Critical Response

R. Kelly received mostly positive reviews from music critics. Jim Derogatis of Rolling Stone wrote, Kelly "has grown out of his unthinking misogyny to the point where he makes a plea in 'As I Look Into My Life' to 'brothers in the ghetto' to 'love and respect that woman and bring her happiness.' Make love not war is an old message, but Kelly delivers it with sincerity. By spreading it in the hood in these violent times, he believes he's doing God's work, and who's to say he is wrong? Predecessors like Marvin Gaye

Marvin Gaye

Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. , better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye, was an American singer-songwriter and musician with a three-octave vocal range....

 and Prince

Prince (musician)

Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...

 have shown that great sex is spiritual, and Kelly's make-out music ranks with the best."

Awards & Nominations

American Music Awards

American Music Awards

-Conception:The AMAs were created by Dick Clark in 1973 to compete with the Grammys after the move of that year's show to Nashville, Tennessee led to CBS picking up the Grammy telecasts after its first two in 1971 and 1972 were broadcast on ABC...

 - 1997 Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist (nominated)

BMI Awards - 1998 Pop Songwriter of the Year (won) (I Believe I Can Fly

I Believe I Can Fly

"I Believe I Can Fly" is a 1996 song by R&B singer R. Kelly. The song was written, produced and performed by Kelly and was featured on the soundtrack to the 1996 film Space Jam. The song later appeared on Kelly's 1998 album R.....

, I Can't Sleep Baby (If I)

I Can't Sleep Baby (If I)

"I Can't Sleep Baby " is an R&B single by singer R. Kelly, from his 1995 album R. Kelly. The hit song spent two weeks as number one on the US R&B chart , reaching number five on the US Pop chart....

, and I Don't Want To

I Don't Want To

"I Don't Want To" is a song by American R&B singer Toni Braxton, released as the third single from her second studio album, Secrets . Written and produced by R. Kelly, this ballad describes the agony of a break-up. The single—released in the U.S...

 by Toni Braxton

Toni Braxton

Toni Michelle Braxton is an American R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Braxton has won six Grammy Awards, seven American Music Awards, and five Billboard Music Awards and has sold over 60 million records worldwide...

)

MTV Video Music Awards

MTV Video Music Awards

An MTV Video Music Award , is an award presented by the cable channel MTV to honor the best in music videos...

 - 1996 Best Male Video for "Down Low (Nobody Has to Know)" (nominated)

Track listing

In popular culture

In 1996, songs from this album were featured several times in the first season of the UPN

UPN

United Paramount Network was a television network that was broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States from 1995 to 2006. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries, the former of which, through the Paramount Television Group, produced most of the network's...

 sitcom Moesha

Moesha

Moesha is an American sitcom series that aired on the UPN network from January 23, 1996 to May 14, 2001. The series stars R&B singer Brandy Norwood as Moesha Mitchell, a high school student living with her family in the Leimert Park neighborhood of South Central Los Angeles.-Overview:The show...

. Hump Bounce featured in the third episode. Down Low (Nobody Has to Know)

Down Low (Nobody Has to Know)

"Down Low " is an R&B song about infidelity, released as a single by R. Kelly and featuring The Isley Brothers, on his self-titled album, in 1996...

was featured in the tenth episode and You Remind Me of Something

You Remind Me of Something

"You Remind Me of Something" is the title of a number-one R&B single by singer R. Kelly. As the lead single from his self-titled album, the hit song was the fourth song from Kelly to reach number-one on the US R&B chart where it stayed for a week, and peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100...

was mentioned in the fifth episode.

Chart positions

Year	Chart	Position
1995	The Billboard 200	1

See also

• List of number-one albums of 1995 (U.S.)
• List of number-one R&B albums of 1995 (U.S.)