R Kelly's musical abilities sparked online debate following Kendrick Lamar's new songs mentioning the controversial singer (Image via Earl Gibson III/Getty Images and Samir Hussein/Getty Images)R Kelly’s musical abilities recently came under scrutiny after Kendrick Lamar name-dropped the controversial rapper on two of his songs from his much-anticipated new album Mr. Morales and The Big Steppers.Lamar featured an argument with Taylour Paige in his song We Cry Together while mentioning Kelly's name. Paige can be heard singing:“You the reason Harvey Weinstein had to see his conclusion/You the reason R. Kelly can't recognize that he's abusive.”In response to the lyrics, Lamar is heard singing:“Man, shut the f**k up, we all know you still playin' his music.”The exchange was made about Kelly’s past controversies and sentencing. Lamar also mentioned Kelly in his song Mr. Morale, claiming that the latter was himself abused during his childhood:“I think about Robert Kelly/If he weren't mol*sted, I wonder if life'll fail him.”Following the release of the songs, several people debated if Kelly’s music could be separated from his conduct.While some said that the musician made good music irrespective of his controversial behavior, others denied his music-making abilities and claimed no one listens to his work any longer.Since 1984™️@tahoe7teenYes, R. Kelly has been rightfully canceled but let’s not lie and say his music wasn’t good. Lol twitter.com/zayoiogy/statu…‏ً@zayoIogyI wish y’all would stop saying everybody listens to R. kelly music secretly like no we don’t i promise you the music isn’t that good21I wish y’all would stop saying everybody listens to R. kelly music secretly like no we don’t 😭😭😭 i promise you the music isn’t that goodYes, R. Kelly has been rightfully canceled but let’s not lie and say his music wasn’t good. Lol twitter.com/zayoiogy/statu…R Kelly’s music leaves Twitter divided after Kendrick Lamar's lyricTwitter is divided over R Kelly's music and his illegal personal behavior (Image via Antonio Perez/Getty Images)Former singer, songwriter, and record producer R Kelly was once considered a phenomenon who redefined the R&B music industry. He was previously hailed as “the King of R&B,” “the King of Pop-Soul,” and the “Pied Piper of R&B.”However, the musician was convicted as a sex offender and found guilty of harassing several young women and girls, including minors, over the years.Despite being one of the most successful R&B male artists of the '90s and one of the world's best-selling music artists, Kelly was largely condemned after his alleged disgraceful actions came to light.‏ً@zayoIogyI wish y’all would stop saying everybody listens to R. kelly music secretly like no we don’t i promise you the music isn’t that good672139199I wish y’all would stop saying everybody listens to R. kelly music secretly like no we don’t 😭😭😭 i promise you the music isn’t that good‏ً@zayoIogyAnd if you gotta listen to it in secret that means you know it’s wrong so like where are we going from here3261243And if you gotta listen to it in secret that means you know it’s wrong so like where are we going from hereAs Kendrick Lamar mentioned Kelly on two of his latest tracks, netizens flocked to Twitter to argue if the art can be separated from the artists:Darker skinn_⏱_@BradleyCarlvin1R.kelly made poor choices no doubt but his music is still Therapeutic1377192R.kelly made poor choices no doubt but his music is still Therapeutic🔥🫰🏾 Knicks@knicksburberryit’s too early i’ll delete my rant but just know if you still listen to r kelly’s music you are the problem102it’s too early i’ll delete my rant but just know if you still listen to r kelly’s music you are the problemSince 1984™️@tahoe7teenYes, R. Kelly has been rightfully canceled but let’s not lie and say his music wasn’t good. Lol twitter.com/zayoiogy/statu…‏ً@zayoIogyI wish y’all would stop saying everybody listens to R. kelly music secretly like no we don’t i promise you the music isn’t that good21I wish y’all would stop saying everybody listens to R. kelly music secretly like no we don’t 😭😭😭 i promise you the music isn’t that goodYes, R. Kelly has been rightfully canceled but let’s not lie and say his music wasn’t good. Lol twitter.com/zayoiogy/statu…Sunny D. Luffy@thebrownsinatraThinking about the R. Kelly line in We Cry Together and hearing a song that mentions R.Kelly being an abuser is frustrating when you remember k. Dot almost took all his music off Spotify for that manThinking about the R. Kelly line in We Cry Together and hearing a song that mentions R.Kelly being an abuser is frustrating when you remember k. Dot almost took all his music off Spotify for that manGoat@ShowtimeSandersI genuinely don’t care if you choose to or choose not listen to R Kelly music. If you do cancel his music, you’ll have to go down the slippery slope of every song he’s produced, wrote and featured. Wayyy too much work for me. Screw R Kelly and what he did but I’m still playing it4I genuinely don’t care if you choose to or choose not listen to R Kelly music. If you do cancel his music, you’ll have to go down the slippery slope of every song he’s produced, wrote and featured. Wayyy too much work for me. Screw R Kelly and what he did but I’m still playing it$Hi.