Guest Blogger: Captain Ted Berg
I don’t think you’re giving R. Kelly enough credit. First of all, I’m pretty sure the song you’re referring to is not Ignition but Ignition (Remix). It immediately follows the original ‘Ignition’ on R. Kelly’s magnum opus, Chocolate Factory. Add to that the fact that R. Kelly starts the song by saying, “Now usually I don’t do this,” and I think you’ve got some subtle self-parody.
Think about it: R. Kelly’s previous hits were ‘Bump N’ Grind’ and ‘I Believe I Can Fly.’ Most of his prior songs are about making sweet love to (presumably underaged) women. ‘Ignition,’ the original, is about the very subject — specifically in the back of a Jeep. Then the “remix” to ‘Ignition,’ which is not a proper remix, is about poppin’ Crys and afterparties. Where’d that side of R. Kelly come from? Shouldn’t he be focused on lovemaking?
Normally, he would. But clearly, with ‘Ignition (Remix),’ R. Kelly is poking fun at the excesses of hip-hop culture, right down to the tendency to haphazardly remix songs soon after they’re released. That ‘Ignition (Remix)’ hit No. 1 on the charts is not R. Kelly’s fault. People simply don’t understand him.
After all, this is the man who brought us works like “Trapped in the Closet, pts. 1-20″* and “Sex with Gary Sheffield’s Wife.” He’s an artist. Plus no one in his right mind would record ‘Ignition (Remix)’ or the epic Trapped hip-hopera if he weren’t kidding.
R. Kelly has played the masses, and for this, you’ve deemed one of his most ironic successes the ninth worst song of all-time. R. Kelly has fooled you again. Also, he has peed on underaged women.
*Ed.’s note: Threre are actually 22 parts to ‘Trapped in the Closet.’ Parts XXI & XXII focus on Sylvester’s interactions with a new character, a mobster named Joey.
