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This article is about the R. Kelly opera. For the South Park episode, see Trapped in the Closet (South Park).
"Trapped in the Closet" is a hip-hop opera released by R&B singer R. Kelly in the late summer and fall of 2005. The songs relate an ongoing narrative, which Kelly exploited by sending chapters to radio stations one at a time to generate interest. It has no chorus and is told in a conversational manner, using dramatics and cliffhangers between the episodes. Originally Kelly only planned to release six chapters.[citation needed] In November 2005, six more chapters were released, for a total of twelve. The story is about a man named Sylvester, portrayed by Kelly (Sylvester is R. Kelly's middle name) who is caught up in a series of intertwining dramas with numerous plot twists. Kelly maintains that he has pioneered a new genre that he calls "hip-hopera."[citation needed] It is believed he developed the technique around the 2001 release for the Kelly-produced Contagious of the Isley Brothers, where Ron Isley exhibits the perfection of the "hip-hopera" style, with lyrics provided by Kelly. Critics of the songs argue that Kelly tells the story with a choppy tone and uses repetitive vocalization throughout the songs. The tracks have also reached a minor cult status - some of R.Kelly's fans refer to it as the "Plan 9 of music videos."[citation needed] '"Trapped in the Closet"' is often called a rap opera despite the fact that it doesn't contain any rapping.
DevelopmentIn late summer 2005, a series of five music videos were created for the original five chapters (titled as such: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, etc.) and were released on such music networks as MTV and BET and was to have ended there. On August 28, 2005, Kelly released Chapter 6 in the series exclusively for the MTV Video Music Awards in Miami, Florida. It was an "unreleased chapter" of the series, in which Kelly changed the ending of the original MTV VMA version so that the story could continue with the same characters. He told music fans that if they liked the show's surprises, then they would love the twists and turns that the extended song had in store. Kelly also mentioned on the October 28, 2005 episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live that there was a possibility of a play based on the events of this single. Kelly went on to produce and co-direct (with Jim Swaffield) a series of 12 videos to complement each one of the musical chapters of "Trapped in the Closet". A DVD titled "Trapped in The Closet" was released in early 2006 and on the DVD commentary (and at the end of the regular credits), Kelly makes several cryptic comments as to one of the main characters, Gwendolyn, and her many "friends," as well as to the very real possibility of another "20 or so" chapters to be created, but no specific timetable was given. According to MTV.com, no new chapters will be released on R. Kelly's upcoming album Double Up currently due out May 29, but a DVD with new chapters will be coming out sometime in July 2007. Critics of R. Kelly's Commentary Remix argue[citation needed] that it's difficult to understand his commentary over his own voice that portrays every single character (including the phone, police siren, and other miscellaneous noises). Kelly is currently negotiating a "Trapped in the Closet" series with Fox Television.[citation needed] Characters
SynopsisSpoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
Chapter 1The first chapter of "Trapped In The Closet" begins with the narrator, Sylvester (who is portrayed by Kelly), waking up and realizing that he is not in his own bed. He recalls leaving a nightclub with a strange woman the previous night, and that he was in her bed. As Sylvester is scolding himself for what he has done as a married man, the woman comes back into the bedroom from the bathroom. Sylvester tells her that he has to leave quickly. She tells him he can't leave out the door because she hears her husband coming up the stairs. Sylvester says he'll jump out the window, but she reminds him that they are on the fifth floor. Sylvester thinks frantically, and then decides to hide in the closet. A few seconds later, the husband walks in, and the couple ends up fooling around on the bed. Sylvester reflects that the woman deserves an Oscar for her skillful acting. Suddenly, Sylvester's cell phone rings and he hurries to put it on vibrate. The husband hears the ring and suspects something is wrong. He searches the house for another person. He looks under the bed, behind the shower curtain, in the dresser, and then walks towards the closet. The first part ends with Sylvester reaching for his Beretta and the husband opening the closet.
