Trapped in the Closet

Infobox Single
Name = Trapped in the Closet
Artist = R.Kelly


from Album = , Double Up
Released = January 2004 (Chapters 1-6)
November 2005 (Chapters 1-12 DVD)
October 2006 (Chapters 1-5)
August 2007 (Chapters 13-22 DVD)
December 2007 (Chapters 1-22, The Big Package)
Format = DVD
Recorded = 2005/2007
Genre = R&B, Hip-Hopera
Length = 40:42 (Parts 1-12, approximately)
43:14 (Parts 13-22, approximately)
Label = Jive, Zomba
Writer = R. Kelly
Producer = R. Kelly

"Trapped in the Closet" is an urban opera or "hip-hopera" released by R&B singer R. Kelly in 2005. The songs relate an ongoing narrative, which Kelly exploited by sending chapters to radio stations one at a time to generate interest.

The only chord progression used is an Am chord with C as pedal bass to an E-Major chord with B as a pedal bass with crescendoes and more instruments added at some points, thus adding suspense. The song resolves to the normal E-Major chord.

It has no chorus and is told in a conversational manner, using dramatics and cliffhangers between the episodes. The songs tell the story of a one-night stand that sets off a chain of events, which gradually reveals a web of lies and deceit.

In November 2005, six more chapters were released, for a total of twelve, on DVD. Nearly two years later, in August 2007, ten more chapters were released on DVD and shown on the Independent Film Channel (IFC), and as well as IFC's website. R. Kelly said that more chapters would soon be written and released. In The "Big Package" DVD, the commentary remix gave a special sneak peek of chapter 23.

Development

In 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. Chapters 6 to 8 were later released on VH1 as a 30 minute special.

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 twelve videos to complement each one of the musical chapters of "Trapped in the Closet".

A DVD titled "Trapped in The Closet" (Volume 1-12) was released in late 2005 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 "twenty or so" chapters to be created, but no specific timetable was given.

From August 13, 2007 towards the end of that month, the Independent Film Channel (IFC), through [http://www.ifc.com/static/sections/kelly/trapped.html its website] , released chapters 13 through 22 on a daily basis (except Aug. 21st, the day of Volume 13-22's DVD release), and included introductions from R. Kelly and IFC News anchor, Matt Singer.

On September 7, 2007 (two weeks after the DVD release of Chapters 13-22), IFC aired the first twenty-two chapters in its entirety. After the broadcast, an IFC News special featuring R. Kelly and Singer was broadcast. Kelly claimed to have made twenty more installments "that have yet to be filmed", and then reiterated his open-ended stance on the fate of future installments, claiming that the series will end "when the aliens say it's over".

Cast and characters

ynopsis

Chapter 1

The first chapter of "Trapped in the Closet" begins with the narrator, Sylvester (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 behind the shower curtain, under the bed, 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.

: "Ending "cliffhanger" line: "Now he's at the closet, now he's opening the closet....."

Chapter 2

In 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 is about to be brokenhearted. The second parts ends when the husband, opens the door just after Sylvester counts to four and the husband's lover is revealed to be a man, implying the husband is a bisexual.

: "Ending "cliffhanger" line: "He opens the door, I can't believe it's a MAN....."

Chapter 3

In 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. After he puts the phone down he runs out of the house and leaves Cathy, Rufus and Chuck still sitting on the floor.

: "Ending "cliffhanger" line: "Call up my home, and a man picks up the phone."

Chapter 4

In 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, who she reminded Sylvester earlier was supposed to be home today. Sylvester admits that he forgot, and they begin to make love with each other. When Gwendolyn and Sylvester are making love Gwendolyn sees a condom on the bed and tells Sylvester 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.

: "Ending "cliffhanger" line: "Pull back the cover, oh my god, a rubber!"

: "Note: The video for this chapter has since been revised to better correlate with Chapter 5. The line "I said "this is some bullshit", as he gave me the ticket" was changed to "He flicked his cigarette, as he gave me the ticket." Also, in the pullover scene, the original actor for the officer has been changed to James' current actor.

