The original song "Ignition" was first recorded in 2002 after the alleged statutory rape tape was a hot topic in the media.

[3] The song is sometimes called simply "Ignition" colloquially and for marketing purposes, including as the title of one of its releases as a single and on the Billboard charts.

The original "Ignition" was released first to urban contemporary radio stations although it never officially charted on Billboard in this manner at first.

At the end of the song, Kelly gives the listeners "a lil' preview of the remix", which includes only the first verse then fades out.

The "remix to Ignition" was released weeks later to urban and Top 40 pop stations, and it gained significantly more attention.

[4] The remix was included on the updated version of Rolling Stone's 500 greatest songs of all time in 2010 at number 494.

[1] In April 2013, a decade after its initial release, "Ignition (Remix)" re-entered the UK Singles Chart at number 43.

[5] Kelly often performed "Ignition (Remix)" at events and concerts; he sang this song three times at the BET Awards show (2003, 2004 and 2013).

In 2013, R. Kelly surprised the crowd at the music festival Coachella coming in to the stage and performing a mash-up between "Ignition (Remix)" and "1901" with French rock band Phoenix; a year later, Kelly again surprised the crowd with the song, this time at Lollapalooza with Chance the Rapper.

A portion of Michael Jackson's Private Home Movies, a 2003 compilation of home movies which Jackson recorded throughout his life and narrated, showed him dancing to "Ignition (Remix)" in the back of Brett Ratner's car during a 2003 vacation in Miami, Florida.

"[53] In March 2013, a petition was launched on We the People requesting that the U.S. national anthem be changed from "The Star-Spangled Banner" to "Ignition (Remix)".

[54] Referencing the song's lyrics, the petition stated that "We, the undersigned, would like the Obama administration to recognise the need for a new national anthem, one that even a decade after its creation, is still hot and fresh out the kitchen.