Write Me Back
| Write Me Back | ||||
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| Studio album by R. Kelly | ||||
| Released | June 25, 2012 | |||
| Studio | Sylvester Stone Studios, The Chocolate Factory, Chicago; MilkBoy The Studio, Philadelphia | |||
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| Length | 46:20 | |||
| Label | RCA | |||
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| R. Kelly chronology | ||||
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| Alternate cover | ||||
Deluxe edition cover
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| Singles from Write Me Back | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    |
| Chicago Tribune | |
| Entertainment Weekly | A– |
| The Independent | |
| Los Angeles Times | |
| NME | 6/10 |
| Pitchfork Media | 6.5/10 |
| Rolling Stone | |
| Slant Magazine | |
| Spin | 7/10 |
Write Me Back is the eleventh studio album by American R&B recording artist R. Kelly, released on June 25, 2012, by RCA Records. It was written and produced primarily by Kelly as the follow-up to his 2010 album Love Letter. He recorded Write Me Back at Sylvester Stone Studios and The Chocolate Factory in Chicago, and at MilkBoy The Studio in Philadelphia. It expands on its predecessor's traditional R&B aesthetic and incorporates musical influences such as Philadelphia soul and elements of Chicago stepping. Thematically, the album generally deals with love, its redemptive power, and its complications.
The album debuted at number five on the US Billboard 200, selling 68,000 copies in its first week, and ultimately spent 17 weeks on the chart. It was promoted with three singles—"Share My Love", "Feelin' Single" and "When a Man Lies". Upon its release, Write Me Back received generally positive reviews from music critics, who complimented its music and Kelly's singing. As of August 15, 2012, it has sold 141,300 copies in the United States.
At the end of his supporting tour for Love Letter, Kelly underwent emergency throat surgery in July 2011 to drain an abscess on one of his tonsils. He recovered, and in August, announced that his next album will be called Black Panties, a sexually charged album in the same vein of his 1993 debut album, 12 Play. However, he deviated from that plan in January 2012 by announcing Write Me Back as his next album. He recorded the album at Sylvester Stone Studios and The Chocolate Factory in Chicago, and at MilkBoy The Studio in Philadelphia.
Write Me Back expands on its predecessor's traditional R&B aesthetic with 1970s influences, particularly Philadelphia soul and elements of Chicago stepping. Its title is a reference to that album's title. The music is also characterized by uptempo drum programming and smooth keyboard lines. Nitush Abebe of New York observes "frictionless glide and delicacy, all the strings and horns caressing around the margins, of late-seventies Philly soul greats and Quincy Jones productions." The album's primary subject matter is love, with exhortations about its redemptive power and its complications. Abebe writes of this theme, "There's love as inspiration and redemption, love as strangled by manipulative men or undercommitted women, love as universal party, love as rotted from the inside by apathy or envy."
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