R. Kelly & UMG Ordered To Pay $500K In Victim Restitution From Royalties

BYGabriel Bras Nevares4.4K Views
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R Kelly Returns To Court For Hearing On Aggravated Sexual Abuse Charges
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - JUNE 26: R&B singer R. Kelly covers his mouth as he speaks to members of his entourage as he leaves the Leighton Criminal Courts Building following a hearing on June 26, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. Prosecutors turned over to Kelly's defense team a DVD that alleges to show Kelly having sex with an underage girl in the 1990s. Kelly has been charged with multiple sex crimes involving four women, three of whom were underage at the time of the alleged encounters. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
A judge garnished the singer's royalties in order to pay outstanding debts to victims of his crimes, which Universal Music Group withheld.

It seems like, despite R. Kelly's failure to comply with victim restitution, the court is still able to get the money victims deserve. Moreover, according to legal documents obtained by TMZ Hip Hop, a judge signed an order into effect that garnished $500K from the convicted singer's royalties amid his twenty-year prison sentence for sex crimes. Apparently, Universal Music Group held a lot of his royalties and hadn't yet paid this amount in victim restitution, for which legal authorities had to intervene. In addition, reports suggest that much of these unpaid royalties stem from the R&B artist's older hits that UMG hadn't cashed in yet. Specifically, the company has over $567K in royalties.

Furthermore, this would cover R. Kelly's outstanding debt of $506,950.26 to victims- and then some. Of course, these royalties mostly relate to his past material because, when it comes to new music, the Chicago native did not see a lot of success. Labels and imprints quickly dropped him among his trials and controversies. Regardless, many fans still hold on to his classics and big tracks, and even with all of this legal reckoning in mind, they still hold a lot of weight for listeners.

R. Kelly In Court

CHICAGO, IL - SEPTEMBER 17: Singer R. Kelly appears during a hearing at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse on September 17, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. Kelly is facing multiple sexual assault charges and is being held without bail. (Photo by Antonio Perez - Pool via Getty Images)

In fact, the 56-year-old's chances of ever returning to the musical realm seem quite slim. While many support him in terms of still listening to and praising his music, they also acknowledge that things are too far gone. Dame Dash is one of many industry titans who spoke on the R. Kelly situation and thought justice came to light. "I think he’s where he belongs,” the Roc-A-Fella affiliate explained. “I know Aaliyah, so I know what he did, I can’t be objective about that, you know what I’m saying? But he definitely seemed like he needed some help.

"I couldn’t believe [Jay-Z] did a project with R. Kelly knowing that he had r*ped my girl," he added. "I was like, ‘Just don’t put my name on that, I don’t want no money from that. If it is, put it to Aaliyah foundation.’ Like, they did this s**t twice." For more news and the latest updates on R. Kelly, come back to HNHH.

About The Author
Gabriel Bras Nevares is a staff writer for HotNewHipHop. He joined HNHH while completing his B.A. in Journalism & Mass Communication at The George Washington University in the summer of 2022. Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Gabriel treasures the crossover between his native reggaetón and hip-hop news coverage, such as his review for Bad Bunny’s hometown concert in 2024. But more specifically, he digs for the deeper side of hip-hop conversations, whether that’s the “death” of the genre in 2023, the lyrical and parasocial intricacies of the Kendrick Lamar and Drake battle, or the many moving parts of the Young Thug and YSL RICO case. Beyond engaging and breaking news coverage, Gabriel makes the most out of his concert obsessions, reviewing and recapping festivals like Rolling Loud Miami and Camp Flog Gnaw. He’s also developed a strong editorial voice through album reviews, think-pieces, and interviews with some of the genre’s brightest upstarts and most enduring obscured gems like Homeboy Sandman, Bktherula, Bas, and Devin Malik.
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