A nice review of Kellz recent work.

Hit-hungry singers and rappers beware: An R. Kelly guest appearance is a mixed blessing. Sure, he’s one of the all-time great R&B singer-songwriters, but the one thing he can’t do is play a small role. In “I’m a Flirt” (Sony Urban), from the new Bow Wow album, Mr. Kelly issues a warning: “Homie, don’t bring your girl to meet me.” As if to show why, he rides roughshod over his host; Bow Wow barely manages to squeak out a verse before Mr. Kelly takes over. And although Fat Joe assembled an impressive gang of guests for an exuberant remix of “Make It Rain” (Terror Squad), Mr. Kelly’s verse outshines all the others (“I’m tryna keep it R&B/But these streets is a part of me,” he sings, ascending into falsetto); he gives the chorus a tuneful makeover too. If you want to survive an encounter with Mr. Kelly, maybe it’s best not to holler or shout but to whisper instead. That’s what Ciara does in “Promise” (LaFace/Sony BMG), a slow and spacey R&B hit that recently got the R. Kelly treatment. She is often compared to Mr. Kelly’s onetime protégé Aaliyah, who died in 2001, and indeed “Promise (Remix)” sounds a bit like a reunion. As these two exchange words and verses, the breathy rising star does something truly surprising: She holds her own.