Veteran RnB star and creator of everyone’s favourite 12-part hip-hopera R. Kelly says he’s written 462 songs for his next studio album, The Buffet.

A follow-up to 2013’s Black Panties, Kelly’s 14th studio album promises to take inspiration from a variety of genres and eras, rather than having just one particular theme- such as the ’60s soul he coveted in 2010’s Love Letter, or the 70s RnB in 2012’s Write Me Back.

The huge amount of songs written by Kelly are to allow him to have the widest range of options to choose from for the new album.

“I’ve done 462 songs for this particular album. They’re not ideas, they are whole full songs,” he told Entertainment Weekly. “I wanted to cover a lot of different genres, and in order to do that you have to do a lot of work.”

“I’m not doing all these different genres of songs just to do them. This is all the different types of music I loved growing up,” he said. “I always loved country because country music tells stories, and I love telling stories as well. These styles of music really hit home for me, and that’s why I’m doing this Buffet album.”

The title for the album is a reference to the smorgasbord approach Kelly is taking with his new music. With 27 years in the business and fans now spanning multiple generations, the RnB star is feeling the pressure to appeal to everyone.

Expect to find hip-hop, old-school ‘I Believe I Can Fly’-style bangers, and at least one country tune in this highly-anticipated musical bain-marie.

Juliet Mentor

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