@shy2kedyall are weird down. there’s obviously a difference between listening to an r kelly song about being a pedophile and him writing a song abt a completely different thing for somebody else. just listen to his weak nasty music and leave us alone twitter.com/itsMarciaAgain…Lorraine@itsMarciaAgainR Kelly wrote for Aaliyah, Ty $, Toni Braxton, Bryson tiller, Michael Jackson, Britney Spears, Destiny’s child, Luther. Whitney Houston, B2k, Ginuwine, Juvenile, Jennifer Hudson, ja rule (i can go on) my point is you might not listen to his music but you listening to his music. twitter.com/zayoiogy/statu…33931R Kelly wrote for Aaliyah, Ty $, Toni Braxton, Bryson tiller, Michael Jackson, Britney Spears, Destiny’s child, Luther. Whitney Houston, B2k, Ginuwine, Juvenile, Jennifer Hudson, ja rule (i can go on) my point is you might not listen to his music but you listening to his music. twitter.com/zayoiogy/statu…yall are weird down. there’s obviously a difference between listening to an r kelly song about being a pedophile and him writing a song abt a completely different thing for somebody else. just listen to his weak nasty music and leave us alone twitter.com/itsMarciaAgain…Henny Kravitz@MochaPhilatteHot take: I never liked R. Kelly’s music outside of ignition remix. I never liked his voice and never had him in rotation. And yes my parents were playing I believe I can fly as a kid and all that twitter.com/zayoiogy/statu…‏ً@zayoIogyI wish y’all would stop saying everybody listens to R. kelly music secretly like no we don’t i promise you the music isn’t that good29198I wish y’all would stop saying everybody listens to R. kelly music secretly like no we don’t 😭😭😭 i promise you the music isn’t that goodHot take: I never liked R. Kelly’s music outside of ignition remix. I never liked his voice and never had him in rotation. And yes my parents were playing I believe I can fly as a kid and all that twitter.com/zayoiogy/statu…Quite literally…@WYETTHASSP0KENWhy do Black men think it’s hard not to listen to R Kelly’s music. Compared to his peers at the time they all make better music and I’d rather listen to them.177Why do Black men think it’s hard not to listen to R Kelly’s music. Compared to his peers at the time they all make better music and I’d rather listen to them.Naomi hit me@naomistanacc1Why are people acting confused at Kendrick Lamar having Kodak Black on his album, He literally threatened to pull his music off of Spotify when they removed R Kelly's. Rappers are just not good people803148Why are people acting confused at Kendrick Lamar having Kodak Black on his album, He literally threatened to pull his music off of Spotify when they removed R Kelly's. Rappers are just not good people285 Slim@SlimHeroicsTo say R. Kelly's music wasn't good really is a lie. Hope he burns eternally but the music was fire39811127To say R. Kelly's music wasn't good really is a lie. Hope he burns eternally but the music was fireSome social media users claimed that people still listened to Kelly’s music despite his misconduct, while others alleged that no one supports the artist or his music any longer:As reactions continue to pour in online, it remains to be seen if Kendrick Lamar will acknowledge the ongoing debate and share more about the reason behind mentioning R Kelly’s name in his music.Meanwhile, Kelly is currently in custody, awaiting his upcoming sentencing scheduled for June 16, 2022. The singer first came under scrutiny in 1995 after he illegally married 15-year-old singer Aaliyah Haughton.Around the same time, the media began accusing him of abusing young adults and minors. Following mounting allegations of abuse over the years, Kelly was arrested on federal charges by the New York City Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations on July 11, 2019.He faced nearly 22 federal criminal charges for abusing young adults and minors and was detained without bail. Kelly was placed on trial by the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York in 2021 on nine criminal counts, including violations of the Mann Act, racketeering, bribery, child exploitation, and human trafficking.Besides his upcoming June 2022 sentencing, R Kelly is scheduled to face another federal trial in the Northern District of Illinois in August 2022 alongside his former employees for the alleged production of child abuse material and conspiracy behind his 2008 acquittal.