''Chocolate Factory'' is the fifth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

by American recording artist R. Kelly, released on February 18, 2003, by

Jive Records Jive Records was an American independent record label founded by Clive Calder in 1981 as a subsidiary to the Zomba Group. In the US, the label had offices in New York City and Chicago. Jive was best known for its successes with hip hop, R&B, ...

. Recording sessions took place mainly at Rockland Studios and

Chicago Recording Company Chicago Recording Company, or CRC, is a recording studio in Chicago, Illinois, founded in 1975. Boasting twelve studios, CRC is the largest recording company in the Midwest, and the largest independent studio in the country. History Early history ...

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, and the album was primarily written, arranged, and produced by R. Kelly. Originally titled ''Loveland'', ''Chocolate Factory'' was conceived by Kelly amid controversy over his sex scandal at the time. The album debuted at number one on the US ''Billboard'' 200, selling over 532,000 copies in its first week of sales. It achieved success in international markets and produced three singles that attained chart success, including "

Snake Snakes are elongated, limbless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales. Many species of snakes have skulls with several more ...

" and "

Step in the Name of Love "Step in the Name of Love (Remix)" is a hit song by R&B singer R. Kelly. Taken from the 2003 album ''Chocolate Factory'', the song became the tenth single from Kelly (and the final one to date) to reach #1 on the R&B chart, particularly on th ...

", and the international hit "

Ignition (Remix) "Ignition (Remix)" is a song written and produced by American R&B singer R. Kelly. It was released in 2002 as the lead single from his sixth studio album ''Chocolate Factory'' (2003). It is viewed as one of his most well-known songs and was a maj ...

". ''Chocolate Factory'' was well received by critics, receiving rave reviews from publications such as ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' and ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

''. The album has sold over 3 million copies worldwide, and received sales certifications in the United States and United Kingdom.

Background

Recording sessions for the album took place primarily at Rockland Studios and

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

.Track listing and credits as per liner notes for ''Chocolate Factory'' album Other recording locations included the Record Plant, in Los Angeles, California, Soup Can Music in Harper Woods, Michigan, and Vanguard Studios in Oak Park, Michigan. ''Chocolate Factory'' was written, arranged, and produced entirely by R. Kelly. It was released February 18, 2003 on

, following a year of legal accusations for which he was acquitted in 2008.R Kelly timeline
''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

''. Retrieved on 2009-08-05.

''Loveland'' and leaks

The album was originally intended to release in 2002 by the name of "Loveland"; this album was scrapped amid bootlegging. ''Loveland'', which had a significantly different tracklisting, was to feature the original "Step in the Name of Love", his 2001 single "

The World's Greatest "The World's Greatest" is a song written and performed by American R&B singer R. Kelly. The song was originally featured on the soundtrack to the film ''Ali'', and also appeared on bootleg copies of Kelly's unreleased album, ''Loveland'', which ...

", and various other songs, including a ten-minute opera remix of his 1996 hit I Believe I Can Fly. Although first-run copies of ''Chocolate Factory'' included a bonus disc called ''Loveland'', it is different than the bootleg as it is abridged and features mostly different, unleaked songs. Upon the initial leaks, The New York Times described ''Loveland'' as "one of fall's most promising albums" and noted that despite poor audio quality, "much of the music is great". ''Loveland,'' in its bootlegged form, is described as containing gospel, romantic 70s-inspired soul, opera, and contemporary R&B. A few songs from ''Loveland'' were included on ''Chocolate Factory'', but the album was never released in its original form. Kelly mentions ''Loveland'' by name in the remix to "Step in the Name of Love", and promotional material for ''Chocolate Factory'' declare ''Loveland'' as "never to be released.

Music and lyrics

''Chocolate Factory'' comprises

slow jam A slow jam is music with rhythm and blues and soul influences. Slow jams are commonly R&B ballads or downtempo songs, and are mostly soft-sounding with heavily emotional or romantic lyrical content. The earliest known use of the term is the 1983 ...

s and upbeat club tracks, and many of its songs draw on classic

soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became ...

with

call-and-response Call and response is a form of interaction between a speaker and an audience in which the speaker's statements ("calls") are punctuated by responses from the listeners. This form is also used in music, where it falls under the general category of ...

choruses and harmonies inspired by

the Temptations The Temptations are an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top ...