Chapter 5

In part 5, Sylvester reveals his knowledge of his wife's infidelity. She acts stunned, but later reveals her knowledge of "his" infidelity. They then begin to argue about what happened at a club the previous night. Then Gwendolyn tells Sylvester where he went when he left the club. She tells him that he went to a "bitch's" house, but doesn't know who it was. She later tells Sylvester that she has a friend named Tina who knows a woman named Roxanne. Roxanne is a friend of Chuck. Chuck is dating 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.

: "Ending "cliffhanger" line: "She introduced me to the policeman that stopped you."

Chapter 6

After the realization that Gwendolyn (Sylvester's wife) cheated on Sylvester while already knowing he had also cheated on her, Sylvester laughs at the craziness eventually causing Gwendolyn also to 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.

: "Ending "cliffhanger" line: "Goin' all around the room, both hands on the gun, then all of a sudden, pow."

Chapter 7

It is discovered that Twan (short for Antoine), 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. He says to the cop you can arrest me later. The door opens and it is the next door neighbor, Rosie, with a spatula in her hand.

: "Ending "cliffhanger-outro" line: "...Wit a spatula in her hand....like that's gon' do something against them guns........it's Rosie the nosey....neighbor..."

Chapter 8

Read, read out this chapter......James gets in his police car after leaving Sylvester's house and calls his wife, a white woman named Bridget. (R. Kelly sings all of Bridget's lines with a very poor 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, and stereotype of an elderly black woman, 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 Southern-bride Bridget rushes to the door and kisses her husband, then suggests he has some pears, so he could 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 kentucky chicken. Bridget continues to panic which upsets James even more, who by the way is fighting with his inner-homo self. 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. The suspense is immaculate!

:"Ending "Cliffhanger" line: "But little does he know that somebody is still right there in his home!"

* In this chapter, Kelly stops voicing the character of Sylvester and begins playing an omniscient narrator who watches everything occur at the various locations, and curiously is seen with a large cigar in his hand.

Chapter 9

James 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!!" and she relents. 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.

: "Ending "Un-Cliffhanger" line: "Now pause the movie cause what I'm about to say to y'all is so damn twisted, not only is there a man in his cabinet, but the man is a midget! MIDGET! MIDGET! MIDGET!"

Note: The vertically challenged society was very much upset with R Kelly's portrayal of the MIDGET. In an outraged open-letter to the press, an anonymous man stated that he will further endure in the fight against discrimenation of the "little society", and that he is ready to take matters to court [citation needed] . Gay men were offended too [citation needed]

Chapter 10

The 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 pants. The midget then faints because of all the madness.

: "Ending "cliffhanger-outro" line: "ohhh while Twan and Sylvester are sniffin' around, tryin' to figure out, 'What's that smell?' As they turn and look at each other like, 'What the hell?'..." "

Chapter 11

After 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 calls Sylvester and Twan "Chuck and Rufus", revealing that he knows them also. Then after that Twan goes "who the hell is Chuck and Rufus", saying that he doesnt know them. 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."

: "Ending "cliffhanger-outro" line: "...The midget faints again...While Twan and Sylvester is trippin'...The midget's the baby's daddy; woo."

Chapter 12

Back 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.

: "Ending "cliffhanger" line: "I'm sorry, girl, but that ho was me..."

Chapter 13

Sylvester and Twan are in the middle of a "mysterious errand," when suddenly it cuts to Rosie the nosy neighbor and her husband, played by a badly "made-up" R Kelly, who then spend most of this chapter arguing about personal freedoms after Rosie spies on her neighbors. R Kelly's character suggests that a pigeon flies by and "shits" on his nosy wife's face. It cuts back to Sylvester and Twan; Sylvester states that he has to go collect money, and then disappears, telling Twan to leave the car in drive and that he might need him to watch his back. An hour goes by, with no sign of Sylvester.

:"Ending line: "Time goes by, it's now one hour later..."

:"Note: Chapter 13, Chapter 17, Chapter 19 and Chapter 22 don't end with a cliffhanger.

