R. Kelly to give fans ‘love letter’ on summer tour
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R. Kelly, the self-proclaimed king of R&B, is set to hit the road this summer in support of his acclaimed 11th album, “Love Letter,” he announced Tuesday.
The three-time Grammy winner kicks off the month-long trek June 2 in Southaven, Miss., and will hit Los Angeles on June 11 with a stop at the Nokia Theatre.
“Love Letter” won the singer raves for its throwback to the classic soul of Marvin Gaye, Sam Cooke and Donny Hathaway. The disc marked a departure from the sexual lothario role he has delivered for most of his career, and Times staff writer August Brown applauded the singer for delivering “a full record of slow-simmered, grown-man emoting.”
Kelly remains one of the biggest-selling R&B artists, having moved more than 34 million albums, landed 12 No. 1 singles and eight No. 1 albums.
Joining Kelly on the Love Letter tour will be R&B songstresses Keyshia Cole (who previously supported the singer on his 2007 Double Up tour) and Marsha Ambrosius. The singer is also prepping his memoir.
“Soulacoaster” may finally shed light on the laundry list of career setbacks that have plagued his life and slowed his career down over the years, incluing legal problems, being blacklisted by many urban radio stations and a rather nasty beef with Jay-Z, which led to a cancellation of a joint tour.
‘I’m tired of being misunderstood,” Kelly said in a statement about the book. “I will show you the tears, fears, and sweat. I will open my heart and reveal the good in my life as well as all the drama. I want to tell it like it is.”
Check out the dates for the tour after the jump:
June 2 -– Southaven, Miss., DeSoto Civic Center
June 3 -– New Orleans, UNO Lakefront Arena
June 4 -– Mobile, Ala., Civic Center
June 5 -– Houston, Toyota Centre
June 10 -- Oakland, Coliseum
June 11 –- Los Angeles, Nokia Theatre
June 16 -– Chicago, Allstate Arena
June 17 -– St. Louis, Chaifetz Arena
June 18 -– Kansas City, Sprint Center
June 19 -– Dallas, Verizon Theater
June 24 -– Raleigh, N.C., RBC Center
June 25 -– Atlanta, Philips Arena
June 26 -– Birmingham, Ala., BJCC
June 29 -– Cleveland, CSU Wolstein Center
June 30 -– Newark, N.J., Prudential Center
July 1 -– Baltimore, 1st Mariner Arena
July 2 -– Washington, D.C., Verizon Center
July 3 -– Philadelphia, Mann Music Center -- Gerrick D. Kennedy