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...

, and

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, pop, s ...

. Kelly's vocals veer between singing and

rapping Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

. Kelefa Sanneh of ''

'' writes that he "pack his verses full of words, then improvise a tricky vocal line around a simple tune." Most of the album's lyrics focuses on romance. On "Forever", Kelly croons about an exaggerated fantasy of the married life, with "a picket fence, dog and a house / About 12 kids, you're cooking me breakfast in the morning, I'm taking the garbage out." The lively "Ignition (Remix)" is a lustful song built on automotive double-entendres.Sanneh, Kelefa
Review: ''Chocolate Factory''
''

''. Retrieved on 2009-08-05.

Critical reception

''Chocolate Factory'' received generally positive reviews from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...

. At

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an

average In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7 ...

score of 65, based on 10 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".

Kelefa Sanneh Kelefa T. Sanneh (born 1976) is an American journalist and music critic. From 2000 to 2008, he wrote for ''The New York Times'', covering the rock and roll, hip-hop, and pop music scenes. Since 2008 he has been a staff writer for ''The New Yorke ...

of ''

'' found the album "elegant and strange". ''

Mojo Mojo may refer to: *Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * MOJO HD, an American television network * ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film * '' ...

'' stated, "''Chocolate Factory'' seems positively inspired... An impressively varied opus", and

BBC Online BBC Online, formerly known as BBCi, is the BBC's online service. It is a large network of websites including such high-profile sites as BBC News and Sport, the on-demand video and radio services branded BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds, the childr ...

stated " ellydoesn't sound like a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders, but a revived soul in spiritual euphoria." Sterling Clover of ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the cr ...

'' noted the album's "quantity and consistency of sonic presence" and praised Kelly's performance with respect to his songs' structures, stating "Kelly has sussed how to ground himself in tight rhythmic bass and a solid backup chorus, refiguring them into layered and discontinuous sheets of sound".Clover, Sterling
Review: ''Chocolate Factory''
''

''. Retrieved on 2009-08-05. ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

''s

Anthony DeCurtis Anthony DeCurtis (born June 25, 1951) is an American author and music critic, who has written for ''Rolling Stone,'' the ''New York Times'', '' Relix'' and many other publications. Career DeCurtis is a contributing editor at ''Rolling Stone'', ...

cited ''Chocolate Factory'' as "among the best work of his career" and went on to write "... as a singer, songwriter and producer, he's at the top of his game." In a mixed review,

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New Yo ...

's Sal Cinquemani wrote that "Kelly's songwriting skills leave much to be desired; for every hook-driven 'You Knock Me Out' there's a 'Showdown,' an asinine, interlude-filled insult to songwriters everywhere".Cinquemani, Sal
Review: ''Chocolate Factory''

. Retrieved on 2009-08-05. '' Q'' wrote that "as ever, he album'ssongs veer between the nigglingly infectious and cliched slush." ''

'' writer

Greg Kot Greg Kot (born March 3, 1957) is an American music journalist and author. From 1990 until 2020, Kot was the rock music critic at the '' Chicago Tribune'', where he covered popular music and reported on music-related social, political and busine ...

viewed that "the subtext for this one makes it sound like musical spin control, a public-relations manifesto as much as an R&B album. ..There are a few moments when the disconnect between Kelly's lyrics and his sordid legal troubles becomes disturbing, no more so than when he refers to himself as the ' pied piper of R&B' in 'Step in the Name of Love,' a reference to the fairy-tale figure who enticed a village full of children away from their parents".Kot, Greg (February 16, 2003)
Review: ''Chocolate Factory''
''

''. Retrieved on 2010-10-31. Dan Leroy of

Yahoo! Music Yahoo! Music was a brand under which Yahoo! provided a variety of music services, including Internet radio, music videos, news, artist information, and original programming. Previously, users with Yahoo! accounts could gain access to hundreds o ...

