SOULLESS

A thorough exposé on the alleged
misconduct of R&B superstar R. Kelly.

Former Chicago Sun-Times pop music critic DeRogatis (The Velvet
Underground: An Illustrated History of a Walk on the Wild Side, 2009, etc.)
chronicles his two-decade-long surveillance and reportage of Kelly, 52, in a
fiery, shocking analysis. Drawing from a wealth of personal interviews,
research material, Kelly’s 2012 memoir, Soulacoaster,
and harrowingly detailed episodes from female accusers, the author frames his
assessment of Kelly with an account of the afternoon he received an anonymous
fax charging the singer with having a “problem” with “young girls.” This
accusation stoked his curiosity about Kelly and his unique music, which
combined “lascivious bedroom jams with soulful prayers or pleas.” DeRogatis
profiles Kelly from his birth in Chicago, through his unsettled childhood on
the South Side, where he fell in love with basketball and music yet was plagued
by a learning disability and sexual abuse. Despite numerous dead ends, the
author persistently chased leads, uncovered startling evidence, and eventually
presented a lawsuit-laden report on Kelly’s sexual misdeeds, which was largely
ignored by the entertainment media as well as law enforcement and even accusers
too afraid to come forward. DeRogatis remained undeterred and continued
collecting damning information, including forwarding two anonymously delivered
videotapes to police depicting Kelly having sex with supposedly underage girls.
The bulk of the book showcases this scandalous material alongside meticulously
described allegations and personal attestations from many women accusing the
star of sexual abuse, coercion, and the intricate operation of a sex cult. The
author’s relentless pursuit of Kelly has only proved fruitful in recent years,
as the incriminations against Kelly have killed his music career and landed him
in and out of jails and courthouses fighting a dizzying number of sexual
misconduct charges. As much as the book is a juicy celebrity tell-all, it more
importantly spotlights the women Kelly victimized and their separate journeys
toward exposing their truths.

A piercing work of investigative
journalism on a celebrity scandal that continues to fester.