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R. Kelly Rushed Back to Chicago After Falling Ill

'Unclear' how long singer will be sidelined

R. Kelly performs at FOX's 'The X Factor' Top 3 Live Performance Show in Hollywood.
Ray Mickshaw/FOX via Getty Images
June 28, 2012 10:10 AM ET

R. Kelly was rushed back to his hometown Chicago on Wednesday for medical treatement after falling ill while en route to New York. The singer had been scheduled for a press tour in support of his new memoir, Soulacoaster: The Diary of Me. 

"Initial indications are that he is suffering from complications from surgery he had last year to treat an abscess on his vocal cords," reads a statement released on behalf of the singer. "It is unclear how long Kelly may be sidelined."

A book launch party and signing in New York were cancelled, as well as appearances on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and the Today show.

Kelly's latest album, the throwback-soul set Write Me Back, was also released this week.

Read an exclusive excerpt from Soulacoaster, in which Kelly recalls his encounters with the Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac, here.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

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Song Stories

“V.T.T.L.O.T.F.D.G.F.”

Fishbone | 1985

Quite a few musicians have utilized initials for song titles -- Michael Jackson's "P.Y.T.," Abba's "S.O.S.," Donald Fagen's "I.G.Y.," etc. But the more curiously initialed tune has to be "V.T.T.L.O.T.F.D.G.F.," short for "Voyage to the Land of the Freeze-Dried Godzilla Farts." Fishbone's original guitarist, Kendall Jones, explained to Rolling Stone, "When Norwood [Fisher] wrote it, he introduced it to the band saying, 'Man, I've been hearing about all these Nazi right-wing groups on the news saying the Holocaust was staged. So what if America said it never dropped two atom bombs on Japan, that it was actually Godzilla popping a couple off?' Only Norwood would come up with something that out." The same year "V.T.T.L.O.T.F.D.G.F." was released, the film Godzilla 1985 appeared in North America.

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