Chocolate Factory

R.kelly & Jay-Z, R. Kelly

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 18, 2003)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Jive
• ASIN: B00007E8J1
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  DVD Audio  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (155 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #19,251 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Perhaps R. Kelly's brushes with the law have caused him to turn down his love light, since his seventh album Chocolate Factory takes scrupulous pains to show an idealized high-minded face of love, eschewing his usual steamy cocktail of raunchy lust and replacing it with a sweet, winsome romanticism. "I'll Never Leave," is a wistful valentine, while "The Heart of a Woman," is embarrassingly empathetic to the plight of the feminine kind and is hardly the kind of fare that one expects from Marvin Gaye's heir apparent. Despite his real life racy escapades, Kelly is at his best musically when he's an unrepentant bad boy but he doesn't even show any grit until "Been Around the World," his confessional duet with a rasping Ja Rule, the fretful bluesy "You Made Me Love You," and "Ignition," a paean to parking. Despite "Ignition"’s first line, "Girl, please let me stick my key in your ignition, babe" it's rather tame by the standards Kelly has set on his earlier discs. "Chocolate Factory" also includes 6 bonus tracks from Loveland the album that was slated for a 2002 release, but was ostensibly shelved after it was rampantly bootlegged on the Internet. Despite the disc's soft focus, Kelly is at the height of his vocal powers, and once he weans himself from the gooey sentimentality and returns to his persona of a smooth seductive operator he'll once again be an artist to be reckoned with. --Jaan Uhelszki

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 1 or 2 stars ? You're kidding., October 7, 2003

By	Don Keith "unsung_don" (Brooklyn, NY.) - See all my reviews

First of all if you're going to review the album and say nonsense like " I think Afro American's are supporting him as a corner stone of hope! I am Afro american and I listen so many different types of music that R Kelly can be easily forgotten"

or ....
"if it wasnt for the song Ignition remix .i would have rated this album a zero" .

How about if you say something weak like....
"if this album was considered a comedy record, i would give it 5 stars"

Not forgetting this [stuff] ... And if you think Igniton is the only hit on that CD then you probably haven't listened to real R'n'B. I suggest you stick to Britney Spears.

Back to the TOPIC at hand.
This is an amazing piece of work. The definition of a true R'n'B artist is one who can take it back in the day to when our parents were doing their thang and bring it to the new age of hip hop and R'n'B all in one album. R Kelly fits that description. No other artist does it the way he does and Chocolate Factory is the evidence.I love all the songs because they have their different qualities. None of them are the same (with the exception of Step In The Name...). Right now my song is the remix to Step In The Name of Love.

My advice is to all the haters is that if you have the ear to hear good music then use it. If your ear is somehow designed to censor off stuff like The Pied Piper then you might as well go deaf.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars There Is No Way To Deny This Guy, November 25, 2003

By	K. J. Bryant "peachycream" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

What can I say? I feel bad. Why? Because I like this cd. No matter what I think of him as a person (don't like him), I can't hide the fact that this guy is the best R&B artist of today. Its him who is keeping the memory alive for Marvin G., Teddy P., Curtis M., David R., and so on. The uptempo songs are slamming, especially the one with Fat Joe. And the ballads are beautiful and amazing. The song, "Forever" was played at every wedding I went to this year. I didn't think R.Kelly could outdo himself after TP-2.Com because that cd was simply amazing. But he did with this one.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars R. Kelly is Back, March 12, 2003

By A Customer

Chocolate Factory is a great album. The best songs on this cd is Heart of the Woman,Ignition(remix),Showdown-feat.Ron Isley.This cd is a tight cd but only one problem,the cd is edited in some parts.I got the only version I saw availiable.I know Kelly is going through personal trials and the record companies might be a little afraid of releasing something that might offend someone.Kelly work should have been released unedited or have a choice like the rest of the entertainment world.I hate songs with gaps in it but ican get over that because it is a strong cd and if you are a true R.Kelly fan a true fan of REAL fan r&b you will buy this cd.