R. Kelly’s Daughter: My Estranged Father Still ‘Inspires Me’ As A Musician
R. Kelly’s daughter, 21-year-old Buku Abi says she can’t “run away” from doing music, but finding out about the “hell part” of her father’s life while attending public school, lead her to contemplate suicide.
Although Abi, whose real name is Joann Kelly, is estranged from her father she says she “can’t take what he’s done in the music world away from him.”
“There’s a lot about him as an artist that inspires me,” says Abi. Under the former stage name, Ariirayé, she did a song with her father called, “Wanna Be There,” which detailed their difficult relationship.
“I just want people to know that, at the end of the day, the stereotypes that you may have for other people, whether it be about race, sexuality, their financial status, don’t judge a book by its cover because nine times out of 10 you’re completely wrong,” she said. “I want to be an example of that.”
