I Left Your Next Clue By The Sink

R. Kelly “Echo”

A lot of people seem to be fixated on the fact that R. Kelly yodels in this song, and though I grant that is a fairly unusual and novel thing, the part of “Echo” that strikes me as weird is his odd monotone “sex in the morning, sex all day” refrain in the verses. Everything else in the piece is passionate and pretty, yet that’s the sentiment delivered with an affect of apparent indifference? It could be that he’s just pacing himself for a busy day, or it could be a strictly musical contrast and the words fit the meter and theme. Either way, it’s the sort of strange detail that adds tension to R. Kelly’s music — is he kidding, is this for real, why did he make that decision, why did he choose those words? The basic themes and modes in R. Kelly’s music can get quite banal, but he’s brilliant in the way he does all these little things to knock you off guard with a bit of weirdness, make you laugh, and keep things playful without sacrificing smoothness and beauty.

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