Who the eff is R. Kelly?!

Prior to his hitting the headlines, re allegations of sexual abuse and misconduct, I never heard of this person. Even after Googling him I'm no closer to having a clue as to his "claim to fame". As far as I'm aware [no comments here, please], I have never heard anything he's written or performed (unless someone else covered it and I assumed said individual originated it).
What am I missing? And how might I have missed it?
[Keep in mind that I barely have a clue who Freddie Mercury was.]

I think your age is such that it's not unexpected of you to have never heard of R. Kelly, but how on Earth could you have missed Freddy Mercury?

I know nothing more about R. Kelly that his name and his current notoriety.

I didn't miss him, I just didn't know who the front man for Queen was. Not on my list of priorities.

Now Jefferson Airplane > Starship with Grace Slick ... that's my jam. Ditto for Big Brother and the Holding Company with Janis.

As for R. Kelly, a number of my e-correspondents have chimed in to advise that he's famous for being famous. (But at least I've heard of the Kardashians.) Quite frankly, R. Kelly would seem to be a waste of space and carbon, essentially the human equivalent of a cheap ink-jet printer.

I'm with you....I wouldn't know who he was if he came running out of an alley and bit my leg.

Actually, he's got quite a Wikipedia page...albeit not necessarily all good stuff.

Well, at least I can say I knew who Freddy Mercury was, even if he didn't bite my leg.

And if he were to bite your leg, "Mama mia let me go" would take on entirely new meaning.

Good one. Hahaha.