From the J6 Prison Choir's songwriting to Sam Bankman-Fried's chess play, it sounds like our most headline-making prisoners are finding ways to stay entertained while behind bars. R. Kelly has emerged as the latest incarcerated Renaissance man, revealing that he's been spending his free time in North Carolina federal prison writing some new songs—though the tunes he sang recently on the Inmate Tea With A&P podcast were a couple of selections from his older discography, reports TMZ. In the episode that aired Sunday, the 58-year-old regaled the two podcast hosts with snippets from his 1998 "When a Woman's Fed Up" and 2003's "Step in the Name of Love."
"Singing is a beautiful disease that's uncurable," he says. "I'm always singing." But it was his new ventures that Kelly, in prison for 30 years on racketeering and sex trafficking convictions, was especially excited to talk about, per the New York Daily News. "I've written like 25 albums since I've been in here," he said. "And right now I'm just working on getting out and getting back to what it is God gave me my talent to do."
Kelly said during the podcast that he was tapping into using "patience as a tactic" to get himself through however long he remains in custody. His attorney also says that the battle to free Kelly isn't over. "I just visited with him yesterday and he was in good spirits," Jennifer Bonjean tells TMZ. Kelly "is not a broken man, and no one should count him out. Our appeals process has not come to an end. We will continue to fight for justice and for his freedom." (More R. Kelly stories.)
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