Singer R. Kelly has a new album ready for the public. Since he is no longer under contract at Sony, however, he has to find a new distributor to release it.
As Blavity previously reported, all traces of the "I Believe I Can Fly" crooner's catalog were removed from the Sony/RCA website on January 18. Kelly was initially signed to Jive in 1990 but became a part of the RCA family in 2012 when Sony acquired the label.
Billboard writes Kelly's newest project was recorded while he was still signed to Sony. As part of his severance agreement with the record company, Kelly assumed ownership of his unreleased records. However, he has reportedly yet to find a new record company to release his next album.
Since the Lifetime docuseries Surviving R. Kelly premiered earlier this month, the singer has faced mounting backlash over allegations he is a sexual predator. Earlier this week, Blavity reported the FBI had opened a formal investigation into the artist to look into accusations Kelly organized a cross-country trip for a teenage girl to sleep with her.
The anonymous source who spoke with Billboard about the new album claimed the Chocolate Factory singer had been searching for a new label well before Surviving R. Kelly premiered.
The source did not go into whether there remains an audience for Kelly's music, given the Mute R. Kelly campaign's push to have the singer's songs removed from rotation on radio stations and streaming platforms. BuzzFeed reports the campaign has been successful with many of the U.S.' top hip-hop stations deciding to stop playing R. Kelly music.
When pressed for a statement, an attorney for the songwriter refused to elaborate on Kelly's next steps.
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