THE FAB LAB: April 2011

Fri April 22nd - R KELLY CON
An R KELLY INSPIRED ART EXHIBITION and TRAPPED IN THE CLOSET screening.

How can one describe the enigma that is R. Kelly? Simply restating his crown as the “King of R&B” hardly does the man justice, nor does it give credit to the enormous breadth and impact of his work. Soul singer, record producer, professional basketball player, video director, and sex symbol... Mr Kelly could possibly one of the most influential polymaths of our age.

Ok. Hold up. Wait a minute.

For those who don't know the man, Mr Kelly exploded onto the music scene in the early 90s with his appropriately titled debut album “Born into the 90's” - one of the lasting documents of the New Jack Swing era. Since then he has released an incredible amount of solo and collaborative recordings ranging from hiphop/R&B dancefloor killers to his trademark Slow Jams. Always remaining fresh whilst staying true to the roots of soul, Mr Kelly has rightly earned his place in an exclusive lineage of smooth and sexy male singers including Al Green, Marvin Gaye, Teddy Pendergrass, Luther Vandross, et al.

And for those who might only know his most well-known songs like “Bump 'n Grind”, “I Believe I Can Fly”, or “Ignition (Remix)”, you should also be aware that Mr Kelly is an extremely prolific producer of other artists' music. From pop divas such as Whitney and Britney, to the sensual stylings of The Isley Brothers and Destiny's Child, and a plethora of other chart-toppers too long to list here - Mr Kelly is truly a huge part of the pop musical landscape of the last 20 years. He also wrote the smash hit “You Are Not Alone”, making him one of the only artists to write songs for Michael Jackson in the later stages of MJ's career.

And then there's "Trapped in the Closet"...

To grossly over-simplify things, “Trapped” is a long-form music video totaling 87 minutes and split into 22 'chapters' of around 4 minutes each. But really it's much more than this. A cryptic melting pot of soap opera, independent filmmaking, and R&B, “Trapped” is one of those rare phenomena that categorically “defies categorization”. Mr Kelly himself invented the term “hip-hopera” in an attempt to describe this labor of his love, but this in itself does not do justice to the unhinged genius of his work. With “Trapped”, Robert Sylvester Kelly did much more than show us that he is a top-level player - he solely created an entire new game.

Ladies and fellas. Shorties and players. In preparation of Mr Kelly's Berlin concert (25. April @ Admiralspalast), The Fab Lab and I invite you to join us a few days before his descent for Berlin's first “R. Kelly Con” - a celebration of all things R. Kelly. Music from the man will bump smoothly through the air, Kelly-inspired original artworks will grace the Fab Lab walls, and “Trapped” will be shown in its unfathomable entirety.

Peace,

SS.

Contributing artists include

JULIA PAI (R Kelly Crafting center with DIY Milk Cartons, custom R Kelly Chairs, Lamp, Secret Box)
SARAH ADORABLE (R Kelly tripple play custom boxes)
CINDY WONDERFUL (R Kelly painting)
INGRID HASE (R Kelly and Cindy Wonderful painting)
V MAC (R Kelly Zine)
ANONYMOUS (R Kelly Pillow)