R Kelly’s I Admit It album was pulled from streaming services just hours after its release.
As pointed out by The Hollywood Reporter, the 13-track project unexpectedly dropped Friday morning on major platforms like Apple Music and Spotify; however, representatives for Sony Music claim the set was an unauthorized release that had nothing to do with its catalog division, Legacy Recordings.
Kelly’s attorney insisted the singer’s team was not involved in I Admit It’s release, and claimed the project was a bootleg version.
“It’s stolen music,” attorney Jennifer Bonjean told THR. “A police report was filed some time ago because his masters were stolen, but there’s not much of an appetite to investigate these things. People have had access to his intellectual property rights that they are attempting to profit off of, but unfortunately that does not include Mr. Kelly.”
She continued: “When he was arrested, he had studio equipment that was taken. His masters are missing. The music is somewhere out there, but who has it and who has profited off it — we don’t know entirely.”
I Admit It includes songs like “Last Man Standing,” “Where’s Love When You Need It,” “Freaky Sensation,” and the controversial title track in which he addresses domestic violence, pedophilia, and other sex crime allegations.
“What’s the definition of a cult? What’s the definition of a sex slave?” he sings in the 19-minute song, which was released in 2018 via SoundCloud. “Go to the dictionary, look it up/Let me know, I’ll be here waiting … I’m not gonna let y’all steal my joy/I’m just gon’ keep on doin’ me/Now I don’t know what else to say except ‘I’m so falsely accused’/Tell me, how can you judge when you’ve never walked in my shoes?”
Kelly received a 30-year prison sentenced back in June, after he was found guilty of racketeering and sex trafficking in a New York federal court. The 55-year-old is facing similar charges in Minnesota and Illinois.
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