Chapter 14

Sylvester and Cathy meet at a restaurant and discuss how Sylvester was paid to go home with her that night. They begin to argue about it while in the meantime Twan is waiting outside the restaurant in the car and gets a call from one of his homies about a prostitute named Tina. Then it goes back to Sylvester and Cathy in the restaurant and they continue to discuss while being waited on by their waitress. Once again it goes to back to the car with Twan while he learns that Tina is working at the very restaurant that he and Sylvester are at. Then it goes back to the restaurant where Sylvester recognizes the waitress, but isn't sure from where. He starts talking to her but she flips out and breaks a bottle and calls her friend/co-worker, Roxanne, out who is carrying a frying pan. Everyone leaves the restaurant except for Sylvester, Tina, and Roxanne. The two women are about to attack Sylvester but then Twan walks in.

: "Ending "cliffhanger" line: "I will kill both of y'all knucklehead asses..."

Chapter 15

Twan, Sylvester, Tina, and Roxanne are in the empty restaurant. Twan seeks revenge on the two women for his arrest three years ago. Sylvester tries to calm him down reminding him that if he does anything to them that he will go back to jail. Then Sylvester tells him that he spent five years in jail himself. He then asks Tina and Roxanne for an explanation of what happened on the day of his arrest. Tina says "it was supposed to be a simple operation" describing a "trip" to Atlanta, Georgia. Roxanne tells Sylvester that Twan recklessly drove the streets screaming "I'm Rick James, bitch." It gets to the point they are chased by police squad cars and a helicopter. Twan's car breaks down and Twan, Tina, and Roxanne are arrested by the police. In the interrogation room, the police claim Twan said the drugs found in the trunk were the women's. It is then when Roxanne tells Twan she turned him in. Roxanne says Tina protected him because Tina was pregnant with Twan's baby.

: "Ending "cliffhanger" line: "Because at the time I was pregnant by you, T..."

Chapter 16

Twan is hesitant to believe the news of his fatherhood at first. He claims the baby is not his, and at this time Tina starts twitching. When Sylvester inquires about this, Roxanne explains she was hit in the eye by a pimp a few years ago and that she's had bad nerves ever since, which is evident as she's obviously in distress. Sylvester then pulls Twan over and convinces him that his fatherhood can turn his life around, and get him on the right track. When Twan decides to tell Tina that he wants to make this work, Roxanne kisses Tina and reveals they are lovers now.

:"Ending "cliffhanger" line: "I'm fucking her now..."

: "Note: At the end when Roxanne kisses Tina, Tina said that she was carrying Twan's baby, which means that Tina is a bisexual.

-In The Commentary Remix On The Trapped In The Closet 1-22 DVD R. Kelly tells the audience that in the upcoming chapters they will probably give Tina about three chapters to explain her nervous eye twitch during the chapter.

Chapter 17

In this chapter, Sylvester points his gun towards Roxanne and Tina, who are holding each other. He then puts his gun down for his love of lesbianism, unlike Twan, who is enraged. Sylvester tries to leave with Twan, but he is threatening them with buying a gun and coming back for them. Sylvester finally convinces Twan to leave.

:"Ending line: "Give me my motherfuckin' coat!"

:"Note: This is the shortest chapter in the series so far.

Chapter 18

Chapter eighteen begins with Sylvester and Twan driving back from the diner. Twan is still worked up over seeing Roxanne and Tina together, despite Sylvester's efforts to calm him down. Soon enough, Sylvester gets a phone call from Gwendolyn, who reveals to him that Dale, who Sylvester then refers to as "daddy", has been put in jail by "momma". The scene then shifts to a church, where Rufus is leading a rousing worship song with Reverend Mosley James Evans and the Peace Within Choir singing "we could work this out," a reference to an earlier chapter, where he says that he and Cathy and Chuck could work it out. Rufus then gets a call from Chuck, which he takes in his office alone. Chuck is crying about missing Rufus, and how they haven't talked since the incident in earlier chapters, when Cathy enters the room. Rufus accidentally puts speaker phone on, which leads to Cathy hearing Chuck over the phone yell "Rufus, I need you!". She grabs the phone and begins arguing with Chuck, before Rufus intervenes and sends Cathy from his office. Back on the phone, Rufus seems to have a revelation about the entire situation and becomes sure that he does love his wife. As he tries to explain this, Chuck becomes near-hysterical. Rufus then tells Chuck he will come by to talk with him. It is then Chuck reveals Rufus cannot come visit him, as he is in the hospital.

:"Ending "cliffhanger" line: "Because I'm in the hospital..."

