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Jury selection in R. Kelly’s long-delayed child pornography trial begins today, and as you might expect, the Chicago media are all over it, having waited for years to cover a story that hits a sweet spot (celebrity name recognition, damnable allegations, and strange/disturbing subplots) that’s usually the province of trials in the Los Angeles metro area. After the jump, a roundup of various bits of news related to R., the trial, and late-night basketball games in a Chicago suburb.
• A woman who was at one time in love with R. Kelly was allegedly paid an undisclosed amount by one of the singer’s aides to hand over a tape of a sexual encounter between her, Kells, and an underage girl. [Chicago Sun-Times]
• The Tribune is liveblogging the whole trial as best they can. One detail: Two men who played on the singer’s contribution to the Ali soundtrack by holding up a sign that said “R. Kelly World’s Greatest Pedophile.” Clever? [Chicago Tribune]
• Kells’ normal Thursday-night basketball game in the south Chicago suburb of Markham was marked by him angrily hurling a basketball at a reporter who’d stopped by to watch the game/come up with metaphors for future stories about the trial. Also, a former opponent of the singer’s claims that he insists on playing point guard and that he “hogs the ball and shoots all the time.” [Chicago Sun-Times]
• What’s the best way to maximize pageviews from a big news event that will bring more people to your newspaper’s Web site than ever? A photo gallery! [Chicago Tribune]
Is it possible to look at R. Kelly and not think of the Chappelle show skit?
No. That skit will forever be imprinted on our minds. True genius, just like Kelly, but with less bat-shit insanity.
I saw Robert perform two years ago. The batshit insanity made the show 100 times better.
[smokingsection.rawkus.com]
^ The skit has been embedded in my brain the past few months, every time R’s name pops up. I’m glad to know I’m not the only one lol.
Who hurls a basketball?
@tigerpop:
My grandmother -who, it must be said, often has the musical taste of a music editor at Vibe (In the past 6 months she’s purchased Kanye’s Graduation, Curtis, Janet’s Discipline, Mariah’s latest, AND that new Lenny Kravitz disc) – recently attended an R.Kelly show with her daughter and some friends and could not stop raving about it. For her, it was “one of the best shows” she’s ever seen in her life. Real talk.