Robert Sylvester Kelly (born January 8, 1967 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American Urban R&B singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and occasional rapper. He first appeared on the music scene as the founder and lead singer of Public Announcement whose smooth mixture of hip-hop beats, soul, and funk propelled the group's 1992 debut album Born Into the '90s to platinum status. Upon R. Kelly's departure from Public Announcement, he became one of the biggest-selling male artists of the 1990s.