Chapter 2In the second part of the song, the husband opens the closet and begins to yell at his wife for spending her free time cheating on him. He reveals to his wife that he had suspected her of cheating all along but did not want to believe it. As the couple is arguing, Sylvester tells them that he wants no part of what was happening, so he tries to leave. The husband tells Sylvester to stay put and that he would have killed Sylvester if Sylvester wasn't holding a loaded gun himself. Sylvester then tells the couple to let him go, since it was the wife's fault that Sylvester was there. The wife had never told Sylvester that she was married. Again, the husband tells Sylvester and the wife to both stay put, and tells them that there is something he needs to show them both first. He makes a phone call and tells the person on the other end to turn the car back around. Meanwhile, Sylvester threatens to shoot the husband and wife if they do not let him leave the house, and the husband reveals to Sylvester that he is a pastor and does not want to see violence. Sylvester tells the couple that they have to the count of four before he starts shooting. Sylvester begins to count, as the wife suspects the husband of having cheated on her. The husband tells the wife that "Since we're all coming out of the closet today," he's not the only one who about to be brokenhearted. As Sylvester is about to get to four, the door opens and the husband's lover is revealed to be a man.
Chapter 3In part three, all four people are arguing in the room together, with the husband and wife bickering back and forth about whose cheating was worse. The wife, Cathy, attacks the husband, Rufus, for having been with a man, Chuck, and not telling her, and says that his crime is worse since she was caught accidentally and he revealed his cheating just to upset her. Sylvester watches everything that transpires and says for them to stop and that he didn't stay there to watch them fight. Then the husband's lover starts to explain what has been going on between the two of them. Sylvester says that he doesn't want the guy to go into details. The husband goes on to say that it is the wife's fault. Then his lover says they're in love and the husband says they're getting married. Sylvester then fires a shot in the air, which causes Cathy, Chuck, and Rufus to fall to the floor. He then calls his house only to have a man pick up the phone. The chapter ends with Sylvester thinking his wife has also had an affair.
Chapter 4In part four, Sylvester is driving home and is pulled over by a police officer. The officer mentions that he was speeding, gives him a ticket and sends him on his way. As Sylvester arrives home he starts asking his wife what man answered the phone, she responds that it was her brother, whom she reminded Sylvester earlier was supposed to be home today. Sylvester admits that he forgot, and they begin to make love with each other. Although his wife wants him to, "go deeper, please," he is afraid that he will blow a vessel in his brain. He's "cool" with his wife climaxing, so long as she lets go of his cramping leg. Finally, he gets off of the bed and rips the sheet off, and finds a used condom.
Chapter 5In part 5, Sylvester reveals his knowledge of his wife's infidelity. She acts stunned, but later reveals her knowledge of his infidelity. She later tells Sylvester that she has a friend named Roxanne. Roxanne is a friend of Chuck. Chuck is cool with a guy named Rufus. Rufus is the husband of Cathy, who is the woman with whom Sylvester cheated. She then says that she and Cathy went to high school together, and that Cathy was the one who introduced her to the officer who pulled Sylvester over. Hence, the officer was her secret lover.
Chapter 6After the realization that Gwendolyn cheated on Sylvester while already knowing he had also cheated on her, Sylvester laughs at the craziness eventually also causing Gwendolyn to also laugh and apologize. Sylvester then tells her what he went through the previous night. The police officer, whose name is revealed to be James, is concerned about Gwendolyn, turning his car around and going back to the house where he sees Sylvester's car parked in a crooked space with the lights still on. James looks around the back and sees the door has been broken in and then pulls out his gun and goes in to investigate. He hears Sylvester and Gwendolyn laughing hysterically which he mistakes as yelling and crying. As Sylvester continues to explain what was going on, James thinks Gwendolyn is being abused and when she says that Sylvester is "killing her" with his stories, James bursts in. Sylvester notices the guy as the same cop who pulled him over. Gwendolyn tries to calm them down while Sylvester threatens James to get out of the house with his gun. After Gwendolyn begs and James insists, Sylvester drops his gun, and puts his hands up to freeze, James winks and smiles at Sylvester which angers him and then he struggles with James over his gun. While they are fighting, the gun accidentally fires.
Chapter 7It is discovered that Twan, Gwen's brother who just was released from prison, is the one who was shot. Sylvester and James argue about who is at fault for the shooting while Sylvester blames everything on the cop. Gwendolyn is hysterical, thinking that Twan is dead. Twan wakes up, having only been shot in the shoulder and everyone tells him what is going on. He jokes by saying that he'd have been better off staying in prison with all the madness going on. There is a knock on the door and Sylvester does not want to answer it. After being insulted by James, Sylvester decides he will shoot whomever is at the door, picks his gun up from the floor, and points it towards the door. Twan grabs James' gun and points it towards the door. The door opens and it is the next door neighbor, Rosie, with a spatula in her hand.
