Soulless: The Case Against R. Kelly

The essential account of R. Kelly’s actions and their consequences, a reckoning two decades in the making In 2000, Chicago journalist and music critic Jim DeRogatis received an anonymous fax that alleged that R. Kelly had a problem with “young girls.” Weeks later, DeRogatis broke the shocking allegations—that the R&B superstar had groomed, sexually abused, and paid off young girls—wide open. Still, Kelly’s career flourished. No one seemed to care: not the music industry, not the culture at large, not the parents of numerous girls. For more than 18 years, DeRogatis stayed on the story. Soulless: The Case Against R. Kelly is a work of tenacious journalism and cultural criticism. It tells the story of Kelly’s career and DeRogatis’s investigations, bringing the story up to the moment when things finally seem to have changed.

"DeRogatis captivates in this expertly told narrative"--Publishers Weekly, "A brave and important book"--Booklist, "A comprehensive document of the many allegations of statutory rape, sexual assault, and physical and psychological abuse levied against R. Kelly dating back to 1991. ... packed start to finish."--Vulture, "A devastating, thorough accounting of Kelly's alleged abuses as systematized predation. In explicitly outlining the multiple junctures at which Kelly, his supporters, law enforcement, and journalists have failed the dozens of young black women whom Kelly is accused of abusing, DeRogatis definitively--if also wearily--conveys the sheer magnitude of Kelly's relative impunity."--The Atlantic, "A must-read."--Variety

Jim DeRogatis is an associate professor of instruction at Columbia College Chicago and the host, with Greg Kot, of the nationally syndicated public radio show Sound Opinions. The author of Let it Blurt: The Life and Times of Lester Bangs and other books, he spent 15 years as the pop music critic at the Chicago Sun-Times. He lives in Chicago.

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