R. Kelly’s Legal Team Investigating Unauthorized ‘I Admit It’ Album Release

R. Kelly‘s legal team is digging deep into the mystery of who dropped an unauthorized album using his name and recordings, and his attorney says they’ve already got their sights set on a few possible suspects.

R. Kelly’s criminal defense attorney, Jennifer Bonjean, tells TMZ the disgraced singer’s lawyers, entertainment attorneys and trusted friends are all trying to get to the bottom of who currently has access to his music catalog. She says they have a small group of people who they’ve ID’d as culprits … but notes a potential problem could be his material changing hands.

Bonjean says she spoke with R. Kelly Friday afternoon — he was surprised and upset about the music’s release without his permission.

Bonjean tells us stuff like this has been a reoccurring issue for R. Kelly … claiming a bunch of studio equipment, computers and masters were taken shortly after his 2019 arrest. She says there’s also been an issue with his calls and emails being stolen from prison.

As we reported, an album called “I Admit It,” featuring a bunch of R. Kelly’s SoundCloud tracks, silently made its way to major streaming platforms Friday but was quickly removed. A source at Sony Music told us it appeared to be a bootleg version.

FYI — the Federal Bureau of Prisons tells TMZ it conducted a review and determined R. Kelly didn’t produce any songs using equipment from behind bars. Regarding Bonjean’s claims the FBOP stole calls and emails, we’re told the Bureau “does not comment on pending litigation.”