12 Play is the debut solo studio album by American R&B and soul singer-songwriter R. Kelly; it was released on November 9, 1993, by Jive Records. The album follows his tenure with R&B group Public Announcement, with whom he released one album, Born into the 90’s (1992). It went on to top the R&B albums chart for nine weeks straight, while reaching the second position on the US Billboard 200 chart.
The album features four singles including the sexually-themed singles “Bump n' Grind” (US, number 1), “Your Body’s Callin'” (US, number 13), and the more overtly direct “Sex Me, Pts. 1 & 2” (US, number 20). The album serves as the first of a trilogy of albums Kelly released under the “12 Play” moniker including TP-2.com (2000) and TP-3: Reloaded (2005). Since receiving an initially mixed response from critics, 12 Play has received more favorable retrospective criticism.
Background
Following the success of Born into the 90’s, as the member of the R&B group Public Announcement, Kelly began touring as an opening act for Gerald Levert and Glenn Jones. During the tour, Kelly said that he became frustrated with the poor lighting and empty seats during his set. To generate more attention during his set, Kelly began thinking of what would be his gimmick to take his show to the next level, something that would make people remember him. Kelly stated: “I thought about it for a couple of days, and I finally came up with a little skit, me just talking to the audience. At the point in the show where I would break down "Honey Love,” I would start talking to the audience."
Can I tell you all something? Can I keep it real? Can I tell you about a dream I had last night? Well, I actually had a dream where I made love to Mary J. Blige. Hey, it was only a dream, but it was so vivid, it felt real; but in this dream, it was more than foreplay – it was 12 Play. Can I sing it for y'all? Tell y'all how it went?
The audience yelled “YES!” and Kelly’s piano player accompanied him with chords. Kelly then began the countdown, “One. We’ll go to my room of fun.” The “12 Play” gimmick became so big that when Kelly went to radio stations to promote Born into the 90’s, the DJ’s wanted to hear “12 Play.” The demand for “12 Play” was so big that R. Kelly decided to create an album titled 12 Play. Kelly later said:
“I didn’t really know if the album would be as successful as it has been, but I hoped that it would. I was really taking a chance with the concept of this album.” – Kelly on the concept of the 12 Play album, 1994.
Musically, the album is a mixture of hip hop, hip hop soul, G-funk, new jack swing and R&B .