R. Kelly feels responsible "to keep the music going".

R. Kelly

R. Kelly

The 48-year-old musician claims he has been making music for so long he now feels like it's his duty to push forward with new sounds and styles to influence other singers and rappers.

He explained: "I'm not in no lane.

"I'm music and I just want people to know me as music. Not some R&B guy.

"If there was a person that had a job keeping the sun coming out and keeping the moon coming out, if God appointed somebody to do that, then they have to be there doing it every day, and every night, and that's who I am. I have to keep the music going."

The 'Ignition' hitmaker will release his 13th studio album 'The Buffet' next month which will be a departure from his 2013 record 'Black Panties' as it is a country and blues record.

He said: "I love country music.

"Because country music tells stories, and I tell stories. That's a good friend of mine, you know?"

And the LP features a duet with his once estranged daughter, who sings under the moniker Ariiraye, which he believes is the type of track which makes him unique as an artist.

He told Rolling Stone magazine: "I am what I am; I'm a writer. Every one of my hits was something that was a reality: 'I Believe I Can Fly' all the way down to 'Ignition.' ... It's just a real song.

"Who has the balls to write a song about the father and daughter not seeing each other, not being with each other, and need to see each other, and need balance in they lives. Who can put that song together where the melody worked, the hook works and the lyrics connect? So that's when I step in. I'll write the song that other people want to say but just don't know how to put the words together."


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