody ... It was more powerful than anything I've ever had anything to do with. That's why I feel like I didn't have anything to do with it. I was just tile one used for that particular song to come out for my own self and for others as well."

The next step for Kelly is the launch of his new record label, Rock Land Records, and the release of his new CD, which he says is "nowhere near gospel," but is lighter on the explicit sex talk. "It's an R&B album. It's a relationship album. It's a love album," he says. "There's one gospel song on the album dedicated to my mom (Joann Kelly, who died of cancer in 1993). It's a special song to me. Just like `Trade in My Life.' For some reason, I always come up with a song--I never search for songs--but for some reason, I always come with some type of gospel song to put on my album."

Kelly says he has come to realize the importance of making music that he can identify with. "I love the music that I make ... and I believe that's why other people love it. Because whatever comes from the heart reaches the heart, whether good or bad. Sometimes it may not be as good as it should be...but if it's reality--whether it's sexual or whether it's religious or believing in yourself--then that's what I'll sing about."

His advice to his fans--to take what he does for what it is: entertainment. "When you go to the show and see an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie and you see him break 24 arms or shoot 24 people, it's a movie. When you leave out, you say it's a movie and this is what show biz is all about," he says. "When people see me perform and I say certain things or do certain things, it doesn't mean I leave the stage and do what I was doing on the stage all day and all night. It's show business. That's the way it is. I think people shouldn't get so deep into what R. Kelly is doing. If you like it, you like it. You buy it, you buy it. If you don't, you don't."