[Video] R. Kelly Performs on Jimmy Kimmel + "Black Panties" Stream

R. Kelly essentially took over 'The Jimmy Kimmel Show' last night, performing three songs from his recently-released album Black Panties ("Genius", "You Deserve Better", "My Story"), with some help from 2 Chainz. Along with the songs, there was also a passionate reading of the lyrics to "Genius", as performed by Benedict Cumberbatch and Kellz even recreated the album artwork to Black Panties by posing onstage while playing a woman like a violin. . . only R. Kelly. This is the same guy who dry-humped Lady Gaga a couple weeks ago on national television and who released an album that will have you needing a shower and a cigarette afterwards, so no real surprise here. Check out the video of all three songs below, along with a full stream of R. Kelly's twelfth studio album.

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Twista:

[Video] Twista: "Intro Freestyle"

Twista, long one of the pillars of the Chicago hip-hop scene since entering the game in the late '90s with Do Or Die, Kanye and the old guard of the Windy City. Seemingly re-invigorated by the new crop of artists blossoming in his hometown, Twista has headed back to the studio to work on his forthcoming EP, Back to Basics. It's a fitting title for the 100 word-per-second MC, formerly known as Tung Twista in his early days, who had been largely quiet before jumping on Chance The Rapper's "Cocoa Butter Kisses" track with Vic Mensa and doing a feature with another fellow Chicagoan when he added a verse to R. Kelly's "Throwin' My Money" before hopping on Lady Gaga's "Jewels and Drugs". He literally goes back to his early days, linking back up with Adrenaline Rush producer, Legendary Traxster for this latest release.

After celebrating his birthday this weekend taking in Chance's show at The Riviera on Chicago's north side last Wednesday, the self-described fastest rapper in the world released the Traxster-produced intro off Back to the Basics, a prelude to his major-label release, Dark Horse, his first such album since 2010s The Perfect Storm. Catch the "Intro Freestyle" to Back to the Basics below and keep a look out for Dark Horse, out

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R. Kelly: "Lights On"

R. Kelly has had quite a lead up to his latest release, Black Panties. After enjoying a summer which saw him headline both Bonaroo and Pitchfork festivals, a slew of new videos and his dry hump of Lady Gaga last week on Saturday Night Live, it's safe to say Kellz is back. Yesterday he dropped the latest single from his reportedly and not surprising over-sexed fantasy album. On "Lights On" the Chicago crooner talks about his love of keeping things lit while under the sheets. Check it out below and keep an eye out for the Black Panties release December 10.

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R. Kelly: "My Story Remix" (feat. Katie Got Bandz & Rockie Fresh)

So, R. Kelly spent his weekend similarly to how you would expect R. Kelly to spend a weekend; casually dry humping Lady Gaga on national television in front of a shocked Saturday Night Live audience. He also dropped a song with South American graffiti-king Justin Bieber. Clearly getting back into the spotlight, the Pied Piper made sure to brings things back to that "Chi-Town dirt" with his remix of the Summer Chi anthem featuring fellow locals Rockie Fresh and Katie Got Bandz. Its an impressive cosign for the city's vibrant hip-hop scene that Kellz dropped the original 2 Chainz feature in favor of Katie and Rockie. Check out the song below and cop that Black Panties release on December 10.


Bruno Mars: "Gorilla (G-Mix)" (feat. Pharrell & R. Kelly)

Look at God! Although unexpected, I don't think anyone is mad at this G-Mix of Bruno Mars' smash "Gorilla" off of his sophomore album, Unorthodox Jukebox featuring the almighty R. Kelly and Pharrell. On the remix, Kellz delivers a sexciting verse as expected while Mr. Williams heavenly floats all over this bedroom anthem.

This [already] banger just got a tune up - listen to the "Gorilla" the G-Mix below.

