8 Embarrassing Adult Re-Inventions From Famous Musicians

2. R Kelly

R Kelly has a musical career stretching all the way back to the early 90s; he has won Grammies, he's written several huge songs including but not limited to Michael Jackson's You Are Not Alone and his own I Believe I Can Fly. He is still popular even today, featuring on Lady Gaga's latest album and also continually racking up views on his Youtube channel, with quite a few of those going towards his "hip hopera" Trapped In The Closet. But people are not watching Trapped In The Closet because it is a heartbreaking work of staggering genius. They are watching it because it is a car crash from beginning to end. This behemoth of banality, this towering pile of the twin evils of bad acting and bad rhyming with a critical levels of melodrama, is Kelly's attempt to immortalise himself, to leave the world with an ode to his genius. It is an attempt to branch out and push the boundaries of hip-hop and music in general, and in that sense it should be applauded, as taking risks in your work is a brave thing to do. But Trapped In The Closet has, unfortunately for Kelly, become a cult favourite in the way that the film The Room has become a cult classic: It is terrible. It is so bad, so utterly awful, so incredibly tedious, that it is actually hilarious to watch. Do yourself a favour, go to Youtube and sit through at least one chapter of R Kelly's Der Ring Des Nibelungen. You will thank me. R Kelly tried to write something that would make us all sit up and take notice of him; it did, but definitely not in the way he wanted.