Editing R. Kelly (section)

===1997–2001: Basketball, ''R.'', ''TP-2.com'', and Rockland Records===
{{Main|Rockland Records|R. (R. Kelly album)|TP-2.com}}
In 1997, Kelly signed a contract to play professional basketball with the Atlantic City Seagulls of the [[USBL]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 25, 1997|title=R. Kelly Signs Pro Basketball Deal |publisher=[[MTV News]] |url=http://www.mtv.com/mtv/news/gallery/r/rkelly970425.html |access-date=June 30, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000519033632/http://www.mtv.com/mtv/news/gallery/r/rkelly970425.html |archive-date=May 19, 2000|url-status=dead }}</ref> He wore the number 12 in honor of his album ''12 Play''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b34429_kelly_play_pro_basketball.html|title=R. Kelly to Play Pro Basketball|publisher=E!|date=April 25, 1997|access-date=February 20, 2011}}</ref> Kelly said "I love basketball enough to not totally let go of my music, but just put it to the side for a minute and fulfill some dreams of mine that I've had for a long time."<ref name="shooting star">Demasio, Nunyo (May 30, 1997). [http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/sports/shooting-star-kelly-lights-usbl-seagulls-article-1.755519 "A Shooting Star: R. Kelly Lights Up USBL's Seagulls."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130723081051/http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/sports/shooting-star-kelly-lights-usbl-seagulls-article-1.755519 |date=July 23, 2013 }} ''[[Daily News (New York)|New York Daily News]]''. Retrieved October 29, 2013.</ref> Kelly's USBL contract contained a clause that would allow him to fulfill a music obligation when necessary. "If Whitney Houston needs a song written", said Ken Gross, the Seagulls owner who signed Kelly, "he would be able to leave the team to do that and come back". "It wasn't a gimmick", Gross continued, "he's a ballplayer. He can play."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://articles.latimes.com/1998/nov/29/entertainment/ca-48624/3|location=Chicago|work=Los Angeles Times|title=The Righteous Brother: R. Kelly's ambitious album of genre- spanning songs finds him updating the spiritually grounded R&B of such greats as Al Green and Donny Hathaway.|date=November 29, 1998|first=Dave|last=Hoekstra|access-date=January 25, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141221104743/http://articles.latimes.com/1998/nov/29/entertainment/ca-48624/3|archive-date=December 21, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In the same year, Kelly collaborated with American rapper [[The Notorious B.I.G.]] for the song "Fuck You Tonight" on the posthumous album ''[[Life After Death]]''.<ref>{{Citation |title=Life After Death - The Notorious B.I.G. {{!}} Credits {{!}} AllMusic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/life-after-death-mw0000176659/credits |access-date=2023-03-16 |language=en}}</ref>

In 1998, he launched his own label, [[Rockland Records]], in a distribution deal with [[Jimmy Iovine]]'s [[Interscope Records]]. The label's roster included artists [[Sparkle (singer)|Sparkle]], [[Boo & Gotti]], Talent, Vegas Cats, Lady, Frankie, Secret Weapon, and Rebecca F.<ref>{{cite web |last=Saidman|first=Sorelle |title=R. Kelly's Secret Weapon Set To Debut |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/1430761/r-kellys-secret-weapon-set-to-debut/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020203084321/http://www.mtv.com:80/news/articles/1430761/20000329/kelly_r.jhtml |archive-date=February 3, 2002 |access-date=June 30, 2024|publisher=MTV News}}</ref><ref name="books.google.com">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GwoEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA41 |title=Billboard |date=September 19, 1998 |access-date=October 27, 2014}}</ref> That May, Sparkle, Rockland's first signed artist, released her [[Sparkle (Sparkle album)|eponymous debut album]]. In addition to producing and writing the project, Kelly made vocal contribution to the hit duet "[[Be Careful (Sparkle song)|Be Careful]]", which became a serious factor as to why the album was certified platinum in December 2000.<ref name="riaa.com">{{cite web |title=RIAA - Gold & Platinum Searchable Database - October 27, 2014 |url=https://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?content_selector=gold-platinum-searchable-database |access-date=October 27, 2014 |website=Riaa.com}}</ref>

