The Chicago-born R&B legend known for his soulful sound and carnal lyrics is back in the news. And this time it’s not for having sex with and/or urinating on underage girls. It’s for charity. R. Kelly, responsible for hits like “Sex Me,” “Bump n’ Grind,” “Feelin’ on Yo Booty,” and “Kickin’ It With Your Girlfriend” has scripted a tribute song to the victims of the April 16 Virginia Tech massacre. The track is called “Rise Up,” a title that makes me wonder whether R. is singing about healing and grief after a tragedy or well…his penis. Because R. Kelly never seemed like the most charitable of people, unless you consider donating his own liquid waste matter as charity. He has made a career out of singing about sex, that’s all, and “Rise Up” just seems like it could have been a song he has had on reserve for a while. But anyway, R.’s label, Jive Records, told the press that while the singer was on tour, he was so moved by the television coverage of the Virginia Tech shootings, that he was moved to write a song. It has not yet been confirmed whether the balladeer kicked the two 14-year-old girls out of his tour bus before putting pen to paper. A snippet of the new track is available on R.’s MySpace page which, by the way, is worth checking out. His “Friend Space” should be titled “R. Kelly’s Scantily Clad African-American Female Space.” My favorites are “Bambi Brown” and “I’m the Truth.” The full single will be released for download on May 15 and all the proceeds will go to the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund. R.’s new album, Double Up drops on May 29. Hopefully R. won’t be dropping anything in the near future other than this album.
•E!: R. Kelly Releases VA Tech Tribute