New Music: R. Kelly [ft. T.I. and T-Pain]: "I'm a Flirt (Remix)"
It's kind of surprising R. Kelly didn't just call this "I'm a Slut". It'd have been so much truer to the lyrics, which bluntly and repeatedly hammer home one point: Gentlemen, if there is a woman to whom you are attached in any way, do not bring her to a club and leave her alone, or R. Kelly will sleep with her, resulting in her "calling you Kelly/ When your name is Tommy."
The repetition could get tired fast, but Kelly's ability to craft a tautology is unparalleled in modern pop. One piece of evidence he gives to support his claim is that he's "in the club talking with honeys like I'm supposed to," and he commits to statements like this with total seriousness. The performance is hilarious in its absurdity, like watching the horniest snake in the world eat its own tail.
As a welcome but unnecessary bonus, T.I. and T-Pain both provide slick, efficient guest spots, something T.I. in particular has become a master of recently. Here, he reprises his "Why You Wanna" nice-guy persona and even offers his competition a few pointers worthy of the Pied Piper himself, e.g. "Better eat your girl like another man will."
Along with his own recent guest appearances on tracks by Fat Joe and Young Jeezy, "I'm a Flirt" bodes well for R. Kelly's forthcoming album, which is rumored to come out in May. And if titular understatement is what allows him to write songs like this, here's hoping the album's called From Time to Time, I Am Aroused.
Stream: >> R. Kelly [ft. T.I. & T-Pain]: "I'm a Flirt (Remix)" [RealAudio]
Stream: >> R. Kelly [ft. T.I. & T-Pain]: "I'm a Flirt (Remix)" [Windows Media]
[from his forthcoming full-length; due in May on Jive]