's felt that "Kelly’s hot-blooded horniness is an integral part of his persona; he can hardly back away from the risque R&B that’s made him what he is, despite the underage sex scandal that dogs him".Leroy, Dan
Review: ''Chocolate Factory''

. Retrieved on 2009-08-05. On Kelly's performance, Leroy concluded by writing: '' The A.V. Club''s Nathan Rabin wrote that Kelly "stitches" his "hopelessly cheesy" come-ons and "honeyed promises ... together with such craft and invests them with such conviction that they become a strange sort of pulp poetry", adding that he "matches his shamelessness with a gift for crafting melodies that burrow their way into listeners' subconscious with almost sadistic force".Rabin, Nathan
Review: ''Chocolate Factory''
'' The A.V. Club''. Retrieved on 2009-08-05. Keith Harris of ''

The Rolling Stone Album Guide ''The Rolling Stone Album Guide'', previously known as ''The Rolling Stone Record Guide'', is a book that contains professional music reviews written and edited by staff members from ''Rolling Stone'' magazine. Its first edition was published in 1 ...

'' (2004) wrote that by the album's release, Kelly had "apparently learned from Michael Jackson's publicity mistakes, because the new Kelly was less haunted, if no less horny. The hit 'Ignition (Remix)' was his warmest pick-up joint to date, and set the tone for the new record—and maybe a new stage in his career". More critical was veteran ''Village Voice'' reviewer

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

. While singling out "Ignition (Remix)" as the only worthy song from the album, he dismissed the recognition received by the album as critics having reevaluated Kelly's "manifestly skillful, manifestly simplistic" body of work more for its news value amid the performer's

child pornography Child pornography (also called CP, child sexual abuse material, CSAM, child porn, or kiddie porn) is pornography that unlawfully exploits children for sexual stimulation. It may be produced with the direct involvement or sexual assault of a ...

charges. For Christgau, ''Chocolate Factory'' had "bum-rushed the populace with woman-friendly rhetoric—pledges of devotion and other idealistic fancies, individualized sexual flattery, and an abject token in which Kelly not only ranks female 'backbone' above male 'bullshit' but allows as how said bullshit may be why women smoke cigarettes and snap off on their kids." He went on to dismiss "Showdown", "Snake", and "Who's That" as a "Kelly-vs.-Isley

cuckolding A cuckold is the husband of an adulterous wife; the wife of an adulterous husband is a cuckquean. In biology, a cuckold is a male who unwittingly invests parental effort in juveniles who are not genetically his offspring. A husband who is a ...

contest", an "Orientalist sex fantasy", and "some pimp-and-thug—how'd he put it?—bullshit", respectively. While finding the remix of "Step in the Name of Love" to be "hugely engaging", Christgau pointed out how "cavalier" or "stupid" it is for Kelly to declare himself "the pied piper of r&b" given the title's "

pedophilic Pedophilia ( alternatively spelt paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of puberty a ...

implications".

Accolades

The album was included in ''Rolling Stone''s 50 Best Albums of 2003. ''Chocolate Factory'' was ranked in several "End of Year" lists, including ''

Blender A blender (sometimes called a mixer or liquidiser in British English) is a kitchen and laboratory appliance used to mix, crush, purée or emulsify food and other substances. A stationary blender consists of a blender container with a rotating me ...

'' magazine's 2003 Albums of the Year List at number 12 and ''

''s Pazz & Jop Critics' Poll at number 44. Three ''New York Times'' staff writers included it on their top ten lists for 2003.Sanneh, Kelefa
The Albums and Songs of the Year
''The New York Times''. Retrieved on 2009-08-05.Strauss, Neil

''The New York Times''. Retrieved on 2009-08-05.Ratliff, Ben

''The New York Times''. Retrieved on 2009-08-05. ''Chocolate Factory'' was nominated for the 2004

Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B Album The Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B Album was an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality works on albums in the contemporar ...

, and "Step in the Name of Love" was nominated for

Best Male R&B Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance was awarded between 1968 and 2011. The award has had several minor name changes: *In 1968 it was awarded as Best R&B Solo Vocal Performance, Male *From 1969 to 1994 it was awarded as Best R&B ...

.Product Page: ''Chocolate Factory''
Muze. Retrieved on 2010-10-31. Rhapsody named it the second best R&B album of the first decade of the 21st century. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

'' magazine ranked ''Chocolate Factory'' at number 169 on its list of the Top 200 Albums of the Decade.

