“If we separated the music from the person”: Internet reacts as Tyrese Gibson calls R. Kelly “the King of R&B”

Tyrese Gibson attracts the attention of the internet after his latest bold statement about R. Kelly, as he called him “the King of R&B.” The Grammy-nominated singer-actor recently took a break during a show in Chicago and told the audience:

“I know the city I’m in. I’ma say it again. Feel whatever you want to feel, I got no f*cks to give. The King of R&B is R. Kelly… Chi-town, baby."

While some in the crowd cheered and others were unsettled. His statement took no time to become a topic of discussion on the internet. A user wrote:

"If we separated the music from the person.”

R. Kelly's influence in the genre of R&B is massive; with hits like "Bump n' Grind" and "I Believe I Can Fly," he dominated charts in the 1990s and early 2000s. He also wrote and produced several other songs. Long before Tyrese even called him “the King of R&B,” he actually was the King of R&B for the beats and songs that he produced.

However, in the year 2022, following years of accusations, R. Kelly was found guilty of sex trafficking and child abuse and sentenced to 30 years in jail. To make matters worse, he was later found guilty of crimes related to child pornography, which ended up staining his status and title as the King of R&B.

Tyrese Gibson's history with R. Kelly

Tyrese's support for R. Kelly was not the first time he has had a long history with the singer. Tyrese revealed in 2022 on social media that Kelly had written to him from prison, sending condolences for Tyrese's mother's death, though the message was relayed:

“Yup….. just broke down in my trailer took me 45 mins to recover love you Kellz. Damn he is on the inside and still took time to get Condolences out to me and my family…Love you Kellz……. No comments needed.”

He added:

“Selfishly I wish they could sneak a protools rig and a mic in your jail cell so that you can unload all of those ideas cause I know you don’t write all of your hits have been freestyled off the top…… But that’s just me.”

He went on to call him the “R&B King!”

Tyrese even shared screenshots of texts between him and Rob as the relayer of the message. R. Kelly's message read:

“Hey lil bro, my condolences to you about your mom. She is in a better place with my mom, and they both smiling down on us..I pray for you and keep it going. One Love.”

He added:

“I know it a lot having to deal with this is the limelight, but keep ya head up.”

Tyrese was also present in the singer's song called "Born To My Music." In the videos released, Tyrese joins R. Kelly, and they act as though they are playing guitars as the background music plays.

The internet's reaction as Tyrese Gibson calls R Kelly “the King of R&B”

As Tyrese called R Kelly “the King of R&B” the internet was quick to react. Social media was flooded with debates. A user argued:

"If we separated the music from the person. R. Kelly is the GOAT of R&B."

Comment of a user under The Shade Room's post about Tyrese calling the artist “the King of R&B." (Image via Instagram/@theshaderoom)

Following this, more chimed in, and another user wrote:

"IDK ROBERT BUT RKELLY IS THE GOAT OF RNB."

While another user shot back by commenting:

"He was writing songs for underage girls called "age ain't nothing but a number," singing "seems like you're ready." His perversion is expressed through his music. So the argument to "separate person from music" is invalid & irrelevant to me."

As a user expressed loyalty towards the artist and his songs:

"IF R. KELLY IS RELEASED TOMA IM GETTIN FRONT ROW SEATS IDGAF."

While another user called such support reckless:

"Yall giving Rkelly passes now is crazy... yall just forgot what he did to them women and young girls and boys..."

A user pointed to the hometown pride:

"Unpopular opinion:Chicago ain't turn they back on Rkelly they still love his music and so do l."

Meanwhile, another questioned the double standard:

"It's funny how many people turn a blind eye to R. Kelly because of him being the "King of RnB".... But I wonder how many of you be under every Chris Brown post crying about why he's still being supported."