R. Kelly will vacate the Chicago building that houses his recording studio following a judge’s ruling that placed a strict curfew on use of the premises.
“On February 8, 2019, an order was entered limiting R. Kelly’s access to his recording studio between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m,” Kelly’s lawyer Steven Greenberg said in a statement.
“Thru the years, history has admired creativity. Beethoven worked and wrote during the night. So did Freud, Tolstoy, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Edison, Elon Musk, and Churchill, amongst thousands of others. John Lennon spent 24 hours a day in bed while recording. Many people work day and/or night, or both. Nonetheless, Robert Kelly has been ordered by a judge to not to be creative between 9:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m.”
A Chicago judge previously slapped Kelly with 66 building violations in connection to the building, which the singer converted into a illegal living quarters, complete with kitchen, bar room, sauna and the recording studio.
The judge approved this order despite proof other recording studios, here and around the world, are allowed to operate on a 24-hour schedule. The judge’s ruling was without any logical rationale. A building that is structurally sound for use as a recording studio for an hour is sound all day,” Greenberg continued. “R. Kelly can never be creative and do his job under these circumstances which leaves him no choice but to leave his building.”
The lawyer also insinuated that the ruling against Kelly “is a vindictive and baseless reaction to unsubstantiated claims of decades old misconduct.” “Almost all of the statements in the documentary [Surviving R. Kelly] were previously debunked, by facts, and rejected by the police, judges, and a jury,” Greenberg said. “A hashtag does not make people truthful or credible.”
The Chicago Department of Buildings declined to comment to Rolling Stone in regards to Kelly vacating the building. When asked when specifically when Kelly would vacate the premises, Greenberg replied to Rolling Stone, “Working on it.”