Commercial performance

''Chocolate Factory'' was first released by

on February 17, 2003, in the United Kingdom, and then on February 18 in the United States. It debuted at number one on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart, with first-week sales of over 532,000 copies. After the release of Kelly's hit single, "

", which peaked at number two on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, the album went on to sell over 2.72 million copies in the United States. Other hits released from ''Chocolate Factory'' included "Snake" featuring

Big Tigger Darian "Big Tigger" Morgan (born December 22, 1972), also known as Big Tigg, is an American television/radio personality and rapper best known as the host of BET's '' Rap City'' and ''106 & Park''. Biography Morgan was born to a Jamaican immigra ...

, peaking at number 16, and the classic soul-inspired " stepper's anthem", "Step in the Name of Love", peaking at number 9. The album's packaging design is very similar to the design of

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

's '' Chocolate City'' album. On May 19, 2003, the album was certified

double platinum Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

(RIAA), for shipments in excess of two million copies in the United States.Gold & Platinum - Searchable Database: ''Chocolate Factory''

(RIAA). Retrieved on 2009-10-31. ''Chocolate Factory'' has also been certified gold by the

British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with ...

(BPI) for shipments in excess of 100,000 copies in the United Kingdom. It has sold over three million copies worldwide.

Track listing

All songs written, produced, and arranged by R. Kelly.

Regular edition

Notes

* "Step in the Name of Love", "Forever", and "You Knock Me Out" were previously leaked in 2002 on bootleg copies of ''Loveland''.

''Loveland (Bonus Disc)''

A limited edition of the album was also released, containing a bonus disc that has a seven-track EP titled ''Loveland,'' named after the original, scrapped version of the album. Despite this, only two songs from the bonus disc, "The World's Greatest" and "Far More", were leaked on bootleg copies of ''Loveland''.

Personnel

Credits for ''Chocolate Factory'' adapted from

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

. Credits: ''Chocolate Factory'' Allmusic. Retrieved on 2010-10-30. * Percy Bady – Keyboards * Diana Copeland – Executive Assistant * Steve Bearsley – Assistant * Glen Brown – Assistant * Kara Buhl – Photo Production, Producer * Greg Calvert – Assistant * Joan Collaso – Choir, Chorus * Joe Donatello – Engineer, Programming * Rodney East – Keyboards * David Feldman – Assistant * Tony Flores – Assistant * Yvonne Gage – Choir, Chorus * Andy Gallas – Assistant, Engineer, Programming * Abel Garibaldi – Engineer, Mixing, Programming * Şerban Ghenea – Mixing * Hart Hollman & The Motown Romance Orchestra – Orchestra * Brandon Hull – Assistant * Dave Hyman – Assistant * Kim Johnson – Vocals (Background) * R. Kelly – Arranger, Mixing, Producer, Vocals * Gregg Landfair – Guitar * James Lee – Assistant * Henry Love – Conga * Donnie Lyle – Bass, Guitar, Keyboards, Mando * Paul Mabin – Choir, Chorus * Tony Maserati – Mixing * Ian Mereness – Engineer, Mixing, Programming * Jason Mlodzinski – Assistant *

Peter Mokran Peter Mokran is an American mixer, producer, engineer and musician. Early life Mokran was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. Growing up, he studied classical guitar, while also learning engineering and programming as a teen.Paul Tingen“Secr ...

– Mixing * Nick Monson – Assistant * Jeffrey Morrow – Choir, Chorus * Jackie Murphy – Art Direction, Design * Kendall D. Nesbitt – Keyboards * Juan Ortiz – Assistant * Herb Powers – Mastering * Reisig – Photography * Paul Riser – Conductor, Horn Arrangements, Horn Conductor, Orchestration, String Arrangements, String Conductor * Tim Roberts – Assistant * Carl Robinson – Engineer, Horn Engineer, String Engineer * Stevie Robinson – Choir, Chorus * Johnny Rutledge – Choir, Chorus * The Soul Children – Performer * Deatta Staples – Vocals (Background) * Jeff Vereb – Assistant * Pamela Watson – Stylist * Nathan Wheeler – Assistant Engineer * Kyle White – Assistant * Walt Whitman & the Soul Children – Performer * Simbryt Whititngton – Choir, Chorus

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

Bibliography

External links

*
Chocolate Factory
' at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the ...

*
Criminal (Critical) Accomplice: Writing About R. Kelly
— By Mark Anthony Neal {{Authority control 2003 albums Albums produced by R. Kelly Jive Records albums R. Kelly albums