R. Kelly’s bootleg album ‘I Admit It’ pulled from streaming services

The new R. Kelly bootleg album, ‘I Admit It’, has been taken down from major streaming services.

On Friday (December 9), a new 13-track album from the jailed singer appeared on Spotify, Apple Music and more, with both the singer’s team and his label going on to deny responsibility for the release.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Kelly’s Jennifer Bonjean claimed the released material was “stolen music,” adding: “A police report was filed some time ago because his masters were stolen, but there’s not much of an appetite to investigate these things. People have had access to his intellectual property rights that they are attempting to profit off of, but unfortunately that does not include Mr. Kelly.”

She added: “When he was arrested, he had studio equipment that was taken. His masters are missing. The music is somewhere out there, but who has it and who has profited off it — we don’t know entirely.”

Now, the album has been pulled from all streaming services. According to Variety, a rep for Spotify said the album “has been removed from the platform at the request of the distributor”.

The 13-track, 56-minute album is named after a 19-minute song he released in 2018 with the intention to “set the fuckin’ record straight” about allegations made against him at the time. Kelly has since been sentenced to 30 years in prison following his conviction on charges of sex trafficking and racketeering.

After appearing on streaming on Friday, Sony Music denied knowledge of the album and told Variety that it is an unofficial release, despite the album being attributed to Legacy Recordings – a division of Sony – on streaming services.

Last month, R. Kelly’s manager Donnell Russell was sentenced to 20 months in prison after pleading guilty to stalking and harassing one of the singer’s sexual abuse victims.

Kelly was also ordered to pay at least $309,000 (£287,000) in restitution to two of his victims in October, while being found guilty of child pornography and obstruction charges this month.

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