Noisey readers, let’s have a group think session. There’s only one person in the world who could make a music video like the one above—a video in which the star does nothing more than show footage of himself doing random awesome things like playing basketball, singing on stage before thousands of fans at Pitchfork Music Festival, releasing dove-shaped balloons, recording on an iPhone, driving a car, recording in a studio, high-fiving fans, skateboarding through a pharmacy, etc. And who is that person? That person is none other than the man who puts the R in R&B himself: R. Kelly.
In the new video for “My Story” (which features a 2 Chainz verse in which he asks a question about boat trips), the first single from his upcoming record Black Panties, we witness the Kellz pay tribute to his hometown of Chicago. It’s a straightforward montage, really, flipping in and out of black and white footage, but it’s one that still manages to capture the essence of what R. Kelly thinks and feels about the life from which he’s come. That approach echoes the song itself and its poigantly simple refrain—”I went from being broke to sleepin’ in Versace shirts”—adding to the pile of proof that R. Kelly is one of the few artists in the world who can brilliantly and carefully walk the line of earnest, without being corny.
Videos by VICE
God, R. Kelly rules.
Eric Sundermann went from being broke to falling asleep while watching Netflix. He’s on Twitter — @ericsundy
