01. R. Kelly’s Slow Jams

Amrit’s recap of R. Kelly’s Bonnaroo performance is almost to a tee how his Pitchfork set played out. He, sadly, did not descend from the sky in a cherry-picker to start the show, but there were dove balloons, a choir, and even his “riff” about how he was asked not to curse (which, duh, Aziz Ansari has a whole routine about this part of Kelly’s live show, so the spoilers have already been out there) and that he performs with no breaks. But knowing these things was of no consequence. And while a large chunk of the crowd was amped most for “Ignition (Remix)” or “I’m A Flirt” — and, seemingly, it was just true Chicagoans going in for “Thoia Thoing” and the like — Kells was at his best when he was crooning. His passion is palpable, especially when he’s asked the crowd to sing along with every part of Ciara’s “Promise” — and you feel like you’re her — or when he mashes “Down Low” and its remix together and there’s no way Ron Isley isn’t going to retreat from the heavens to perform it with him. Kelly may have demons that trail him, but you can tell that when he’s performing, he’s only making music because he wants it to make the world a better place. I don’t know anyone who didn’t cry when the bird-balloons were relinquished into the sky during his “I Believe I Can Fly” finale.