Tevin Campbell Says R. Kelly Ranks Over Usher as King of R&B

Usher is happily accepting the “King of R&B” title, and while Tevin Campbell doesn’t disagree with that high honor, he does think there’s someone who could challenge … if he weren’t in prison.

We caught Tevin at LAX … fresh off his jaw-dropping cameo during Usher’s Las Vegas residency, where Usher had him perform his classic jam “Can We Talk” in front of thousands of screaming R&B fans.

R&B conversation in 2022 continues to heat up thanks to Diddy and his “R&B is dead” theory, and Tevin initially took a diplomatic approach … similar to Brian McKnight‘s, by citing older legends such as Marvin Gaye and Sam Cooke as true R&B royalty.

The pressure to pick a true king eventually got to Tevin and he went full Voldemort … daring to speak R. Kelly‘s name in an era where the disgraced singer’s been blackballed from public praise.

Tevin gives Usher a lot of credit, but says when it comes to R. Kelly’s catalog, his hit-making is still unmatched.

He’s not alone in this thinking … Ne-Yo didn’thold his tongue this summer when he admitted to still streaming Kelly’s music.

Of course, Kelly is just a few months into a 30-year federal prison sentence for sex trafficking, and he’s currently standing trial in a 2nd federal case out of Chicago.

A hit is a hit, but it’s probably understandable why many fans won’t push play anymore.