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A new R. Kelly compilation album titled ‘I Admit It’ emerges on streaming platforms — then gets yanked within hours.
A collection of R. Kelly songs appeared briefly on Apple Music and Spotify before it was taken down due to being an unauthorized release, according to the incarcerated singer’s attorney. The 13-track compilation appeared Friday with the provocative title, I Admit It, but legal representation for the musician has denied his involvement in the release. The tracks were little more than a compilation from Kelly’s archives, many of which had previously been officially posted online.
When the compilation appeared on digital platforms, it was listed as being released under Legacy Recordings, a label owned by Kelly’s former record company, Sony Music. Both Sony and Legacy have denied any involvement with the release. Additionally, it was revealed that the album was delivered to the streaming services through Universal Music-owned distributor Ingrooves.
Jennifer Bonjean, an attorney for Kelly, says that the compilation album is “music of Mr. Kelly’s that is in the hands of people who should not have it.” Bonjean explains that Kelly’s master recordings were stolen around the time of his arrest on sex crime charges in February 2019.
“People have stolen his music before, so this has happened, but usually it shows up on YouTube, or it’s usually, like, a track,” says Bonjean. “It was unusual because it was streaming on Spotify and Apple. We still don’t know why they started streaming it.”
Sources told Billboard that once executives at Ingrooves became aware that the bootleg album had been delivered through their platform, they requested streaming services to remove it. Ingrooves is now investigating how the record got through while ending its deal with the client who uploaded the album, Real Talk Entertainment, in Los Angeles.
It’s unclear how or why Real Talk Entertainment came to upload the album. However, Kelly allegedly sold several music rights to a childhood friend last year to stop them from being seized by a court order to pay damages to one of his sexual abuse victims in 2020.
Kelly is currently serving 30 years in prison after a New York jury found him guilty in June of sex trafficking and racketeering, stemming from nearly three decades worth of allegations. Additionally, a Chicago jury convicted him in September of child pornography and sex abuse charges in a second federal trial, for which his sentencing is in February.