How To Dress Well covers R Kelly “I Wish”

Tom Krell, the mastermind behind the R&B reimagining of How To Dress Well, shares an intimate moment with the folks at Yours Truly. Here, he covers R Kelly’s “I Wish” with astouding gravity, remarking on his blog, “I lost my best friend and I sang this song for him.” One take, no rehearsal, lyrics culled from memory.

While R Kelly can sometimes drift into self parody, Krell understands why we keep coming back to the eccentric musical genius. Behind the facade of all that money and fame, there lives a man whose built his house on a foundation of regrets. It’s this balance of bravado and Sisyphean sadness that makes the R Kelly persona (as well as say The-Dream/Kanye/etc versions) so compelling. Krell’s appreciation of R&B here is not novel or ironic; HTDW seriously loves the stuff and understands it to the core. Check out his blog and pick up his courageous debut album Love Remains here.