With all of the recent legal and moral troubles R. Kelly has been facing, it seems only right that his latest album would celebrate the happier things in life.

What better way to confront the negatives then to bask in the positives? Arguably the current king of R&B music (Usher´s youth makes him the Prince, for now), R. Kelly has been churning out hit after hit, either writing, producing, or featuring on damn near every hip-hop song gracing TV screens and radio airwaves. Ready to center the attention on himself again, he has crafted an uplifting two-disc affair, Happy People / U Saved Me. Separated into one disc for the partygoers and one for the spiritually-guided, R. Kelly abandons his freakier tales this time around, a point that may disappoint some at first. After one listen to the feel-good vibes on Happy People / U Saved Me, though, his musical genius should win over the unhappy few.

While Happy People stays true to its central theme, the step-sound begins to wear thin as the tracks progress. Good times are always welcome, but tracks like "It´s Your Birthday" and "Steppin´ Into Heaven" sound too similar in both production and vocal delivery. "Happy People" sounds like a carbon copy of "Step In The Name Of Love (Remix)," and only brings closer attention to the resemblance in sound that dominates the first disc of this double-album.