30 Day (R Kelly) Song Challenge, Day 19: A Song From Your Favourite Album

‘You Knock Me Out’

On his most recent record Love Letter, R Kelly decked himself out to look like Ray Charles on the cover to reflect the album’s retro style. But it was on Chocolate Factory that he first nodded to some of his music forefathers, but in a far less obvious way. Sam Cooke, Al Green and Kirk Franklin can all be heard, with Kelly starting to match his heroes by honing his song-craft, throwing out some of the gimmicks and spoken word interludes that feature on many of his earlier tracks and tightening screws of his sound.

On ‘You Knock Me Out’ Kelly takes a page from the Stevie Wonder play book by injecting some Latin flavour to the jaunty piano chords. It’s the closest he got to Stevie. The song crackles and pops rhythmically, but Kelly’s voice is more than a match as he matches the complex arrangement and melody expertly.