Claim: R. Kelly sold 40 million albums.

Robert Sylvester Kelly -LRB- born January 8 , 1967 -RRB- , 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 -LRB- Remix -RRB- '' , `` If I Could Turn Back the Hands of Time '' , `` The World 's Greatest '' , `` I 'm a Flirt -LRB- Remix -RRB- '' , 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 .   Kelly has written , produced , and remixed songs and albums for many artists , including Aaliyah 's 1994 debut album Age Ai n't Nothing but a Number . In 1996 , Kelly was nominated for a Grammy for writing Michael Jackson 's song `` You Are Not Alone '' . In 2002 and 2004 , Kelly released collaboration albums with rapper Jay-Z and has been a guest vocalist for other hip hop artists like Nas , Sean Combs , and The Notorious B.I.G.   The Recording Industry Association of America -LRB- RIAA -RRB- has recognized R. Kelly as one of the best-selling music artists in the United States with 40 million albums sold as well as only the fifth black artist to crack the top 50 of the same list . In March 2011 , R. Kelly was named the most successful R&B artist of the last 25 years by Billboard . Kelly has released 12 solo studio albums , and sold over 100 million records worldwide making him the most successful R&B male artist of the 1990s . He has been credited for helping redefine R&B and hip hop , earning the nicknames `` King of R&B '' and `` King of Pop-Soul '' . He is listed by Billboard as the most successful R&B / Hip Hop artist of the past 25 years -LRB- 1985-2010 -RRB- and also the most successful R&B artist in history . Throughout his career , Kelly has won numerous awards , including a Guinness World Records as well as countless of other awards like Grammy , BET , Soul Train , Billboard , NAACP and American Music Award .