In 'Soulless,' A Journalist Takes On R. Kelly And The Business That Made Him A Star

R. Kelly has been a hero, an icon, a demon and a punchline — all at the same time. There is no neat narrative arc of ascendance, fall and perhaps eventual redemption: This is an R&B singer who was feted as an American idol, performing at the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics, on the same day that Chicago police revealed that they were investigating him for child pornography.

It's been 19 years since Chicago journalist and music critic Jim DeRogatis first wrote about Kelly and alleged his problem with "young girls" — and less than a week since Kelly was most recently indicted in Illinois, this time on charges of . Far more recently, a widespread public reckoning against Kelly began, ushered in part by a push by and by a six-part Lifetime documentary series called