Editing R. Kelly (section)

==Early life==
Robert Sylvester Kelly was born on the [[South Side, Chicago|South Side]] of [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]],<ref name="Cook Cty-2016">{{cite news|url=http://www.cookcountyclerk.com/sweethomecookcounty/pages/rkelly.aspx|title=R. Kelly|access-date=March 31, 2016|work=Cook County Clerk|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160414092511/http://www.cookcountyclerk.com/sweethomecookcounty/pages/rkelly.aspx|archive-date=April 14, 2016}}</ref> on January 8, 1967,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.biography.com/people/r-kelly-507697| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20210928/https://www.biography.com/people/r-kelly-507697| archive-date=2021-09-28|title=R. Kelly: Singer, Songwriter (1967–)|website= [[Biography.com]]|publisher=[[A&E Networks]]|date=January 4, 2019|access-date=January 19, 2019}}{{cbignore}}</ref> at Chicago Lying-In Hospital (now [[University of Chicago Medical Center]]) in the city's [[Hyde Park, Chicago|Hyde Park]] neighborhood. He has five siblings (three of whom are half):<ref name="thecase"/> two older sisters<ref name="Yahoo-2022">{{Cite news |title=R Kelly's sisters from his father's side believe he was treated unfairly in sexual abuse trial |url=https://uk.style.yahoo.com/r-kelly-sisters-father-side-163500002.html |access-date=2022-07-06 |website=uk.style.yahoo.com |language=en-GB}}</ref> and brother, along with a younger brother and sister.<ref name="AP Timeline">{{cite news|url=https://apnews.com/d10e3e336e4e42bd9a3ad8be08185f90|title=Timeline of R. Kelly's life and career|date=July 11, 2019|work=[[Associated Press News]]|access-date=March 15, 2020|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200316004801/https://apnews.com/d10e3e336e4e42bd9a3ad8be08185f90|archive-date=March 16, 2020|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-08-25 |title='It's hard, it's hurtful': R. Kelly's sisters speak out amid sex-trafficking trial |url=https://pix11.com/news/local-news/its-hard-its-hurtful-r-kellys-sisters-speak-out-amid-sex-trafficking-trial/ |access-date=2022-07-06 |website=PIX11 |language=en-US |archive-date=July 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220706061234/https://pix11.com/news/local-news/its-hard-its-hurtful-r-kellys-sisters-speak-out-amid-sex-trafficking-trial/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> His mother, Joanne, was a schoolteacher and devout [[Baptist]].<ref name="WBEZ Timeline"/> She was born in [[Arkansas]].<ref name="thecase"/> The identity of his father, who was absent from Kelly's life and later raised two children,<ref name="Yahoo-2022" /> is not known.<ref name="WBEZ Timeline">{{cite web|last=DeRogatis|first=Jim|url=https://www.wbez.org/shows/jim-derogatis/timeline-the-life-and-career-of-r-kelly/f6aed43d-d7a4-418c-b707-385640a43dfb|title=Timeline: The Life And Career Of R. Kelly|website=WBEZ|access-date=March 15, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130728085945/http://www.wbez.org/blogs/jim-derogatis/2013-07/timeline-life-and-career-r-kelly-107973|archive-date=July 28, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> His family lived in the [[Ida B. Wells Homes]] [[Public housing|public housing project]] in the [[Black Metropolis–Bronzeville District]] of Chicago's [[Douglas, Chicago#Bronzeville|Douglas]] neighborhood, also on the city's south side.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Layne|first=Anni|date=April 9, 1998|title=R. Kelly Arrested In Chicago {{pipe}} Music News|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/r-kelly-arrested-in-chicago-19980409|url-status=live|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20210928/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/r-kelly-arrested-in-chicago-19980409|archive-date=2021-09-28|access-date=December 10, 2013|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Around the time he was five years old, Kelly's mother married his stepfather, Lucious, who reportedly worked for an airline.<ref name="thecase"/> Kelly began singing in the church choir at age eight.<ref name="AP Timeline"/>

