R. Kelly Sidelined By Health Scare

R. Kelly's voice defined a generation, but now the iconic singer's vocal chords are a source of concern for him and his team.

One of Kelly's reps told that the singer — who released his 11th studio album, Write Me Back, on Tuesday — was on his way into New York City for a series of press obligations and appearances when he began to experience some discomfort. With Kellz and his team about three hours from the Big Apple, the bus turned around to head back to Kelly's hometown of Chicago, where he will see a specialist.

TMZ reported that the singer's discomfort stems from his emergency surgery in July 2011, where doctors had to drain an abscess on one of his tonsils. According to the site, Kelly had to cancel scheduled appearances on "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon" and NBC's "Today" show and a book-launch party. The Pied Piper of R&B's reps tell TMZ they are unsure how long he will be sidelined.

Kelly was busy promoting his upcoming book, "Soulacoaster: The Diary of Me." On Tuesday, Rolling Stone ran an excerpt from the book in which the Grammy Award-winning singer expresses his admiration for the Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur. He reveals that he and 'Pac discussed the possibility of doing a Best of Both Worlds about six years before Kelly and Jay-Z released their collaborative work. Unfortunately, Tupac's tragic murder put an end to that idea.

Kellz did have the chance to work with the Notorious B.I.G., however. Together, they recorded a few songs, including 1995's "(You to Be) Be Happy" and 1997's "F--- You Tonight." Still, Biggie left his biggest impression when Kelly auditioned the legendary rapper for an unfinished version of "I Believe I Can Fly."

"I'm gonna tell you right now, B, that's a smash. That's a big hit right there. That's a Grammy winner, Rob," Kelly recalls a tearful Biggie saying. "They gonna be playing that when you and I have moved onto the other side of time."

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