These are the slides for a talk I gave 10/9/2012 at the Hungry Brain in Chicago for Homeroom Chicago's R. Kelly 101. To listen to the complete evening go here: http://www.mediageek.net/sound/sellout/JennyAndPaulSellOut-12.mp3

1. It’s
Complicated:
R. Kelly’s
Road to
Trapped in the
Closet
(Remix)
Jenny Benevento
@jennybento
jennyjenny.org
selloutpodcast.com

4. David Ritz

5. "I tape everything, but once I get their rhythms down, I
throw away the transcripts and start writing in their
voices," he says. "It's artifice, but it still has to feel genuine.
You can hear people's voices in their work. Ray's speaking
voice came right out of his singing. Cornel West has a very
musical voice, like a preacher. With Buddy Guy, his voice
comes out of his guitar — his riffs and the way he bends
and cuts off the notes. It's all there.You just have to hear it."
-David Ritz

6. “If they just want to build a
monument, I walk away.
Sometimes it's
tough...ultimately the artist
is entitled to their own
interpretation of their life."
He mentions Billie
Holiday's autobiography,
"Lady Sings the Blues" (co-
written by William Dufty).
"It was excoriated for
being inaccurate, but it's
still invaluable, because it's
her view of her life."-Ritz

7. Dichotomies
sex jams/church music
mama’s boy/thug
writer/illiterate
musical genius/laughable lyrics
anti-cheating/pro-cheating
no wrongdoing/pleas of forgiveness
adult themes/obsession with childhood

8. Joann Kelly

9. Musical Influence

10. Mr. Blue

11. As a kid, I had a
lot of secrets.
Some were
terrible, some
were beautiful,
some were both.
There were so
many secrets to
stuff into my
imaginary box,
that I was running
out of room.

12. Hiding Your
Secrets
Downlow
Trapped in
the
“Closet”

13. Characters Based
on Family

15. "Whenever my mother
and I talked over tea, I
remember how she
would leave her lipstick
print on the teacup.
Seeing that moved me
for reasons I'm not
even sure I
understand. So when
I'm out with a young
lady, chillin', and
drinking tea, if she's
wearing lipstick and
leaves her print on the
cup, I find myself falling
in love with her--at
least for the moment."

16. McDonald’s is his
safe space

17. Pivotal McDonald’s Moments
street performances
When blowing off talk shows
Purchasing the McD House
After being acquitted
During the middle of his Jay-Z concert
While children are born

18. Ms. McLin
Jealousy
Lulu
Death
Chance
Adult womanhood

20. 1992

21. 1993

22. 1994

23. 1997
1995

24. 1996

25. 2000

26. 2002

27. 2003

28. 2004

29. 2005

30. 2007
2009

31. 2010

32. 2010

33. 2010

34. 2012

35. Barry White Isley Brothers
Celine Dion
Whitney Houston
Toni Braxton
Life Soundtrack
Janet Jackson
Batman & Robin soundtrack
Michael Jackson

37. R Kelly
Has Issues
These
issues make
his music
possible.

38. He wants you
to want him.
He needs you
to need him.

39. "I'm at my best when
I'm wanted...and no
good when I'm not.
That's my
kryptonite--when I'm
not wanted."

40. “I love going
where I’m
celebrated, not
just tolerated”

41. He really likes
children’s media

45. “Welcome to the room I call the Log Cabin, the beating
heart of my recording studio, the Chocolate Factory.”

46. dollhouse

48. "There are two sides to all
of us.
Everybody's struggling with
something.
Nobody's perfect!"

49. Sex
&
Church
Pimpin
&
Proselytizing
Cheating
&
Devotion

50. Jenny Benevento
@jennybento
jennyjenny.org
selloutpodcast.com