Chapter 19

Reverend Mosley James Evans and the Peace Within Choir attempt to persuade Pimp Lucious, a pimp with a severe stuttering problem, to stop pimping and to turn his life around. As the choir sings "you can do it Pimp Lucious" Lucious pretends to accept the offer as he leaves the church, but tells his pimpin' partner, Bishop Craig, that he is never going to "s-s-s-s-stop p-p-p-p-p-p-pimpin", because "p-p-p-pimpin's for life." Then he tells Bishop Craig "now let's get this mmm-mmmmm money."

:"Ending scene: Pimp Lucious points to the choir and says "CHURCH! church!" Then becoming embarrassed and overwhelmed after being on the altar, looks around and accidentally blurts out "SHIT!". He then says "Oops", while in the church and then leaves with Bishop Craig and his "escorts".

Chapter 20

Rosie the Nosy Neighbor is at home reading The Bible when her husband, Randolph, comes home shouting, "He's got The Package, Rosie! He's gotg the Package!" Rosie is unwilling to listen at first, until Randolph says it's about the Pastor (Rufus). After initial bickering, Randolph tells Rosie the story: while working as a janitor for the church, Randolph hears Rufus coming into the church office. Hiding in the office closet, Randolph unintentionally overhears the conversation seen in Chapter Eighteen between Chuck, Rufus, and Cathy. After relaying the story, Rosie asks Randolph, "But why did you say that he had 'The Package'?". Randolph replies: "'Cause he's (Chuck's) in the hospital!" Rosie immediately decides to inform the masses, despite Randolph's protests. The chapter ends with Randolph sitting on the couch, falling asleep.

:"Ending line: "Don't go tellin' ev'rybody 'round town, Rosie/ With your big-mouthed ass!"

:"The Package" is believed to be HIV/AIDS because of the slang term, "the whole package" [cite web |url= http://www.urbanup.com/1638132 | title= Urban Dictionary: Package | accessdate=2007-08-22] , defined as prison slang for HIV/AIDS; given the large-scale interconnecting relationships this is a serious issue affecting most of the characters in the series.

Chapter 21

Sylvester and Twan go to visit an apparent mobster named Joey. Sylvester informs Joey of some "job" that could get them a lot of money. While there, Joey accuses Twan of being a cop, as well as calling him "LL Fool J", deeply offending Twan. Sylvester, trying to defuse the situation, asks Twan to wait outside the office while he and Joey discuss business. As Twan leaves the room he remarks "I'll be listening from the outside", to which Joey replies "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Mama said knock you out, fuck outta here." While waiting outside, Twan has a nightmare of Sylvester and himself in the same situation, being pointed at with guns. In the end, Sylvester wakes Twan up and Joey say their goodbyes as their deal is sealed.

:" Ending scene: Joey and his goons laugh at Twan for having a nightmare, and Joey tells Sylvester to say hello to Gwendolyn for him. :" Ending line: "This guy..." and puffing smoke."

Chapter 22

The Scene Opens to O'Dale and Merna's voicemail (Sylvester's Parents) and eventually fades into the middle of the voicemail box where the narrator says, "And Now The Rumor". Throughout a series of phone conversations between all of the original characters from Chapters 1-12 and those introduced in Chapter 13-22, rumors of "The Package" circulate. Because Chuck has it, it has possibly been passed to Rufus, to his wife Cathy, to Sylvester, to Gwen. In addition, Bridget realizes that James knows both Chuck and Rufus but tries to hide it from her earlier, suggesting he may be on the "down-low" with Chuck as well. Gwen also cheated on Sylvester with James. This would put Bridget, Big Man, and Gwen at serious risk. Lastly, Pimp Lucious gets a similar concerned call from an unidentified woman.

"Closing Screen: fades to black with the words "TO BE CONTINUED"."