=== Trauma and abuse ===
Kelly described having a girlfriend, Lulu, at age eight, in his 2012 autobiography ''[[Soulacoaster|Soulacoaster: The Diary of Me]]''. He stated that their last play date turned tragic when, after fighting with older children over a play area by a creek, she was pushed into the water, swept downstream by a fast-moving current, and drowned. Kelly called Lulu his first musical inspiration.<ref name="revealed2012" />

Kelly said members of his household would act differently when his mother and grandparents were not home.<ref name="Kelly-2012" /><ref name="WBEZ Timeline" /> This included highly provocative dress and behavior. Kelly stated that when he was eight, an adult woman in the household coerced him into photographing her while having intercourse with an adult male partner.<ref>{{Cite web |title=10 Things Revealed in R. Kelly's Memoir |url=http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2012/06/r_kelly_childhood_abuse_new_book_soulacoaster_reveals_all.html |website=[[The Root (magazine)|The Root]] |access-date=December 5, 2017 |archive-date=February 24, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150224190159/http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2012/06/r_kelly_childhood_abuse_new_book_soulacoaster_reveals_all.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

From age 8 to 14, he was often sexually abused by an older female family member.<ref name="thecase">{{cite book|last=DeRogatis|first=Jim|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jBeHDwAAQBAJ|title=Soulless: The Case Against R. Kelly|date=June 4, 2019|publisher=[[Abrams Books]]|isbn=9781683357629|location=New York City|pages=}}</ref><ref name="Heath-2016a">{{Cite web|last=Heath|first=Chris|date=January 20, 2016|title=The Confessions Of R. Kelly|url=https://www.gq.com/story/r-kelly-confessions|access-date=October 24, 2021|website=[[GQ]]|language=en-US}}</ref> Kelly's younger brother, Carey, stated that he suffered from years of sexual abuse at the hands of their older sister, Theresa, who was entrusted with babysitting the siblings.<ref name="Ebony-2019">{{Cite web|date=January 9, 2019|title=R. Kelly's Brother Says He and Singer Were Molested by Older Sister|url=https://www.ebony.com/news/r-kellys-brother-he-singer-molested-older-sister/|access-date=October 24, 2021|website=[[Ebony (magazine)|Ebony]]|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="Biswas-2020">{{Cite web|last=Biswas|first=Shuvrajit Das|date=January 3, 2020|title=Who Is Theresa Kelly? Where Is She Now?|url=https://thecinemaholic.com/where-is-theresa-kelly-now/|access-date=October 24, 2021|website=The Cinemaholic|language=en-US}}</ref> Carey stated that although their older brother, Bruce, was spared and allowed to play outside, both he and Kelly were punished at separate times indoors by Theresa, who refused to acknowledge the abuse when confronted years later.<ref name="Ebony-2019" /><ref name="Biswas-2020" />

Explaining why he never told anyone, Kelly wrote in his autobiography that he was "too afraid and too ashamed".<ref name="revealed2012"/> Around age 10, Kelly was also sexually abused by an older male who was a friend of the family.<ref name="thecase"/> In his autobiography, Kelly describes being shot in the shoulder at age 13 by boys who were attempting to steal his bike,<ref name="revealed2012">{{cite web|title=10 Things Revealed in R. Kelly's Memoir|first=Akoto|last=Ofori-Atta|date=June 28, 2012|url=http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2012/06/r_kelly_childhood_abuse_new_book_soulacoaster_reveals_all.html|website=theroot.com|access-date=March 5, 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150224190159/http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2012/06/r_kelly_childhood_abuse_new_book_soulacoaster_reveals_all.html|archive-date=February 24, 2015}}</ref> although a family friend claims his mother disputed this, stating that the gunshot was self-inflicted during a suicide attempt.<ref name="thecase"/>

