Details Of R. Kelly’s Illness and The Reason He Cancelled Major Promotional Commitments

R. Kelly was all set to for his book launch event in NYC to celebrate the completion of his memoir entitled “Soulcoaster’ when he was force to cancel due to a health emergency.  It was not immediately announced what the issue was, but it was serious enough to keep Kelly in Chicago.

Along with the cancellation of his book launch event he also cancelled appearances on “Today” and “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon” on the following day.  These are big time bookings on a much needed promotional tour.  Something serious really must be going on with Kells.

Right away the internet went a buzz with speculation most jokingly saying that it was a “urinary tract infection”.  (that is actually sort of funny).

After seeing all the press, including a front page spot on MSN, and a story from TMZ, Kelly’s people thought it was prudent to put out some much needed details.  Here is what the release stated,

While on his way to New York this morning to celebrate the publication of his long-awaited memoir SoulaCoaster, multi-platinum R&B superstar R. Kelly was taken ill and had to return to Chicago for medical treatment. Initial indications are that he is suffering from complications from surgery he had last year to treat an abscess on his vocal cords.

It is unclear how long Kelly may be sidelined.

We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this has caused.

Last summer R. Kelly had surgery which forced him to cancel his appearance at Reggae Sumfest in Jamaica.  His performance on “The X Factor” back in December was his first time back on stage since the surgery.  From all accounts the surgery was thought to have been a complete success.  After it was over R. Kelly said,

“The doctor said the surgery went well. I know it may not look like it, but it did. I want y’all to continue to pray for me. Be strong out there, I will be back. I know it’s a lot of negativity out there, please don’t believe the hype. God is good all the time.”

 A BIG WEEK FOR R KELLY

Rolling Stones has published an excerpt from the book, which was released today. You can read a part of the chapter called, “Yo Pac! Yo Biggie!”.  It’s not that bad, you can take a sneak peak here.

 Kelly’s latest album “Write me Back” was also released on Tuesday. 

Let’s hope Kell’s can recover so he can get his promotion on.  There’s nothing worse than working hard for years and lining up A-list promotional gigs just to legitimately fall ill and not be able to leverage these key promotional outlets.  This could literally cost him hundreds of thousands of dollars.  Let’s hope he can pull things together while his book and album are still creating a buzz.