Chapter 8James gets in his police car after leaving Sylvester's house and calls his wife, a woman named Bridget. (R. Kelly sings all of Bridget's lines with a distinctive attempt at a Southern accent.) Bridget was a little concerned after not having heard from her husband but James assures her that he's fine and on his way home. Bridget tells James that she's excited to see him and that she baked him a cherry pie. Meanwhile at Sylvester's house, Rosie, the next door neighbor, tells Gwendolyn, Sylvester and Twan that she couldn't stand the cop that just left their house. Sylvester and Twan laugh. Back at James and Bridget's house, James pulls up to the house. A panicked Bridget rushes to the door and kisses her husband, then suggests he go upstairs. James wonders why Bridget is all jittery and Bridget comes up with excuse after excuse, such as "it's that time of the month". James, instead, insists on heating up some leftover chicken. Bridget continues to panic which upsets James even more. James finally starts to suspect that his wife is sleeping around and starts questioning her. Bridget hesitates and an angered James yells that she'd better confess or he is going to shoot. It becomes clear that the man Bridget is cheating with is still in the house.
Chapter 9James hears a noise and starts searching in his kitchen. James then walks toward the oven and the fridge, which he looks behind, while Bridget walks toward the cabinet. Then James looks at the table, he sees the cherry pie with a slice cut out. James becomes aware that someone else was in the house because Bridget is allergic to cherries. He becomes enraged. Bridget stays in front. Then he says "move" she says "no", then he repeats himself. After that he gets angry and says "Bitch, move!!" At this point, the lyrics of this song are reminiscent of the cliff hanger of the first chapter. James opens the door, and the narrator reveals the man is a midget.
Chapter 10The midget jumps out of the cabinet and fights with James who has the clear upper hand. The midget runs under the table. Bridget runs upstairs and searches her purse for a phone number. James demands the midget tell him what he was doing in James' house. The midget wipes cherry pie crust crumbs off his face and responds that he was paid not to tell. James points his gun directly at the midget who admits that he has just "shitted on himself". Back at Sylvester's house, he, Twan, and Gwen are enjoying themselves and playing cards, despite the fact that Twan was shot in the shoulder only minutes ago, when the phone rings. Gwen answers it. It's Bridget, panicked, who found Gwen's number in James' pocket. Gwen gives Sylvester the address, presumably to go over and stop the fight. Back at James' house, James and the midget are still fighting when Bridget bursts into the kitchen with a double barrelled shotgun, James draws his pistol, the midget pulls out his inhaler. Suddenly, Twan and Sylvester burst in with guns drawn to defuse the scene and notice a peculiar odor coming from the midget's trousers. The midget then faints because of all the madness.
Chapter 11After bursting into the house, Sylvester begs Bridget and James to put the guns down but they both say no. When Twan suggests he should kill them all, Bridget says she will drop the gun if James doesn't hurt the midget, Big Man, a stripper at a club called "Dixie's." Dixie's is where Big Man met Bridget. After Gwendolyn calls Sylvester to see if everything is okay, James lets it slip that he somehow knows Chuck and Rufus. Bridget admits that she paid Big Man (who is "blessed," in reference to the fact that he's "well-endowed," or has a large penis) and also says that she even followed James around while he was with Gwen. She then reveals that Big Man, who has once again fainted, is her baby's daddy, which negates her previous excuse of it being "that time of the month."
Chapter 12Back at Cathy's house, she, Rufus, and Chuck are getting up from the floor. Cathy confronts Rufus about "creeping" around with Chuck, who is a deacon of a church, and then says "there's no tellin' what I've got," referring to sexually transmitted diseases. Chuck becomes offended and claims that she doesn't know him like that. He also exclaims that she will pay for what she said and then pulls a knife on her. The fight continues until Rufus breaks them up. However, they still continue to argue with each other while Rufus tries to work it all out. The phone rings but the three ignore it and continue fighting. After the phone rings a second time, Cathy answers. Gwendolyn is on the line, and she begins telling Cathy about all the drama that she's been through. When Gwen tells Cathy about Sylvester going to the Paje's club and the "ho" that he slept with, Cathy realizes that the man she had slept with that night had been Sylvester. Cathy tries to tell Gwen who the "ho" is, but Gwen keeps on going on about James and his wife and the rest of the day. While Cathy is on the phone, Chuck and Rufus are getting annoyed and are trying to hurry Cathy. Cathy yells at them and finally tells Gwen to shut up and listen to her. She then reveals to Gwen that the woman that her husband slept with the previous night was her.
Parodies and derivatives in popular cultureThe "uniqueness" of "Trapped in the Closet" has inspired numerous parodies and derivatives.
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