R. Kelly was born on January 8, 1969 and grew up in Chicago. Even though the odds were against Kelly as he grew up in the projects of Chicago, getting shot during a mugging and the guidance of his mother and a teacher helped Kelly stay away from gangs and turn to basketball and eventually music. In the mid-90s, R. Kelly rose out as a solo act into the limelight of R&B and pop radio with his smooth style and songwriting.

• At the turn of the decade, Kelly was making money performing his music to an audience - it was on the streets of Chicago, but the money was increasing. Kelly's big break came while he was singing at a friend's barbecue in front of other guests that included a representative from Jive Records. Soon Kelly signed with the record label.

• Kelly, as a member ofPublic Announcement, released Born Into The 90's . The LP went platinum and contained the hits "She's Got That Vibe," "Dedicated," "Honey Love," and "Slow Dance (Hey Mr. DJ)."

• Born Into The 90's was certified gold.

• Born Into The 90's was certified platinum.

• By the end of the year, R. Kelly was on his own and in November he released 12 Play . Kelly's sexy lyrics took him the top of the pop charts with "Bump N' Grind" and found success with the tracks "Your Body's Callin'" and "Sex Me (Parts I & II)." The LP went on to sell over 5 million copies in the U.S.

• The single "Sex Me (Parts I & II)" was certified gold.

• 12 Play was certified platinum.

• R. Kelly hit the Top 40 with " Bump N' Grind ."

• 12 Play was certified platinum and the single "Bump And Grind" was certified platinum.

• Kelly hit the Top 40 with " Your Body's Callin' ."

• While Kelly continued to reap the rewards of a his hit LP throughout the year, he also produced the debut LP by Aaliyah . By the end of the summer, rumors of a marriage between Kelly and the 15-year old songstress had surfaced.

• 12 Play was certified 3x platinum.

• The single " Your Body's Callin' '" was certified gold.

• Kelly found himself on the top of pop and R&B charts again,but this time as songwriter and co-producer for Michael Jackson 's "You Are Not Alone."

• 12 Play was certified 4x platinum.

• In November, Kelly released R. Kelly . The LPreflected a change for Kelly with less emphasis on suggestive and sexual lyrics, and help from gospel singer, Kirk Franklin , and rapper, The NotoriousB.I.G.

• R. Kelly was certified 2x platinum and the single "You Remind Me Of Something" was certified platinum.

• Kelly hit the Top 40 with " Down Low (Nobody Has To Know)."

• The single " Down Low (Nobody Has To Know) " was certified platinum.

• 12 Play was certified 5x platinum and R. Kelly was certified 3x platinum.

• Hits fromR. Kelly including "I Can't Sleep Baby (If I)," "You Remind Me Of Something" and "Down Low" kept Kelly on the charts throughout the year.

• The single "I Can't Sleep (If I)" was certified platinum.

• Kelly began the year at a Kirk Franklin concert announcing that his musical direction was now directed at the Lord instead of the libido. Kelly was back on radio airwaves with his Top 10 hit, "I Believe I Can Fly" from the Space Jams soundtrack and "Gotham City" from theBatman And Robin soundtrack.

• The single "I Believe I Can Fly" was certified platinum.

• The single "Gotham City" was certified gold.

• R. Kelly was certified 4x platinum.

• R. Kelly took home 3 Grammy Awards for Best R&B Song, Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture, and Best Male R&B Vocal Performance ("I Believe I Can Fly") and was also nominated for Record Of The Year and Song of the Year ("I Believe I Can Fly").

• R. Kelly won a BMI Award for Pop Songwriter of the Year ("I Believe I Can Fly, " "I Can't Sleep Baby (If I)," and "I Don't Want To" (recorded byToni Braxton )).

• Kelly was arrested in Chicago for disorderly conduct for a loud car stereo. Kelly reportedly refused to turn down his stereo and got verbally abusive.

• 2 of the 3 charges were dropped (including disorderly conduct), but Kelly was still charged with a noise violation.

• The noise violation charges were dropped with no explanation given.

• Kelly released the double set,R. with the first single " I'mYour Angel " - a duet with Celine Dion- hitting the Top 40.

• R. was certified 3x platinum and the single " I'm Your Angel " was certified platinum and hit the Top 10 .

• R. was certified 4x platinum. Kelly hit #1 with " I'm Your Angel " (with Celine Dion ) and the Top 40 with " When A Woman's Fed Up"

• At theGrammy Awards R. Kelly was nominated for a Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals (" I'm Your Angel " (with Celine Dion and Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal ("Lean On Me" (with Kirk Franklin , Mary J. Blige , Bono , &Crystal Lewis.

• R. Kelly was certified 5x platinum.

• R. Kelly won 2 Soul Train Music Awards for Best R&B/Soul Album, Male ( R.) and the Sammy Davis Jr. Entertainer of the Year Award. Kelly was also and nominated for a Soul Train Music Award for Best R&B/Soul Single, Male ("Half On A Baby").

• R. Kelly was named R&B Artist of the Year at the Source Hip-Hip Music Awards. R. was certified 5x platinum.

• R. Kelly hit the Top 40 as featured onPuff Daddy 's " Satisfy You " and with his own hit, " If I Could Turn Back The Hands Of Time."

• R. Kelly won a Billboard Music Award for R&B/Hip-Hop Artist of the Year.

• R. Kelly won an American Music Award for Favorite Male Soul/R&B Artist. Kelly returned to the Top 40 featured on Puff Daddy 's " Satisfy You ."

• Kelly was nominated for a few Grammy Awards for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance (" When A Woman's Fed Up "), Best R&B Album ( R. ) and Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group ("Satisfy You" with Puff Daddy ).

• R. Kelly won a Soul Train Music Award for Best R&B/Soul or Rap Album ( R. ).

• R. was certified 6x platinum.

• R. Kelly could be heard on the soundtrack for Shaft with"Bad Man."

• TP2.com

  R. Kelly's next LP, TP-2.com was released and hit #1 on the Billboard 200 LP Chart and the Billboard R&B / Hip-Hop Chart. R. Kelly hit #1 on Billboard's R&B Chart with "I Wish."