Wednesday, October 7, 2009

R. Kelly Talks About His Years of Illiteracy


Several years ago, R. Kelly revealed that he has struggled for years with illiteracy, and that he would dictate the song lyrics to a person he would pay to write them down.

At the recent Midwest Music Festival in Chicago, Kelly brought up his challenges again while discussing the ups and downs of his career.

"When I was trying to make it out here, I already knew, and I was stubborn about it," he said. "I don't even read really, and I'm not afraid to say that. My cousins and brothers used to tease me: 'You can't even read right.'

"How you think you're going to come up?' The only reason I graduated from grammar school is because I had a great jump shot. I went to high school, and [my teacher] told me, 'You will be one of the greatest writers of all time," Kelly recalled. "I believed. You [have to] believe it. You can't believe [anything] if you're hating. You can't achieve [anything] if you're hating."

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