"[8] In December 2013, in an interview with Billboard, R. Kelly spoke about why he decided to name the album Black Panties, saying: "I’m on stage doing the Love Letter tour and I was singing “Seems Like You're Ready”.

Kelly, joined by a deep roster of fellow songwriters and producers, dispenses with the strings, horns, and dashing charm, and dishes out sleaze by the bucket over modern backdrops that slink and whir.

"[19] Nick Catucci of Entertainment Weekly gave the album a B, saying "Black Panties won't humanize the man for anyone who prefers caricature.

But his 12th album, a return to wafting sex jams after two soulful dance discs, also falls short of the Kelly we love: the tireless entertainer-as-lover and suavely esoteric devotee of churchy theatrics, inspirational-poster slogans, Chicago stepping music, and extreme wordplay.

Black Panties is a musically detailed, sonically rich porn soundtrack, a formula that has helped the singer sell more than 50 million albums worldwide in two decades.

"[20] Omar Burgess of HipHopDX gave the album three and a half stars out of five, saying "Black Panties finds his subject matter about as varied as the play-by-play of two dogs in heat.

But what it lacks in lyrical depth it makes up for by being a catchy, entertaining and completely in the moment snapshot of the current turned up, hybrid of R&B and Rap for clubs and bedrooms.

Club gave the album a B−, saying "Whether Kelly consciously meant to make it one or not, Black Panties could be a big step forward for the sex-positive movement.

"[29] Jason King of Spin gave the album a five out of ten, saying "Black Panties also happens to be a serious musical step backwards from the melodious Write Me Back.

With its undulating synths, abundance of screwed vocals and slowly churning tempos, Black Panties sounds suspiciously like the-Dream’s first two albums.