I first discovered R. Kelly and his talent back in 1995; two years after 12 Play was released. I listened to 12 Play dozens of times and I just became overwhelmed by his skills and his "raunchy" lryics. Released in 1993, 12 Play was where R. Kelly became a true R&B superstar. It was a concept album that showcased his talents and versatility perfectly. The opening track, "Your Body's Callin'" is a classic. It's a smooth and sexy ballad with airy instrumentation and the amazing vocals. "Bump And Grind" is another song that will go down as his most popular tune. The song has memorable bouncy beats and throbbing lyrics, that make this an instant classic. "Homie, Lover, Friend", "Freak Dat Body", and "Back To The Hood Of Things"; all show off his rapping skills with the G-Funk inspired beats and the awesome hooks. "It Seems Like You're Ready" is a slow jam with R. setting the bar high on his romantic persona. "I Like The Crotch On You" is another one of Kelly's X-rated themed songs with the G-Funk inspired rhythms, but after half of the song ends, he tones it down by singing with other male vocalists about the "cons" who hates his music. He also plays the piano on there. "Summer Bunnies" is an upbeat song about the ladies. "For You" is a personal favorite of mine. It's a nice ballad with smoothed-out vocals, romantic spanish guitars, and the lushy strings. "Sadie" has R. doing a cover song of The Spinners' classic. He wonderfully dedicates the song to his mother. "Sex Me" is an 11-minute epic that has R. singing the most notorious lyrics of his career. It's a well-crafted ballad with the airy synthesizers, bumpy drumming, and spacey vocals. The title track, "12 Play" is what I consider to be the climax of the whole album. It's a lovely, slow jam with memorable hooks. Overall, all I can say about 12 Play is that it's Kelly's most raunchest and unified album, in every sense. His 2000 album, TP-2. Com, the sequel to this album, 12 Play, might've been more sexually explicit and thugged-out, but 12 Play just took him to a whole new level: bringing him to a mainstream audience and redefining his image. I really think it's a 1990's R&B classic and one of R. Kelly's best recordings. A