Recently in Background Category

That's today's report from the SOHH hip-hop blog, sharing a tip from an anonymous source claiming that Carey "Killa" Kelly — Robert's younger brother — will testify in the trial, asserting that Robert offered Carey a bribe to say that it's Carey pictured in the trial's centerpiece video, not Robert.

"He also has told several people in the Chi over the years," says the blog's source, "... that he has dirt on Kelly going way back."

Carey Kelly, younger brother of R. Kelly, pictured in 2002. (Sun-Times file)

This would be the same Carey Kelly who told the Sun-Times: "And I say to America, the criminal justice system: If you let that nigger off, he's going to do it again, trust me. I bet my life on it."

Some background...

You'd be forgiven for thinking the R. Kelly trial had already come and gone, even if you couldn't remember the verdict. It's been five years of seemingly interminable delays, after all. What exactly took so long to get to today, when jury selection began in the R&B star's child-pornography case? In addition to reading the comprehensive coverage in the Sun-Times, here's a good summary of the slow-down from MTV.

Also, MTV2 will be showing a special, "R. Kelly: When the Gavel Drops," at 1 p.m. this Sunday.