Multi-Genre Expedition: R. Kelly's TP.3 Reloaded

R. KELLY: TP.3 RELOADED 

SCORE: 50/100

R. Kelly's seventh album came despite the flurry of controversy and crime he was involved in, and 'TP.3 Reloaded' was the result - an unpredictable and downright comical album that does have some catchy songs, but at what cost? 

It can't be ignored that this is the album that spawned the infamous Trapped in the Closet saga (which is... pretty much the only worthwhile thing that Kelly has made) - with five of the now 33 chapters being present within the very end of the album. The rest of the album is a surprisingly bouncy 2000's R&B album with some elements of hip-hop and crunk, and the production here is predictable for the time; but not predictable for Kelly, with this album being much more full of energy than a lot of his more well-known slow jams.

This album is much more hip-hop oriented than expected, with features like Snoop Dogg and The Game opening up the album with elements of genres like crunk, new jack swing, and g-funk making an album full of variety and unique choices. It's a solidly fluid album with enough substance to be enjoyable - but Kelly lacks much definition at all, and the album feels more like one big posse cut than an actual project by a soloist; Kelly's vocals are not particularly striking on moments of the album, and it's a surprisingly "different" project than what many people would expect from his discography. 

Thinking about the things that R. Kelly had gotten away with and done up to this point in his career makes the fact that this album even got released become quite disturbing, from his illegal marriage to Aaliyah (who was a minor at the time, while he was 27 years of age) to his famous case of leaked footage, this album feels deeply insensitive - and it backs how Kelly truly just saw himself as a "playboy" without any repercussions. 

Kelly's songwriting is awfully direct without much substance at all, with his writing making his music entirely comedic - In the Kitchen is just as comically direct as all of Trapped in the Closet; and it's clear that Kelly thinks that he is a higher symbol than he ever should have been given credit for. His vocals are solid, but overshined by horrific crimes, terribly surface-level songwriting, and highly standard R&B production that provides nothing new to the massive catalogue of albums in the genre. 

It feels like not even he knew what to do with his music, with songs ranging from bouncy crunk, attempts at romance, and dancehall..? It's a creative mess, and it lacks any structure at all - the entire album from front to back is a massive mess and a massive misfire, but the songs taken out of the context of the album are enjoyable enough to make it so that this album isn't completely god-awful.