Lawyer likens R. Kelly to Beethoven to explain studio move

CHICAGO — R&B singer R. Kelly is moving out of his Chicago recording studio because a judge has stymied his creativity by barring him from working there overnight due to building-code violations, his lawyer said Wednesday.

Cook County Judge Patrice Ball-Reed has effectively ordered the Grammy Award-winning artist “not to be creative between 9:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m.,” attorney Steve Greenberg said.

“R. Kelly can never be creative and do his job under these circumstances,” he said in a statement .

He compared Kelly to Ludwig van Beethoven, Winston Churchill, Sigmund Freud and one of the Beatles, who he said did some of their best work overnight, too.

“John Lennon,” Greenberg said, “spent 24 hours a day in bed while recording.”

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Among the violations cited by inspectors was evidence the industrial space was used as a residence.

The judge recently refused a request by Kelly to let him work longer into the night at the studio, which is part of a warehouse building on the city’s West Side.

The dispute over studio access comes amid allegations of sexual misconduct by Kelly, all of which he has denied. A recent Lifetime documentary series, “Surviving R. Kelly,” looked at old allegations against Kelly and made some new ones.

Greenberg, in his statement, called the judge’s order a “vindictive and baseless reaction to unsubstantiated claims of decades old misconduct.” He added that some people are reaching conclusions about the allegations prematurely.

“There are three countries that presume an accused to be guilty and require him to prove his innocence — North Korea, China and Myanmar,” the attorney said. “The public should not rush to judgment.”

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Follow Michael Tarm on Twitter at http://twitter.com/mtarm

Michael Tarm, The Associated Press