=== Turn toward music ===
[[File:Busker at Roosevelt Red Line Stop.jpg|thumb|As a teenager, Kelly began performing in public at [[Chicago "L"]] stations on the [[Red Line (CTA)]]]]
In September 1980, Kelly entered [[Kenwood Academy]] in the city's [[Hyde Park–Kenwood Historic District|Hyde Park-Kenwood]] district, where he met music teacher [[Lena McLin]], who encouraged Kelly to perform [[Stevie Wonder]]'s "[[Ribbon in the Sky]]" in the high school talent show.<ref name="Levin-2008">{{cite magazine|last=Levin |first=Josh |date=June 13, 2008 |title=Long Live the Little Man Defense! |url=https://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2008/06/long_live_the_little_man_defense.html |journal=[[Slate (website)|Slate]] |location=San Francisco  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080618181149/http://www.slate.com/id/2193649 |archive-date=June 18, 2008 |access-date=June 30, 2024|url-status=live}}</ref> A shy Kelly put on sunglasses, was escorted onto the stage, performed the song, and was awarded first prize.<ref name="WBEZ Timeline"/><ref name="enotes">{{cite web|last=Frentner|first=Shaun|url=http://www.enotes.com/contemporary-musicians/kelly-r-biography| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090801131739/http://www.enotes.com/contemporary-musicians/kelly-r-biography| archive-date=August 1, 2009|title=Kelly, R.|publisher=eNotes.com|access-date=September 10, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://articles.latimes.com/1998/nov/29/entertainment/ca-48624/2|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|first=Dave|last=Hoekstra|title=The Righteous Brother: R. Kelly's ambitious album of genre-spanning songs finds influence from R&B predecessors such as Al Green and Donny Hathaway|date=November 29, 1998|access-date=April 18, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121014164357/http://articles.latimes.com/1998/nov/29/entertainment/ca-48624/2|archive-date=October 14, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> McLin encouraged Kelly to leave the high school basketball team and concentrate on music. She said he was furious at first, but after his performance in the talent show, he changed his mind.<ref name="Chicago's Blues for R. Kelly">{{cite web|last=Boucher|first=Geoff|date=June 15, 2002|title=Chicago's Blues for R. Kelly|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-jun-15-na-rkelly15-story.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200316003625/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-jun-15-na-rkelly15-story.html|archive-date=March 16, 2020|access-date=March 15, 2020|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref> Kelly was diagnosed with [[dyslexia]],<ref>{{Cite web|last=McKinney|first=Jessica|date=July 23, 2018|title=R. Kelly Opens Up About Sex Cult, Illiteracy And More On 19-Minute Track|url=https://www.vibe.com/music/music-news/r-kelly-addresses-sex-cult-girlfriends-listen-597565/|access-date=October 24, 2021|website=[[Vibe Magazine|Vibe]]|language=en-US}}</ref> which left him unable to read or write.<ref name="Marchese 2016">{{cite web|last=Marchese|first=David|date=January 7, 2016|title=The R. Kelly Problem|url=https://nymag.com/is-it-okay-to-listen-to-r-kelly/|url-status=dead|work=[[New York (magazine)|New York]]|quote=He grew up poor and functionally illiterate — owing to dyslexia — on Chicago's South Side, raised mostly by his mother|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160818215729/https://nymag.com/is-it-okay-to-listen-to-r-kelly/|archive-date=August 18, 2016|access-date=September 27, 2021}}</ref><ref name="Heath-2016a"/> Kelly dropped out of high school after attending Kenwood Academy for one year.<ref name="DeRogatis-2019">{{Cite magazine |last=DeRogatis |first=Jim |date=June 3, 2019|title=R. Kelly and the Damage Done |url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/personal-history/r-kelly-and-the-damage-done |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |language=en-US |access-date=October 24, 2021}}</ref> He began performing in the subway under the [[Chicago "L"]] tracks.<ref name="DeRogatis-2019"/> He regularly [[Street performance|busked]] at the "L" stop on the Red Line's [[Jackson station (CTA Red Line)|Jackson station]] in the [[The Loop (CTA)|Loop]].<ref name="thecase"/>

In his youth, Kelly played basketball with Illinois state champion basketball player [[Ben Wilson (basketball)|Ben Wilson]]<ref name="thecase"/> and later sang "[[It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday]]" at Wilson's funeral.<ref>{{cite web|title=30 for 30: Benji - Summary|url=https://www.paleycenter.org/collection/item/?q=see&p=96&item=114765|publisher=Paley Center|access-date=September 27, 2021}}</ref>