R. Kelly

“I had a cyst on my tonsils, and I couldn't sing. I had to have an operation.”

“If I could change anything, I would definitely have had a father around. My father. I would definitely say it affected me deeply as a young man, coming up. Who doesn't want a father? Those are the beginnings, and those are what can dictate the roads you choose in life, and choosing them well.”

“I like to give people more than their money's worth.”

“Sometimes I feel like music has made love to me.”

“Biggie was a lyrical genius: he was a musical painter with words. As he rapped, you would see the picture come to life as you heard his story. You hear a lot of rappers rap; you hear a lot of singers sing, but you don't see the movie in your head the way you do when you hear Biggie rap.”

“I want people to notice my writing abilities are real and that I'm not just stuck in one situation.”

“With my gift, I can pretty much write a song out of anything.”

“Fans can never accuse R. Kelly of doing the same thing; I keep mixing it up.”

“I believe the people that buy my music believes in me.”

“I'm very responsible. And with ability you have to have responsibility. I'm not perfect. But you have to make sure that your children will know that daddy makes mistakes.”

“Just listen to all this sweet, sweet music. I'm working the music.”

“I have fans, and I have family that love me, and I have my music, and I have my breath going in and out.”

“I love that I can play around with all types of music.”

“I'm the Ali of today. I'm the Marvin Gaye of today. I'm the Bob Marley of today. I'm the Martin Luther King, or all the other greats that have come before us. And a lot of people are starting to realise that now.”

“My fans have always loved my metaphors.”

“If there's no fire, there's no scream. If there's no scream, then no one hears you and no one comes to help you in the first place. The depth of my struggle has definitely determined the height of my success. To be able to teach my kids not just about success but about the struggle that comes with it.”

“My music has shaken hands with the world somehow - it's a beautiful disease, and I'm glad I got it.”

“My mom actually had a band called Six Pack - even though there were seven of them - who went around Chicago performing popular songs. Her voice was like Gladys Knight mixed with Aretha Franklin.”

“I said that when I establish myself as an artist that can do pretty much anything I want to do in music, I'm going to make a country album.”

“There are so many songs in me that haven't been born yet. So I can't call myself a genius, but I never turn away a compliment, and I feel like I'm on my way to that mountain.”