A Bathing Ape
After graduating from Berklee, Kelly worked as a session singer on the East Coast, before starting to write his own songs. He placed his first song in 2002, when "You're Taking It" was included on a CD compilation for Japanese clothing line A Bathing Ape. He wrote "Daddy's Little Girl" for Frankie J, which was released as a single in 2006, and led to a publishing contract with Warner/Chappell Music. That year, Kelly was introduced to producer RedOne, and began working with him and Lady Gaga, who was at the time working on her first album. This led to an introduction to Akon. Kelly and Akon co-wrote "Hold My Hand" with Whitney Houston in mind, but Akon liked the song so much that he decided to record it as a duet with Michael Jackson. It was one of Jackson's last recordings, and appeared on his 2010 posthumous album "Michael".