R. Kelly was convicted of kidnapping, child sexual exploitation and racketeering on September 27th. Despite this, the American rapper’s album sales skyrocketed: a 517% increase was observed on these contents.
The same goes for audio streaming platforms, which recorded an increase in streams of 22% and video platforms which observed an increase of 23%, reports Quartz relayed by Slate. Such a phenomenon had already occurred in 2019 after the broadcast of the documentary “Surviving R. Kelly”: its sales had more than doubled while the documentary gave voice to victims, raped and kidnapped by the singer, notes Slate.
Removed from Spotify and Apple Music playlists
The same year, R. Kelly gave an interview in which he loses his temper. The event had also sparked renewed interest in his music. Since 2017, the hashtag #MuteRKelly has been circulating on social networks to request the removal of the rapper’s songs from various stores and music platforms.
The singer, guilty of creating and leading a sex sect, has since been let go by his label, Sony, and numerous concert and tour organizers. Spotify and Apple Music have removed his songs from their playlists, but all of his work is still available on platforms.
For the moment, despite his conviction, R. Kelly is still in pre-trial detention. The author of “I believe I can fly” will not know his official sentence until May 4, 2022. He risks life imprisonment.
