Listen to R. Kelly’s new single ‘Genius’

R. Kelly flexed his relatively tough side a couple of months ago with “My Story,” the lead single from his upcoming album “Black Panties,” which is due to be released Nov. 11.

The R&B maestro goes much softer, though, in “Genius,” another new track reportedly set for inclusion on the upcoming disc.

It’s a lighter-than-air slow jam in the effervescent tradition of such Kelly classics as “Step in the Name of Love,” “Number One Hit” and “Ignition (Remix),” the last of which he famously mashed up with Phoenix’s “1901” at this year’s Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. (Last month Kelly and the French electro-rockers joined forces again for a remix of Phoenix’s “Trying to Be Cool.”)

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But if the luscious beat in “Genius” at first suggests an undersell of Kelly’s vaunted bedroom abilities, the lyric tells a slightly different story.

“I’m blessed with the insight to please your body,” he sings in his most devoted tone, “Girl, tonight you’re lying with a sex genius.”

Listen to “Genius” below.

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Twitter: @mikaelwood