American singer-songwriter and convicted sex offender R. Kelly on Friday unofficially released a controversial album titled I Admit It, in which he detailed sexual abuse claims made against him.
The 13-track set called was briefly released on streaming platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music — appearing on these platforms as a new album. The Hollywood Reporter wrote that just hours after its release, the album was no longer available.
In June, the R&B singer and record producer was sentenced to 30 years in prison for exploiting his stardom and wealth over decades to lure women and underage girls into his orbit for sex. He was found guilty of multiple counts of enticing minors and child pornography.
He also has been charged with several counts of sex trafficking and racketeering.
With the release of this album included a 19-minute long title track - "I Admit It" - which The Hollywood Reporter stated was released on the music-streaming platform SoundCloud in 2018. The track reportedly was broken into three parts in which the musician detailed sexual abuse claims made against him.
Some other titles on the since-removed album include “Last Man Standing,” “Where’s Love When You Need It,” “Freaky Sensation” and “Air.” He even had a song titled "Planet," where he quite literally talks about what is happening in the world on a social scale.
The original digital credits listed the artist himself as the only songwriter who contributed.
He wasn't surprised that it was released
According to Jennifer Bonjean, his attorney, the musician was not surprised to learn that it had been released while he was in prison. “When he was arrested, he had studio equipment that was taken,” she told several entertainment news outlets. “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.”
Even in prison, he reportedly told his attorney, "yeah, this has been going on. I’m not surprised."
Bonjean released a statement that said, "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."