R. Kelly: TP.3 Reloaded

R. Kelly
TP.3 Reloaded
Jive/Zomba

I was more than a little conflicted about how hard I fell for 2003's Chocolate Factory and 2004's Happy People/U Saved Me, R. Kelly's one-two punch of flawed masterpieces. So in a way I'm relieved to report that his new one, TP.3, mostly ranges from dull to dire. "TP" refers to 12 Play, the title of R. Kelly's boudoir near-classic from 1993, when the R&B genius-jerk's bedroom jams weren't so inherently discomfiting. 12 Play's first follow-up, TP-2.Com, featured highlights such as "I Wish" and "R&B Thing," but was otherwise Kelly's worst album. Until now. Volume three is full of pro forma sex jams (worst line, from the melodically pleasant "In the Kitchen": "Girl I'm ready to toss your salad"!), and tiresome cameos (Snoop, the Game, etc.--Wisin and Yandell, however, shine on the reggaetón-inspired "Burn It Up"). The album sounds very much like the work of a man struggling with impotence. It fails to climax with the admirably loopy and audacious five-part suite "Trapped in the Closet," the first half of Kelly's serialized, ten-part melodrama. A haplessly structured, implausible saga of interconnected infidelities, the musically underdeveloped song's storyline is at least occasionally amusing, though not always intentionally.