Every fan of R&B and soul will love this smooth laidback music. I mean who can forget classics like "Your Body's Callin'" and "Bump N' Grind". Songs that just make your head bounce. Don't forget The Best R&B-Song of 1993 "Sex Me", for its seductive, made-for-lovers-in-bed sound. Other very good low-tempo songs are "It Seems Like You're Ready", "For You" "12 PLAY" and "Sadie". The other songs are just outdated hiphop songs. But that doesn't stop me for giving this album 5 stars. It's R&B that he stands for and it shows. It was with the album "12 PLAY" that he acknowledged his real music and showed the world his enormous talent. Everyone who doesn't have this music are making a big mistake. You've been warned.


Good solo debut   January 17, 2001
Patrick G. Varine (Georgetown, Delaware)
9 out of 10 found this review helpful

R. Kelly is a master of taking a completely juvenile, sexual song title like "I Like the Crotch on You" and flipping it with his smooth voice into some kind of bizarre love song. "12 Play," his first album without the assistance of Public Announcement, proves that he could hold his own rolling solo. And while it isn't as polished or as popular as his later hit-making LPs, it's a solid release nonetheless.

The album kicks off with the smooth-groovin' "Your Body's Callin'." From there it's on the hit single "Bump-N-Grind," the hip-hop-inflected "Homie Lover Friend," and the first of many slow, sticky ballads, "It Seems Like You're Ready."

The back half of the album has most of the better songs. Tracks like the flossy "Summer Bunnies" and the uptempo "Back to the Hood of Things" are perfect for riding around on a hot summer's day, watchin' honeys. Also, "Sex Me, Pts. I & II" succeeds, despite the fact that it's one song followed IMMEDIATELY by a remix of the exact same song. That was kind of a bone-headed move on the part of the producer, but it works, nonetheless.

However, the pinnacle of the album comes in the form of a complete departure from the rest of the album. "Sadie," an ode to Kelly's mother, is a beautiful mid-tempo ballad that makes you forget that he spent the rest of the album trying to get in your woman's panties.

All in all, the sound of this album is a little dated. It's definitely early '90s R&B with some hip-hop thrown in for effect. But it was a step towards defining the R&B giant that would soon be R. "I Wish I Could Fly" Kelly.


R. Kelly invents himself on 2nd album.   October 3, 2005
Mikeisha Best (Mitchellville, Maryland United States)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful

He's Kels, he's the R in R&B, he's R, R. Kelly, and Robert Kelly. And this, ladies and gentlemen, is the album that made him. It's called "12 Play". It was released in 1993, which was a very good year for Kelly. This is a must have album for any R&B fan, because R. Kelly did such a great job.
I enjoy listening to this album, the slower songs in particular. In fact, the faster songs sound very dated, and they are the key reason I could only give this album 3 stars. If this album was built on only his slower, sexier stars, it would easily be 5 stars. "Homie Lover Friend", and "Freak Dat Body" are examples of the dated material I am speaking of. Here, Kelly tries to rap, when, clearly, his forte is singing and producing. "Summer Bunnies" is the only up tempo song that is good. This is a very sexually driven piece of work, but that's alright, because R. Kelly is sexy and he knows how to croon. Well, he's a little more blatant than his colleagues like Jaheim, Donell Jones and Tevin Campbell. "Sex Me", "12 Play", "Your Body's Calling" and "Seems Like Your Ready" are so sensual, they would set the mood perfectly for a romantic evening.
Overall, this is a nice album and I recommend it to all!

Mikeisha's Top 5
1. Bump N Grind
2. Your Body's Calling
3. Sadie
4. Summer Bunnies
5. 12 Play



Man..........this brings me back!   November 30, 2005
Jenny J.J.I. (That Lives in Northern Nevada)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

I have got to say that this album has brought me back during my high school days. I grew up listening to him and other artist such as Keith Sweat. I remember attending to his concert in Radio City Music Hall performing with Salt-N-Pepper right after prom night.

Kelly does almost everything by himself. The production, songwriting, and mix's, etc.... and he's brilliant as a multi-instrumentalist.

Every fan of R&B and soul will love this smooth laid-back music. I mean who can forget classics like "Your Body's Callin'" and "Bump N' Grind". Songs that just make your head bounce. Don't forget The Best R&B-Song of 1993 "Sex Me", for its seductive, made-for-lovers-in-bed sound. Other very good low-tempo songs are "It Seems like You're Ready", "For You" "12 PLAY" and "Sadie". It was with the album "12 PLAY" that he acknowledged his real music and showed the world his enormous talent.

Overall "12 Play" is a very good album and although released in 1993, it can stand up to anything on the R&B market now. This is a very sexy album great for all kinds of lovers. I definitely recommend this to all Kelly fans.



Kelly's Most Dirty, Notorious, & Sensual Album   March 7, 2005
Brandon Ousley (Chicago, Illinois United States)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

I first discovered R. Kelly and his talent back in 1995; two years after 12 Play was released. I listened to 12 Play dozens of times and I just became overwhelmed by his skills and his "raunchy" lryics. Released in 1993, 12 Play was where R. Kelly became a true R&B superstar. It was a concept album that showcased his talents and versatility perfectly. The opening track, "Your Body's Callin'" is a classic. It's a smooth and sexy ballad with airy instrumentation and the amazing vocals. "Bump And Grind" is another song that will go down as his most popular tune. The song has memorable bouncy beats and throbbing lyrics, that make this an instant classic. "Homie, Lover, Friend", "Freak Dat Body", and "Back To The Hood Of Things"; all show off his rapping skills with the G-Funk inspired beats and the awesome hooks. "It Seems Like You're Ready" is a slow jam with R. setting the bar high on his romantic persona. "I Like The Crotch On You" is another one of Kelly's X-rated themed songs with the G-Funk inspired rhythms, but after half of the song ends, he tones it down by singing with other male vocalists about the "cons" who hates his music. He also plays the piano on there. "Summer Bunnies" is an upbeat song about the ladies. "For You" is a personal favorite of mine. It's a nice ballad with smoothed-out vocals, romantic spanish guitars, and the lushy strings. "Sadie" has R. doing a cover song of The Spinners' classic. He wonderfully dedicates the song to his mother. "Sex Me" is an 11-minute epic that has R. singing the most notorious lyrics of his career. It's a well-crafted ballad with the airy synthesizers, bumpy drumming, and spacey vocals. The title track, "12 Play" is what I consider to be the climax of the whole album. It's a lovely, slow jam with memorable hooks. Overall, all I can say about 12 Play is that it's Kelly's most raunchest and unified album, in every sense. His 2000 album, TP-2.Com, the sequel to this album, 12 Play, might've been more sexually explicit and thugged-out, but 12 Play just took him to a whole new level: bringing him to a mainstream audience and redefining his image. I really think it's a 1990's R&B classic and one of R. Kelly's best recordings. A