Black Panties | ||||||||||
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Studio album by R. Kelly | ||||||||||
Released | December 6, 2013 | |||||||||
Recorded | 2011–13 | |||||||||
Genre | ||||||||||
Length | 49:09 | |||||||||
Label | RCA | |||||||||
Producer |
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R. Kelly chronology | ||||||||||
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Singles from Black Panties | ||||||||||
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Professional ratings | |
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Aggregate scores | |
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 61/100 |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | |
Chicago Tribune | |
Consequence of Sound | |
Entertainment Weekly | B |
Exclaim! | 4/10 |
HipHopDX | |
The Independent | |
Slant Magazine | |
Spin | 5/10 |
USA Today |
Black Panties is the twelfth studio album by American R&B singer R. Kelly. It was released in the United States on December 10, 2013, by RCA Records. The album features guest appearances from Ludacris, 2 Chainz, Young Jeezy, Migos, Kelly Rowland, Juicy J and Future.
Black Panties, as says Kelly, "is the new 12 Play (1993)", and that it is different from his previous albums Love Letter (2010) and Write Me Back (2012). In October 2013, in an interview with Rolling Stone, R. Kelly spoke about why he wanted to make the album sound similar to his 1993 debut album, 12 Play, saying: "I love that I can play around with all types of music. I did Love Letter and Write Me Back and those were fun albums for me to do, because they took me back to music I love. But, I wanted to change lanes with this new album and remind people of the TP-2.com and 12 Play style of music I can do — 'Kellz music!' I like that I can change lanes and do all different kinds of music. Fans can never accuse R. Kelly of doing the same thing, I keep mixing it up." In December 2013, in an interview with Billboard, R. Kelly spoke about why he decided to name the album Black Panties, saying: "I’m on stage doing the Love Letter tour and I was singing “Seems Like You're Ready”. Every time I'm singing, panties start flying out of everywhere. Seriously. But this particular night, a pair of mediums came out of the sky and they were black and they landed on my wrist. Immediately I looked at that and looked up like “that’s a sign”. Yeah, the idea hit me right away." Collaborator Jeremih revealed in an interview that he had not been in the studio together with Kelly for the recording process of "Switch Up", but described the working experience as "dope".