12 Play

12 Play is the debut studio album by American R&B and soul singer-songwriter R. Kelly; it was released on November 9, 1993, by Jive Records. The album follows his tenure with R&B group Public Announcement, with whom he released one album, Born into the 90's (1992). It went on to top the R&B albums chart for nine weeks straight, while reaching the second position on the US Billboard 200 chart.

12 Play
Studio album by
R. Kelly
ReleasedNovember 9, 1993 (1993-11-09)
Genre
Length63:10
LabelJive
Producer
R. Kelly chronology
Born into the 90's
(1992)		 12 Play
(1993)		 R. Kelly
(1995)
Singles from 12 Play
  1. "Sex Me"
    Released: August 6, 1993
  2. "Bump N' Grind"
    Released: January 25, 1994
  3. "Your Body's Callin'"
    Released: March 11, 1994
  4. "Summer Bunnies"
    Released: July 28, 1994
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Chicago Tribune[3]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[4]
Entertainment WeeklyC−[5]
Los Angeles Times[6]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[7]
The Village VoiceC+[8]

The album features four singles including the sexually-themed singles "Bump n' Grind" (US, number 1), "Your Body's Callin'" (US, number 13), and the more overtly direct "Sex Me, Pts. 1 & 2" (US, number 20). The album serves as the first of a trilogy of albums Kelly released under the "12 Play" moniker including TP-2.com (2000) and TP-3: Reloaded (2005). Since receiving an initially mixed response from critics, 12 Play has received more favorable retrospective criticism.

Background

Following the success of Born into the 90's, as the member of the R&B group Public Announcement, Kelly began touring as an opening act for Gerald Levert and Glenn Jones. During the tour, Kelly said that he became frustrated with the poor lighting and empty seats during his set. To generate more attention during his set, Kelly began thinking of what would be his gimmick to take his show to the next level, something that would make people remember him.[9] Kelly stated: "I thought about it for a couple of days, and I finally came up with a little skit, me just talking to the audience. At the point in the show where I would break down "Honey Love," I would start talking to the audience."

Can I tell you all something? Can I keep it real? Can I tell you about a dream I had last night? Well, I actually had a dream where I made love to Mary J. Blige. Hey, it was only a dream, but it was so vivid, it felt real; but in this dream, it was more than foreplay – it was 12 Play. Can I sing it for y'all? Tell y'all how it went?

The audience yelled "YES!" and Kelly's piano player accompanied him with chords. Kelly then begun the countdown, "One. We'll go to my room of fun." The "12 Play" gimmick became so big that when Kelly went to radio stations to promote Born into the 90's, the DJ's wanted to hear "12 Play." The demand for "12 Play" was so big that R. Kelly decided to create an album titled 12 Play.[9] Kelly later said:

"I didn't really know if the album would be as successful as it has been, but I hoped that it would. I was really taking a chance with the concept of this album." – Kelly on the concept of the 12 Play album, 1994.[10]

Musically, the album is a mixture of hip hop, hip hop soul, G-funk and R&B.

Track listing

All tracks are written by R. Kelly, except "Sadie" by Joseph B. Jefferson, Bruce Hawes, and Charles Simmons.

No.TitleProducer(s)Length
1."Your Body's Callin'"R. Kelly, Timmy Allen4:39
2."Bump n' Grind"R. Kelly4:17
3."Homie Lover Friend"R. Kelly, Timmy Allen4:23
4."It Seems Like You're Ready"R. Kelly5:40
5."Freak Dat Body"R. Kelly3:45
6."I Like the Crotch on You" (includes "Intermission" beginning at 4:06)R. Kelly6:38
7."Summer Bunnies"R. Kelly4:15
8."For You"R. Kelly5:02
9."Back to the Hood of Things"R. Kelly3:53
10."Sadie"R. Kelly4:31
11."Sex Me (Part 1) / Sex Me (Part 2)" ("Part 2" begins at 4:57)R. Kelly11:28
12."12 Play" (printed as "..............." in the liner notes)R. Kelly, Timmy Allen5:56

Personnel

Credits adapted from AllMusic.[11]

Chart positions

Certifications
Territory Certifier Certification Sales
Canada CRIA[20] Gold 50,000
England BPI[21] Silver 60,000
United States RIAA[22] 6× Platinum 6,000,000

Release history
Year Label Format
1993JiveCD[23]
JiveCassette
JiveCD (with bonus track)
2003JiveCD
2004JiveCD (with bonus track)
2005JiveCD (with bonus track)
2007JiveCD

See also

References
  1. Easlea, Daryl (2010). "R. Kelly 12 Play Review". BBC Music. Retrieved July 8, 2010.
  2. Birchmeier, Jason. "12 Play – R. Kelly". AllMusic. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  3. Kot, Greg (January 20, 1994). "Suave Chicagoan". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  4. Larkin, Colin (2002). "Kelly, R.". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 1-85227-923-0.
  5. Aaron, Charles (December 10, 1993). "12 Play". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on January 15, 2018. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  6. Cromelin, Richard (December 12, 1993). "R. Kelly, '12 Play,' Jive". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  7. Harris, Keith (2004). "R. Kelly". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 448. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8. Retrieved October 11, 2009.
  8. Christgau, Robert (November 29, 1994). "Turkey Shoot". The Village Voice. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  9. Kelly, R. (2012). Soulacoaster: The Diary of Me. SmileyBooks. pp. 177–179. ISBN 9781401931773. Retrieved September 18, 2014 – via Google Books.
  10. Reynolds, J. R. (December 10, 1994). "Career Milestones Keep Coming For Jive's Kelly". Billboard. Vol. 106 no. 50. p. 43. Retrieved January 24, 2012.
  11. 12 Play – R. Kelly | Credits | AllMusic
  12. "Dutchcharts.nl – R. Kelly – 12 Play" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
  13. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  14. "R. Kelly Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
  15. "R. Kelly Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
  16. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1994". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
  17. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1994". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
  18. "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 1995". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
  19. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1995". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
  20. "Gold/Platinum". Retrieved September 6, 2013.
  21. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on July 4, 2011. Retrieved August 24, 2012.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  22. "Gold & Platinum – RIAA". RIAA. Retrieved October 29, 2016.
  23. "12 Play release history". AllMusic. Retrieved February 13, 2016.

Further reading
  • Nathan Brackett, Christian Hoard (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Completely Revised and Updated 4th Edition. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  • Colin Larkin (2002). Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Edition 4. Virgin Books. ISBN 1-85227-923-0.
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