R. Kelly Is Finally Going to Face the Music -- UPDATE!

Five years after accusations were made, Grammy Award-winning R&B singer R. Kelly (who has sold more than 23 million albums) will go on trial September 17 on child pornography charges. He faces up to 15 years in jail if convicted. From Reuters:

Kelly, 40, whose real name is Robert Kelly, faces up to 15 years in jail if convicted of videotaping himself having sex with an underage girl. Prosecutors have said the girl could have been as young as 13, but defense attorneys have disputed her age and whether Kelly is on the tape. The underground videotape was widely circulated.

Kelly pleaded not guilty to the charges and in the interim has released hit songs, gone on tours, and released a DVD set of "hip-hopera" skits.

Speaking of which, it seems as if IFC is still planning on releasing the next ten installments of Kelly's wonderfully bizarre hip-hopera Trapped In the Closet. Chapters 13-22, are out Aug. 13 on ifc.com and Aug. 21 on DVD. Here's the recap of the first 12 chapters (Dig that refrain):

UPDATE 8/3/07: Am I the only one who thinks it's a bit odd that around the same time that it's announced that R. Kelly will be going to trial for allegedly taping himself having sex with an underage girl, IFC executive VP and general manager Evan Shapiro pens an essay for The Reeler.com about his obssession with exploring sexual issues and "the myriad sexual hang-ups ingrained in American society and how they continue to affect and constrain our culture. I don't mean private penchants or fetishes practiced behind closed doors by everyday consenting citizens. I mean the sexual neuroses of those in positions of authority who constantly tell us that our own predilections are not "normal" or "acceptable."'

Huh. Weird timing. Anyway, Shapiro goes on compare R. Kelly to a modern day John Waters:

However, when I brought Trapped in the Closet into the office to screen it for my bosses, people at the company suggested that I seek counseling.

Call me crazy (or obsessed), I find something in Trapped that makes it a natural next step in this experiment. While it might not be on the scale of Midnight Cowboy, in its own iconoclastic, pop-culture way, Trapped in the Closet challenges the traditional mores and sexual stereotypes of the current climate as boldly -- and hysterically -- as many films coming out of Hollywood or the indie movement. The cheating women, the closeted preacher, the pop star hiding in the closet, the adulterous midget with a paternity problem -- Kelly makes a case to carry the mantle of John Waters into the new millennium. You may laugh, but you can't look away.

He's certainly right about the not-looking-away part.