R. Kelly Was Originally Supposed To Be In LSG, According To Johnny Gill
According to Johnny Gill, when Keith Sweat had the idea to create a supergroup, it was originally supposed to be Sweat, Gerald Levert, and R. Kelly.
In an interview with VladTV from Wednesday (Oct. 18), Gill, 57, explained, “Originally, it was supposed to be Keith, Gerald and R. Kelly and some kind of way, Rob pulled out of it from what I was told, and I know Gerald had talked to me and he was like, ‘Man, Keith wants to do a group thing.’” It was then that the late crooner asked Gill to join the trio and thus, LSG was formed.
Funny enough, Gill shared it was Levert who “suggested” he be a part of the group in the first place.
LSG was signed to Elektra under the direction of Sylvia Rhone, who questioned Sweat’s decision to form a group.
“Even at that time, Keith was on fire and he said Sylvia Rhone was telling him ‘What the hell are you doing? Why are you doing [this]? It doesn’t make any sense. I wouldn’t do that if I was you.’ And he was like ‘ain’t nobody telling me what to do. If I wanna do it, Imma do it.’ So, he did,” Gill continued.
When speaking on the group’s dynamic, the New Edition member added, “It was so funny watching the dynamics between Keith and Gerald because they used to go at it like brothers. You could tell it was a brotherhood thing and I had a front row seat.”
Gill also spoke on the strength of Levert’s voice and called the crooner his “road dawg and partner in crime.”
LSG released their now-2x platinum debut album, aptly titled Levert.Sweat.Gill, in 1997. Its certified platinum lead single, “My Body,” topped the U.S. R&B charts for seven weeks and it peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. The trio dropped their sophomore album, LSG2, in 2003. Following Levert’s death in 2006, he and Sweat briefly replaced him with his father, Eddie Levert of The O’Jays in Sept. 2013 before disbanding.
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