What appeared to be a new album release from R Kelly hit streaming platforms on Friday (November 9), much to the surprise of many as the R&B star remains behind bars.

The album, which was promptly removed from both Apple Music and Spotify after news broke of its release, stated it was from Sony’s Legacy Recordings.

A spokesperson for the music company, which owns the rights to much of Kelly’s recordings, said that was not the case and declined to comment further.

Attorney Jennifer Bonjean, who represents Kelly, told Variety that Kelly was not behind the release, but rather had “intellectual property stolen from him”.

Apple and Spotify did not respond to requests for comment surrounding the album’s publishing and subsequent removal.

The provocatively titled album, I Admit It, appeared briefly on Apple Music and Spotify on Friday, although Sony Music representatives told Variety in an interview that the album was an unofficial bootleg release.

The 13-song album features tracks with titles like I Found Love, Good Ole Days and Freaky Sensation.

But his last three tracks might be the most revealing – it’s a three-part piece called I Admit it (I Did It), where he unloads a ton of stuff he’s done in the past.

He put a full 19-minute track on SoundCloud back in 2018, but this marks the first time it’s made it to Apple or Spotify.

Known for his smash hit I Believe I Can Fly and for sex-infused songs such as Bump n’ Grind, Kelly sold millions of albums even after allegations of sexual misconduct circulated in the 1990s.

Kelly, 55, was sentenced in June to 30 years in prison after a federal trial in New York where he was convicted of racketeering and sex trafficking.