Question: What did Robert Sylvester Kelly, known professionally as R. Kelly, do before he was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer?
Context: Rockland Records is an American record label founded by R&B recording artist and record producer R. Kelly in 1998, having distribution from Interscope Records.  The label was home to recording artists such as Kelly himself, Sparkle, Boo & Gotti among others.  The label has released four albums certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).  The label is known for songs like Fiesta (Remix), Fortunate, Be Careful and What Would You Do? .  Rockland Records main producers are R. Kelly and Trackmasters.  The label is currently inactive but Kelly still owns the Rockland Records imprint. Robert Sylvester Kelly (born January 8, 1967), known professionally as R. Kelly, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and former professional basketball player.  A native of Chicago, Illinois, Kelly began performing during the late 1980s and debuted in 1992 with the group Public Announcement.  In 1993, Kelly went solo with the album "12 Play".  He is known for a collection of major hit singles including "Bump N' Grind", "Your Body's Callin'", "I Believe I Can Fly", "Gotham City", "Ignition (Remix)", "If I Could Turn Back the Hands of Time", "The World's Greatest", "I'm a Flirt (Remix)", and the hip-hopera "Trapped in the Closet".  In 1998, Kelly won three Grammy Awards for "I Believe I Can Fly".  His distinctive sound and style has influenced numerous hip hop and contemporary R&B artists.  Kelly became the first musician to play professional basketball, when he was signed in 1997. ATL was an R&B group from Atlanta, Georgia.  The vocalists are Tré, Will, L-Rock and rapper Danger.  They had enlisted R. Kelly to produce their debut album "The ATL Project", released in July 2004.  Two singles released from this album: "Calling All Girls" (#12 UK Singles Chart, May 2004), and "Make It Up With Love" (#21 UK, August 2004). James Milton Kelly (May 5, 1946 – June 29, 2013), known professionally as Jim Kelly was an American athlete, actor, and martial artist.  Kelly rose to fame in the early 1970s appearing in several Blaxploitation films.  Kelly is perhaps best known for his role as Williams in the 1973 martial arts action film "Enter the Dragon".  He also had lead roles in 1974's "Black Belt Jones" as the title character and "Three the Hard Way" as Mister Keyes.  Kelly died of cancer on June 29, 2013 at age 67. Victoria Loren "Tori" Kelly (born December 14, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer and voice actress who slowly gained recognition after starting to post videos on YouTube at the age of 14.  When she was 16, Kelly auditioned for the singing competition television series "American Idol".  After being eliminated from the show, Kelly began to work on her own music.  In 2012, she independently released her first EP that she produced, wrote, and mixed herself, titled "Handmade Songs By Tori Kelly".  The following year, Scooter Braun became her manager after seeing her videos on YouTube and introduced her to Capitol Records, with whom she signed in September.  Kelly's second EP "Foreword" came out in October 2013 as her first major label release.  On June 23, 2015, Kelly's debut album, "Unbreakable Smile", was released.  The lead single, "Nobody Love", was released in February 2015 and became her first US "Billboard" Hot 100 appearance.  Kelly was nominated for Best New Artist at the 58th Grammy Awards.  She voiced a shy teenage elephant named Meena in the 2016 animated film "Sing". Esther Renay Dean (born April 15, 1982), known professionally as Ester Dean, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress.  Her 2009 single "Drop It Low" featured singer Chris Brown.  Dean has also co-written songs for many artists including Christina Aguilera, Florence + The Machine, Katy Perry, Beyoncé, Nicole Scherzinger, Priyanka Chopra, Mary J. Blige, Nicki Minaj, Kelly Clarkson, Ciara, The Pussycat Dolls, Usher, Kelly Rowland, Girlicious, Keri Hilson, Rihanna, R. Kelly, Britney Spears, Melody Thornton, Vanessa White, Kevin McHale, Selena Gomez, G.R.L., Soulja Boy Tell 'Em, Little Mix, Pia Toscano, Tinie Tempah, Lil Wayne, Machine Gun Kelly, Fifth Harmony, and Eurovision Song Contest 2012 winner Loreen. Shane McAnally (born October 12, 1974) is an American singer, songwriter and record producer.  Originally a solo artist for Curb Records in 1999, McAnally charted three singles on Hot Country Songs, including the No. 31 "Are Your Eyes Still Blue", before becoming a songwriter and record producer.  He has written and produced songs for Walker Hayes, Kacey Musgraves, Kelly Clarkson, Sam Hunt, Kenny Chesney, Reba McEntire, Jake Owen, Luke Bryan, The Band Perry, Lady Antebellum, Keith Urban, Thomas Rhett, Brothers Osborne, Old Dominion, Dierks Bentley, Miranda Lambert, and more.  The Academy of Country Music named him Songwriter of the Year in 2014.  He also won "Best Country Album" and "Best Country Song" at the 2014 Grammy Awards for his work on Kacey Musgraves's "Same Trailer Different Park".  In 2015, "Billboard" named him the Hot Country Songwriter of the Year as well as a "Billboard" Power Player.  McAnally joined industry veteran Jason Owen in early 2017 to relaunch Monument Records as co-presidents. American singer, songwriter and record producer R. Kelly has released 12 studio albums, 5 compilation albums and 3 collaboration albums.  Kelly has sold over 100 million records, making him the most successful R&B male artist of the 1990s and also one of the best selling musical artists of all time.  He is listed by Billboard as the most successful R&B/Hip Hop artist of the past 25 years (1985-2010) and also the most successful R&B artist in history. Tori Kelly is an American singer, songwriter, record producer and actress who slowly gained recognition after starting to post videos on YouTube at the age of 14.  When she was 16, Kelly auditioned for the singing competition television series "American Idol".  After being eliminated from the show, Kelly began to work on her own music.  In 2012, she independently released her first EP that she produced, wrote, and mixed herself, titled "Handmade Songs By Tori Kelly".  The following year, Scooter Braun became her manager after seeing her videos on YouTube and introduced her to Capitol Records, with whom she signed in September.  Kelly's second EP "Foreword" came out in October 2013 as her first major label release.  On June 23, 2015, Kelly's debut album, "Unbreakable Smile", was released.  The lead single, "Nobody Love", was released in the spring and became her first US "Billboard" Hot 100 appearance.  Kelly was nominated for Best New Artist at the 58th Grammy Awards.  She will star as a shy teenage elephant named Meena in the 2016 movie, "Sing". Lukasz Sebastian Gottwald (born September 26, 1973), known professionally as Dr. Luke, is an American record producer and songwriter.  His professional music career began in the late night television sketch comedy "Saturday Night Live" as its house band's lead guitarist in 1997 and producing remixes for artists such as Bon Jovi and Gravediggaz.  He came into music prominence in 2004 for producing Kelly Clarkson's single "Since U Been Gone" with Swedish record producer Max Martin.
Answer: former professional basketball player.