R. Kelly, I Like The Crotch On You | Controversial Songs

In the 19th edition of Controversial Songs (2025), we explore the controversy behind “I Like The Crotch On You” by R. Kelly.

Bring on the controversy! Controversial Songs is a column that provides background information and insight into songs that raised eyebrows, stirred the pot, or were banned. The more censorship censor$hit, the better! The records that grace Controversial Songs are old and new alike, with all genres of music welcome.  In the 19^th edition of Controversial Songs (2025), we explore the controversy behind “I Like The Crotch On You” by R. Kelly.

“What’s going on inside my pants, I can’t explain.” According to TimeOut, that is one of R. Kelly’s worst lyrics. It is bad. Speaking of bad, R. Kelly exemplifies it, doesn’t he? Can you separate the art from the artist? It is situational.  In the case of Kelly, it is extremely hard to do so.  When the song is uplifting like “I Believe I Can Fly”, it is an easier task to separate a stellar song from a bad, bad man. But, when the song is “I Like The Crotch On You”, an overtly sexual song, and the artist is incarcerated because of his sex crimes, there is little separating the art from the artist. Sex is crucial to the R. Kelly catalog, and yet, his sexual endeavors are what effectively ended his career. Focusing on the song at hand, it is the sixth track from his 1993 album, 12 Play. Kelly wrote and produced it, in all its horniness.

Desire motivates R. Kelly on “I Like The Crotch On You.” In the intro, we are first introduced to this inappropriate, highly sexual lyric.  “I like the kind of short with big booties in ‘em,” Kells asserts, continuing, “Uh, well, I like the crotch on you, yeah.” That’s inspiration right there… said no one ever.  Expectedly, Kelly objectifies (daisy dukes specifically), adding, “Now the time has come for you and I to knock it / So bring it on, and I’ll do you all night long.” The second verse, performed by DeAndre Boykins, she “got the kind of booty I would love to / Freaky-deaky-deaky-deaky.” Damn! By the way, verse three is where the eye-roll worthy pants lyric cums into play 🤭. But, the most problematic lyric of “I Like The Crotch On You” appears in the fourth verse. It sounds like it is performed by Boykins, but, Kelly did write the song: “And once you see the D’s, oh, you’re gonna want to freak me, freak me,” he sings, adding, “Only if you’re old enough, baby / 18 and over or 16 and under.” What the actual fuck?! Yikes, man! There have been more controversial songs, but at this point, examining Kelly’s lyrics sans bias reveals a lot about his vice: sex.  Kelly sings “I Like The Crotch On You” fantastically. The production and sound exemplify the 1990s New Jack Swing sound. But, this is one of those songs, given its sexed-up lyrics and that disturbing line regarding age, where it is hard to separate the art from the artist.