R. Kelly

Released: June 6, 2000

Songwriter: R. Kelly

Producer: R. Kelly

You see really I don't
Give a damn what you may think of me
(That's right you're a bad ass nigga)
I'mma do what I'mma do, I'mma say what I'mma say
(You think you're a bad ass nigga)
Ya understand what I'm saying?
Well you better

I was born in these streets
Raised in these streets
Walked in these streets
Taught by these streets
Lived in these streets
Hustled in these streets
Arrested in these streets
Protected by these streets

Yeah you know I walk
Through the valley of these streets
I shall not fear these streets
Because I run these streets

(Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa)
And I've paid my own dues
With my own pennies and now

1 - I'm a bad man
I'm not ashamed of
A bad man yeah
And don't need your love
I'm a bad man yeah
I'm not ashamed of
I'm a bad man
My life's made me tough

I've stood on these blocks
More hood on these blocks
Got paid on these blocks
Sprayed on these blocks
Moved in on these blocks
Went out on these blocks
I've been around the block
Been watched on these blocks

Yeah you know I walk
Through the valley of these blocks
I shall not fear these blocks
Because I run these blocks, yeah

(Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa)
Paid my own dues with my own pennies
And I'm

Repeat 1

Now I believe the day will come
When my heart will decide to change
But until then
See everything will remain the same

Repeat 1

See sometimes I gotta tell myself
(I'm a bad man)
To keep surviving
And no matter what the cause
(I'm a bad man)
I gotta keep on keeping on yeah
Came up in these streets
(I'm a bad man)
There was no father there for me, hey ooh
(I'm a bad man)
Cause sometimes we would just have to go without eating
Hey how you like me now?
(I'm a bad man)
Give my life for my brother
See I'm a bad mother SHUT YOUR MOUTH
(I'm a bad man)
Go on, go on, go on, go on...

Robert Kelly is a Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter, and producer from the South Side of Chicago, Illinois, where he first started performing under the “L” subway tracks as a teenager. This led into his first album, Born Into the 90’s, being released in 1992 as a collaboration between R. Kelly and Public Announcement. R. Kelly wrote and produced the entire album, which contained the #1 R&B hits “Honey Love” and “Slow Dance,” along with the Top 10 R&B hits “She’s Got That Vibe” (#7) and “Dedicated” (#9). The following year, Kelly went on to become a solo act.

In 1993, he released his first solo album, 12 Play, featuring the hits “Bump N' Grind” and “Your Body’s Callin'.” He released a self-titled album in 1995 featuring the hits “Down Low (Nobody Has To Know)” and “You Remind Me of Something,” while his 1998 double album, R., featured a string of hits, including “I Am Your Angel” with Celine Dion, “When a Woman’s Fed Up,” and his Grammy Award-winning song “I Believe I Can Fly” from the Space Jam soundtrack.

The success of these albums led to him becoming an in-demand producer in the ‘90s, writing and producing #1 hits for Aaliyah (“Back & Forth”), Janet Jackson (“Any Time, Any Place (Remix)”), Changing Faces (“G.H.E.T.T.O.U.T”), Maxwell (“Fortunate”), and Michael Jackson (“You Are Not Alone”).

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