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Lady Gaga: "Do What U Want" (feat. R. Kelly)

Lady Gaga is known as an unapologetic artist who's not afraid to get raunchy, so a collaboration with the king of R&B shouldn't be that much of a surprise to music aficionados. That's right, the multi-platinum songstress has linked up with none other than R. Kelly and the two are not holding anything back in "Do What U Want". The song will find itself in Gaga's forthcoming album ARTPOP and it's produced by Chicago's own DJ White Shadow.

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R. Kelly: "Cookie"

R. Kelly has never been shy about being sexual. After all, he famously released "Ignition Remix" during a sexual assault trial, complete with the line "Let me stick my key in your ignition" much to his attorney's misgivings. Anyway, the Pied Piper is back with yet another single off his upcoming album, Black Panties due out November 11 and, once again, he's not holding anything back. Check out "Cookie" courtesy of Audiomack below.


[Sunday Coffee Sipper] Kanye West: "Everything I Am Made Me Everything I'm Not"

Just as sure as September brings a chill to the air in Chicago, another Kanye West-induced pop culture drama has played out in the media, this one in the wake of his Twitter rant pointed at Jimmy Kimmel. He doubled his Twitter output in ten minutes, coming off childish and innocuous. It's become the norm for West, who has had a double major in music and media relations in the years since his dropout made him famous.

Since the passing of his mother Donda in 2008 and break up of his longtime relationship with fiancée Alexis Phifer soon after West has been strikingly different in his actions and music, beginning with his pilgrimage to Honolulu for three weeks while recuperating and crafting 808s and Heartbreaks. He left the mainland with a heavy heart and arrived back with an attitude and auto-tune. What followed was a cacophony of public relations missiles that would have derailed most any other career. In a story for Pitchfork this week, Ernest Baker noted that Kanye has been in the game, at the top of the game, for just nearly a decade. In that time his career has intertwined itself into our daily lexicon. Hurricane Katrina, Taylor Swift, the Kardashians: it all feels like a big charade. But, as West displayed this week, it's a charade he's willing to throw anyone under the bus for.

He named his first album College Dropout and used soul samples and clever hooks and bars to capture America and an entire generation that would grow up with seminal Kanye records every few years. College Dropout came out in 2004 as I was entering high school, figuring out what music was after binging on 2pac and Biggie for my middle school years. Graduation was released in September of 2007 as I was preparing for exactly what the title inferred. Standing in Union Park on Sunday at Pitchfork festival this year watching R. Kelly do what seemed like his entire discography, I felt as though each song represented a different grade, life experience, etc. West is certainly in the same rarefied air, although I'm still not sure I connect to Yeezus the same way as the rest of his body of work.

"Lock yourself in a room doin' 5 beats a day for 3 summers, that'sA Different World like Cree Summer's, I deserve to do these numbers/the kid that made that, deserves that Maybach." Listening to "Spaceship" now it's obvious that a young Kanye is predicting the future. He has had his eye on the throne on which he is currently perched for a long time. To him it was and is deserved and perhaps helps explain some of his erratic behavior over the years, a sense of entitlement that existed since the early days of 'Ye.

To be sure, it was the car accident that inspired the now-iconic "Through the Wire" track that gave the artist the kind of passion and drive that only near death experiences seem to provide. It's maybe why he feels the need to go bigger, feeling as though he cheated death. In his phone conversation with Kimmel the other day he allegedly referred to himself as 'Pac. 2pac, West is not, but a parallel can certainly be drawn between both artists actions after near-fatal experiences. Pac's surviving being shot five times, lead to the East/West rap feud and, ultimately, two caskets for the artists involved. In West's case the ability to cheat death has served as a launching board for everything that has come after. Where 'Pac pushed an agenda, talked militant, and ran with Suge Knight; Kanye rants at listening parties, fights paparazzi and dates a reality-TV star. In Ye's tweets to Kimmel he mentioned that Kimmel doesn't have to worry about people jumping over fences to take pictures of his daughter. Maybe not, but it's also a simple fact that those intrusions are a product of the life West has chosen for himself.

At the end of the day, none of this really matters to the subject of this article. Because, as he told us on Graduation, "Everything I'm not made me everything I am," the inverse may also prove to be true.