R Kelly Untitled CD

After his aborted, internet-leaked 2008 album, 12 PLAY: 4TH QUARTER, R. Kelly busied himself with guest spots for Beyonce, T-Pain, and Kanye West, even offering a free download on iTunes, "I Believe," inspired by the election of president Barack Obama. While such moves insured that Kelly would never stray far from the R&B throne he's occupied for more than a decade, his 2009 reboot of 12 PLAY, UNTITLED, should provide more than enough reason for fans to keep coming back for more. From Auto Tune-laden crowd pleasers like "Outta the Game" and "Crazy Night" to rousing club-oriented numbers like "Echo," Kelly downplays the slower "baby-making" jams this time around for a set of largely up-tempo songs, capped by a sultry collaboration with Keri Hilson ("Number One").

Recording information: 4747et. Studio; Chung King Studios, NYC, NY; HeadQuarter Entertainment; Jack's Jumpoff, Miami, FL; Patchwerk Studios, Atlanta, GA; Rosehip Studios, Chicago, IL; Soupower Studios, Los Angeles, CA; The Chocolate Factory, Chicago, IL; Trod Nossel Studios, Wallingford, CT; Water Music, Hoboken, NJ; Willy Will's Spot, Atlanta, GA.

Photographer: Anthony Mandler.

Arranger: R. Kelly.

12 Play: 4th Quarter leaked well ahead of its intended release date, and "Hairbraider," its intended lead single, deservedly flopped, prompting R. Kelly and Jive to shelve the project. Over a year after the leak, and just in time for the 2009 holiday season shopping rush, a new R. album in the form of Untitled receives an official release, featuring a track list drastically different from that of the leaked album. Given that R. had maintained a relatively low profile since his June 2008 acquittal on child pornography charges, Untitled is his least eventful release in nearly a decade. Somewhat surprisingly, he leans on a lot of collaborations. He handles only two tracks by himself, farming out the production and songwriting assistance to an assortment of mostly up-and-coming figures who contribute to no more than a couple songs each. Perhaps R. needed the input from others to help reset his bearings and make a simple, concept-free, creatively unambitious R&B album. There's nothing outlandish about it, at least not by the R. Kelly standard. In fact, it's rather understated, heavy on slow jams with only a couple small surprises: the Jack Splash-produced "Be My #2," heavily reliant on a chunky, adroit disco-funk classic by Rhyze, and "Like I Do," where Carlos McKinney only slightly adjusts the swishing, gently rocking beat he made for J. Holiday's "Bed" -- a prime example of R. giving new life to a tired sound with little evident effort. He even humbles himself on the song, if only a little bit: "There's only two things in this world that I'm the best at, it's true. Number one is music, and baby girl, can't nobody work your body out like I do." He's coasting here, no doubt about it, but no one can coast like he can. ~ Andy Kellman