R. Kelly is out here hustlin’ for his paper these days, but apparently on Saturday night, he didn’t hustle too hard. Word on the Old School curb is that the “12 Play” crooner was paid pretty well for a brief appearance at a small lounge, with an even more minuscule turnout.
He Got Paid HOW MUCH To Perform Where???
According to reports, R. Kelly got paid $22,000.00 to make a 1-hour appearance at Dirty South Lounge in Springfield, IL, on the same night he was originally supposed to be performing at a nearby Spring Break event…before getting booted from the show (we’ll get to that in a sec’). He reportedly was not obligated to perform, but ended up singing one song out of courtesy.
The lounge is a huge step down from the arenas the multi-platinum singer/songwriter/producer was accustomed to selling out throughout the years. However, given his current circumstances with his pending trial of 10 counts of sex abuse, his pockets have been kinda tight and gigs have admittedly been scarce, according to R. Kelly.
Only 50 People Showed Up? Watch The Video…
Only about 50 people showed up to see R. Kelly do his thing at the lounge, but apparently R. Kelly must have expected a bigger turn-out. How so? Because he made it to the joint at 10:30, but waited until 2:30 a.m. to go out to meet the fans and sing “Bump N’ Grind” for them. It’s presumed that he waited so long because he was trying to give more people time to arrive, but they never did. So he did what he had to do to fulfill his side of the agreement and make his paper. The fans were hella excited to see him nonetheless, as seen in the below video…
Why He Was Booted From His Other Event That Night
It’s also being reported that Kellz was kicked off a Spring Break event after the Surviving R. Kelly doc’ aired in January and the subsequent downward spiral of events begin to transpire with R. Kelly and the abuse allegations against him:
Via TMZ: …Sources on the ground tell us R. Kelly’s gig appeared to come together in an odd and somewhat ragtag fashion. First off, Kelly was supposed to perform at the Spring Break Jam festival at the nearby Illinois State Fairgrounds Saturday night … just a stone’s throw away from the Dirty South Lounge where R. Kelly showed up. He was included in a flyer for the Spring Break gig back in December but was removed from the lineup in January.
Question: Do y’all think a small lounge in Springfield, IL, that had a turnout of 50 people really paid R. Kelly $22K for a 1-hour walk-thru? Or do you think that’s a PR stunt by Kellz’s team to save face, and that his pay was really more like $2,200.00 instead? Just a thought.
