In song, R. Kelly's sexual shenanigans are so outrageous, they border on parody. Listen to tunes like "The Greatest Sex," "Half on a Baby" or "Remote Control" - where he compares making love to operating a stereo - and it's as if the writers of "Saturday Night Live" had decided to write an R&B comedy album.
But for some reason, as downright crazy as his lyrics have been, there was something about the overall production that made them seem strangely sane. Maybe it was the superior musical production or Kelly's heartfelt delivery, but while "Feeling on Yo Booty" would have merited other singers a slap in the face, Kelly made it seem like a wholly romantic proposition.
That gift of turning smut into something magical is largely lost on Kelly's latest effort, "Double Up." Kelly makes monkey noises on "The Zoo" while rattling off lines like "It's like Jurassic Park and I'm your sexasaurus." On "Sex Planet" he croons "Girl I promise this will be painless, we'll take a trip to planet..." You get the idea.
And his penchant for turning an argument into song material is getting stale, as evidenced in the tiresome "Real Talk," which gets a little too real and ugly. If relationship blowouts were meant to be entertaining, your Uncle Rollo would have a multiplatinum album instead of being restrained from Aunt Tina at the family reunion.

"Real Talk" also reveals a thread of misogyny that's way too prevalent in the first few tracks. Apparently not getting the memo from Russell Simmons after the whole Don Imus flap, Kelly throws the b-word and the n-word around with abandon, sounding more coarse than charming on tracks like "Get Dirty."

But as foul, as crazy, as absurd as Kelly can get, there's enough musicianship involved that even at his worst, Kelly is mildly entertaining. And when he's able to strike the right balance, he's amazing.


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