R. Kelly fans thought Christmas had come early for them when a surprise new album from the disgraced music star titled ‘I Admit It’ appeared out of nowhere on streaming services Friday (December 9).

But, just as many were getting cozy with the 13-track effort, streamers began snatching it down once official reps confirmed it was a fake.

Many were puzzled by the arrival of new music from the GRAMMY winner given that he’s currently serving a 30-year sentence for racketeering and sex trafficking.

It turns out the project, despite being listed on his official Apple Music and Spotify pages, was unauthorized and unofficial.

Report:

“…reps for Sony Music, which owns the rights to much of the singer’s catalog, stressed to Variety that the album is an unofficial release (i.e. a bootleg), even though the copyright line on the album reads “Legacy Recordings,” which is Sony Music’s catalog division.

Sony’s rep confirmed that the release is not legitimate but did not immediately have further details.”

News of the set soared on Twitter, with many slamming Apple Music and Spotify for “supporting” new releases from the convicted star (whose music was once “muted” on major platforms following renewed allegations of sex crimes).  The public disapproval barely had time to reach a boil before Spotify and Apple Music removed ‘I Admit It’ from their digital shelves.

“This content has been removed from the platform at the request of the distributor,” a rep for Spotify told the press.

Apparently a collection of previously unreleased tracks, reps from Kelly’s camp have issued a statement about the hoopla and vehemently deny being behind its release – even suggesting that whoever leaked the set “is [stealing] intellectual property from” the singer.

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