R. Kelly Preps For New Album With Debut Mixtape, "Demo"

Ever since R. Kelly was acquitted of child pornography charges, the Chocolate Factory foreman has been hibernating. His rumored new album 12 Play: Fourth Quarter never surfaced in the tail end of 2008 as expected, and besides the supposed Kelly and T.I. Detox track that leaked ̬ which reportedly won't be on Dr. Dre's long-delayed Detox — we haven't heard much from the crooner. That's about to change becasue Kelly, with the help of DJ Skee and Gangsta Grillz mastermind DJ Drama, is releasing The Demo Tape, which finds Kelly remixing some of hip-hop's biggest current hits as well as dropping some new tracks, like "Tip The Waiter" (watch it above).

According to MTV, The Demo Tape is Kelly's first ever mixtape, and he's recruited some of the best DJs with Skee and Drama on board. Among the hits that get the Kelly treatment are Lil Wayne's "Every Girl," Drake's "Best I Ever Had," Keri Hilson's "Turning Me On," songs by Akon and The-Dream plus Jeremih's debut single "Birthday Sex." New tracks include "Superman High" featuring OJ Da Juiceman, "Club To The Bedroom," and "Playaz in Da Club" with Plies. "I wanted to do something different," Kelly told MTV. "I wanted to get closer to the streets. It's the first time an R&B artist has done a mixtape on this level. It's a way to start over and give my fans something new and fresh again. I think it's great for music!"

"He's coming back with a new generation of the music business, a new generation of music. All these kids coming up are up on other stuff. He wanted to come back out and get everyone familiar on who he is," DJ Skee added. "It's your boy Kells, and I want y'all to get ready for that new album, coming in September, because I'm about to drop some real R&B R. Kelly shit on y'all," Kelly hints at the end of his remix of "Best I Ever Had," "So get ready."

Kelly is reportedly almost finished with his "untitled" next album that will remain nameless because, as Rock Daily previously reported, Kelly told an Atlanta crowd, "I'm calling that muthafucka Untitled. Y'all call it what y'all want."

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Song Stories

“Smells Like Teen Spirit”

Nirvana | 1991

"Smells Like Teen Spirit," named after a brand of deodorant marketed to girls, was Kurt Cobain's attempt to "write the ultimate pop song," he said, using the soft-loud dynamic of his favorite band, the Pixies. Cobain "had that dichotomy of punk rage and alienation," the song’s producer, Butch Vig, told Rolling Stone, "but also this vulnerable pop sensibility. In 'Teen Spirit,' a lot of that vulnerability is in the tone of his voice." Sadly, by the time of Nirvana's last U.S. tour, in late '93, Cobain was tortured by the obligation to play "Teen Spirit" every night. "There are many other songs that I have written that are as good, if not better," he claimed.

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