Eight Gigs: R. Kelly

Mischief maker R. Kelly never hastens to resuscitate chivalry. He might be the filthiest, fleshiest pop star of his or any other generation, an arbiter of the feral—always thinking up unchaste new ways to get his rocks off. Raunch is the divisive crooner's stock in trade, but Kellz also has more to offer. A messianic, preternaturally booming tenor like his only comes along once every few decades. He can sing anything, from aqueous ballads to summertime barn-burners and civil-rights spirituals. For all his dozens of hits, Kellz delights in bucking the pop orthodoxy. Only he could have written the bizarrely byzantine whodunit Trapped in the Closet. 248 West Fremont Street in Stockton, www.r-kelly.com.