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Double Up
by R. Kelly

R. Kelly reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 63 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
6.4 out of 10
based on 15 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 21 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album

Apparently no longer trapped in the closet, the crooner enlists Young Jeezy, Snoop Dogg, Ludacris and T.I. to help enliven this upbeat successor to 2005's 'TP.3 Reloaded.'

LABEL: Jive
RELEASE DATE: 29 May 2007
DISCS: 1 disc
GENRE(S): R&B

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

83
Stylus Magazine
It’s the most consistently entertaining and lasting of R. Kelly’s albums yet.
Read Full Review
80
NOW Magazine
Those lyrics may seem slightly ridiculous, but between them and his thinly veiled metaphors for his need to perform cunnilingus (Sweet Tooth), Kelly's originality and talent for making instant club hits is un-fucking-deniable.
Read Full Review
75
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Kelly routinely cooks up killer grooves that make his exuberantly stupid lyrics and hackneyed song concepts seem strangely charming.
Read Full Review
70
Blender
Kelly's true genius is the metaphor-laden sex jam, and Double Up has some great ones. [Jul 2007, p.115]
70
PopMatters
One of Kelly’s funniest and funnest records to date.
Read Full Review
70
The New York Times
This is a nutty album, but a pretty single-minded one.
Read Full Review
67
Pitchfork
In a sense, it seems more apropos to judge Double Up as a comedy record than as a pop record.
Read Full Review
60
Hot Press
This is a maddeningly inconsistent collection, with more misses than hits – though Kelly’s best moments do go some way towards atoning for his flaws.
Read Full Review
60
Rolling Stone
This album piles on the bump 'n' grind.
Read Full Review
60
Billboard
It's a very sexually explicit R. Kelly who greets fans on this outing. [2 Jun 2007]
50
Entertainment Weekly
Just as surely as Justin brought sexy back, Kelly is bringing slightly creepy back.
Read Full Review
40
Tiny Mix Tapes
A real slog to get through.
Read Full Review
40
The Guardian
The reaction Double Up provokes makes you think of the scene from The Producers when the opening night performance of Springtime For Hitler ends and the camera pans on to the audience: open-mouthed, frozen, aghast.
Read Full Review
40
Dot Music
His tenuous grasp on reality and good taste slips and he plummets into a tawdry, gratuitous and self-congratulatory flurry of misogyny, expletives and reggae.
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20
Slant Magazine
Unsaved by anything resembling an acceptable musical hook, Kelly's lyrics are uniformly dumb.
Read Full Review

What Our Users Said

Vote Now! The average user rating for this album is 6.4 (out of 10) based on 21 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Todd W. gave it a0:
Anyone who listens to and admires this criminal should double up in the same jail cell in which this guy belongs, if not for his money and station in life. A true example of the idiom, "Life just isn't fair," this guy should make fans with female children truly lock up their daughters.

[Anonymous] gave it a0:
This is plain horrible. who wants to know if he's a flirt? who cares that he's looking for good sex? could someone please chop him from their recording label, so that it would be one less untalented artist for radio stations and music channels to play.

dezmond rat gave it a10:
R.Kelly is undeniably the king of R&B. Every album he releases changes the genre and moves it up a notch to amazing levels!! A genius is defined by making his own styles, for example, songs like "real talk", "best friend" and "same girl" are just classical. These songs makes you feel like you're watching a highly addictive drama. In one track his breaking up with his 'naive' girlfriend, the next (with Usher) he finds out they've been seeing the same girl. The "best friend" cut (featuring Keyshia Cole & Polow da don) he is in prison and his wife and friend come to visit, where he realizes his friend is wearing the shirt his wife had bought him. The way it's sung is just amazing, makes you actually see the situation. Kellz is absolutely the king of R&B without a doubt. Stand out tracks (with those 3); Leave your name, Sweet Tooth, The Zoo and Sex Planet.

vinny gave it a10:
it was boss some of the songs are a beast n boss

Tosin O gave it a10:
Double up!!! isnt that exactly what he has done with this album....he had giving a new life and meaning to what a real artist should be...he is the greatest ever in the line of R&B, versatile and prolific in lyrics...To be in music business for 16 yrs is not a joke!!!!!. He has given and delivered exactly what he titled the album... DOUBLE UP.... the ROCKSTAR track shows that Kells can be whatever he chooses to be, thats Talent ....you all haters cant help but feel him....HE IS THE KING OF R&B...y'all tell me what is R&B without the "R" He sings, flows, raps and rocker.... 7 stars Bro!!!!

Leroy H gave it an8:
Great album to ride to. Beats are booming and Kels brings the freaky lyrics. if you plan on writing your thesis paper on complicated, socially uplifting lyrics then you may want to listen to something else. If you just want to hear good sexual music this is it.

Mike L gave it a10:
I give this album a 10 for the line "Girl, I got you so wet it's like a rainforest, like Jurassic Park, but I'm your sexasaurus." GENIUS.

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