On November 17, 1998, Kelly released his fourth studio and first double album, ''[[R. (album)|R.]]'' Musically, the album spans different genres from pop ([[Celine Dion]]), street rap ([[Nas]] and [[Jay-Z]]) to [[Blues]] ("Suicide"). Dave Hoekstra of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' described the album as "easily the most ambitious project of his career".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-nov-29-ca-48624-story.html|location=Chicago|work=Los Angeles Times|title=The Righteous Brother: R. Kelly's ambitious album of genre-spanning songs finds him updating the spiritually grounded R&B of such greats as Al Green and Donny Hathaway.|date=November 29, 1998|first=Dave|last=Hoekstra}}</ref> In the summer of 1999, he wrote and produced a majority of the [[Life (soundtrack)|soundtrack]] to the [[Martin Lawrence]] and [[Eddie Murphy]] film, ''[[Life (1999 film)|Life]]'', which features tracks from [[K-Ci & JoJo]], [[Maxwell (musician)|Maxwell]], [[Mýa]], and [[Destiny's Child]], among others. The soundtrack was also released on the Rockland imprint.<ref name="MTV.com">{{cite web |title=Feature: R. Kelly |url=http://www.mtv.com/bands/archive/k/rkellyfeature99.jhtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000229100318/http://mtv.com/news/gallery/k/rkellyfeature99.html |archive-date=February 29, 2000 |access-date=October 27, 2014 |publisher=MTV News}}</ref>

In early 2000, Kelly received multiple awards reflecting his status as an established R&B superstar. In January 2000, he won Favorite Male Soul/R&B Artist at the [[American Music Awards]] and, in February, was nominated for several Grammy Awards, including Best Male R&B Vocal Performance ("When a Woman's Fed Up"), Best R&B Album (''R.''), and Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group ("[[Satisfy You (Puff Daddy song)|Satisfy You]]") with [[P. Diddy]].<ref name="grammys-r-kelly2"/><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=exx2IVCnlsQC&q=r.+kelly+tp.2&pg=PA97|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131212045012/https://books.google.com/books?id=exx2IVCnlsQC&pg=PA97&dq=r.+kelly+tp.2&hl=en&sa=X&ei=5kEgT_Juo6raBdbziK4P&ved=0CEMQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=r.%20kelly%20tp.2&f=false|url-status=dead|title=Your Body's Calling Me: Music, Love, Sex & Money : the Life & Times of "Robert" R. Kelly|first=Jake|last=Brown|date=August 13, 2004|archive-date=December 12, 2013|publisher=Amber Books Publishing|isbn = 9780972751957|via=Google Books}}</ref>

On November 7, 2000, he released his fifth studio album, ''[[TP-2.com]]'', a project aligned with his breakthrough album, ''12 Play''. Unlike ''[[R. (R. Kelly album)|R.]]'', all songs on ''TP-2.com'' were written, arranged, and produced by Kelly. [[AllMusic]]'s Jason Birchmeier gave ''TP-2.com'' 4 stars and stated: "Kelly knows how to take proven formulas and funnel them through his own stylistic aesthetic, which usually means slowing down the tempo, laying on lush choruses of strings and background vocals, taming down the lyrics for radio, and catering his pitch primarily to wistful women.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o552g5xRRiwC&pg=PA386|title=All Music Guide to Soul: The Definitive Guide to R&B and Soul|isbn=9780879307448|access-date=September 10, 2012|last1=Bogdanov|first1=Vladimir|year=2003|publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation }}</ref>

In 2001, Kelly won the Outstanding Achievement Award at the Music of Black Origin or [[MOBO Awards]] and ''Billboard'' magazine ranked ''TP-2.com'' number 94 on the magazine's Top 200 Albums of the Decade.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/#/charts-decade-end/billboard-200-albums?year=2009&begin=81&order=position|title=Billboard - Music Charts, Music News, Artist Photo Gallery & Free Video|magazine=Billboard|access-date=October 27, 2014}}</ref> Kelly's song, "[[The World's Greatest]]", from the soundtrack to the 2001 autobiographical film, [[Ali (film)|''Ali'']], was a hit.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://newsroom.mtv.com/2010/05/19/r-kelly-world-cup/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120715235931/http://newsroom.mtv.com/2010/05/19/r-kelly-world-cup/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 15, 2012|title=R. Kelly Delivers His World Cup Anthem, Blows Minds|publisher=MTV|date=May 19, 2010|access-date=September 10, 2012}}</ref>