Parodies, derivatives, and parallels in popular culture

"Trapped in the Closet" has inspired numerous parodies and derivatives:

*In 2005, a "South Park" episode entitled "Trapped in the Closet", parodied the series. Including criticism of Scientology, the episode revolved around Tom Cruise (later joined by John Travolta and Kelly himself) refusing to leave a closet. The caricature of Kelly provides a running narrative for part of the episode, each segment followed by "So I pull out my gun!" and threatens to "shoot someone", "cap some bitch", etc.
*In July, 2005, a parody entitled "Harry Potter: Trapped In The Closet Under The Stairs" was aired in five parts (each part for the first 5 Harry Potter books) on Q100 radio based in Atlanta, Georgia. [ [http://www.allthehitsq100.com/bertshow/bertfeature.asp?id=5846 AllTheHitsQ100.com - The Bert Show, 5:30am - 10am Monday - Friday ] ]
*On July 15, 2005, Jimmy Kimmel made a parody of the single, called "The Pizza" on his show "Jimmy Kimmel Live" on ABC. This parody was aired in six installments, one week at a time. The series documents Jimmy Kimmel and his quest to have a slice of pizza.
*On July 28, 2005, Michael Bell-Smith uploaded" [http://www.burncopy.com/trapped_in_the_closet_all_at_once.mov Trapped in the Closet all at once] " onto his "blog" on the internet. In it, he overlaid the parts of the series onto each other, in order to "take this cultural object and amplify its peculiarity, both in rhythmic and narrative structure". This work has been profiled in The New York Times and has been screened as part of the [http://moma.org/exhibitions/2007/automatic_update/subs_wrapper.php?section=sub_aandc.html Automatic Update] exhibit at the MoMA. [http://www.eai.org/eai/tape.jsp?itemID=12880]
*In August 2005, website Something Awful released a study guide style analysis of the first five chapters. [ [http://www.somethingawful.com/articles.php?a=3100 Thorpe's Notes: R. Kelly's Trapped In The Closet ] ]
*In September 2005, Tichina Arnold, Tisha Campbell, and Duane Martin performed a live parody at the BET Comedy Awards.
*On October 2, 2005, "MADtv" aired a parody called "Trapped in the Cupboard," featuring R. Kelly (played by Jordan Peele) searching for his favorite cereal and finding out his wife (played by Daniele Gaither) ate it. [ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7putw2A4FiI YouTube - Mad Tv: Trapped in the Cupboard ] ]
*Computer Games Magazine reports of a group who has recreated the first five chapters using The Sims 2 animation engine.
*On November 9, 2005, website Something Awful released a CliffsNotes style analysis of the next seven chapters. [ [http://www.somethingawful.com/articles.php?a=3337 Thorpe's Notes: R. Kelly's Trapped In The Closet Chapters 6-12 ] ]
*On November 19, 2005, "Saturday Night Live" parodied "Trapped in the Closet" with a fake commercial for a straight-to-DVD sequel called "Trapped in the Closet 2: Still Trapped in the Closet" where R. Kelly (played by Finesse Mitchell) discovers that his wife (played by host Eva Longoria) cheated on him with an alien named Gurgon (played by Kenan Thompson) who turns out to be his father.
* In January 2006, comedian Brently Heilbron performed the original 12 chapters in their entirety with a full band and lip-synching cast as a benefit for PFLAG. Since then, he has performed the entire 22 chapter saga as an entry for the Guinness Book of World Records.
* In January 2006, The Alamo Drafthouse movie theater in Austin, Texas presented "Trapped in the Closet: The R. Kelly Singalong", and had the 12 chapters with lyrics so the audience could sing-along, numerous props from the story were hidden around the theater, and an assortment of videos from R. Kelly's career were also presented. [ [http://www.originalalamo.com/online_tix/show_details.asp?show_id=3465 Alamo Drafthouse Cinema - TRAPPED IN THE CLOSET: The R. Kelly Singalong ] ]
* On September 26, 2006, "Weird Al" Yankovic released a parody entitled "Trapped in the Drive-Thru" on his album "Straight Outta Lynwood". The song is 10 minutes and 51 seconds long, and divided into three chapters. On March 19, 2007, an animated music video was released to MySpace. "Weird Al" Yankovic alludes to the Bridget/Big Man drama from Chapter 9 in his song "Confessions Part III" from the same album.
* In a Chicago production called Shakesploitation 2 (where Shakespeare's plays are rewritten in the genre of 70's exploitation films) one of the segments is a telling of Romeo and Juliet in the style of "Trapped in the Closet." [ [http://www.nmtchicago.org/History/Shakesploitation2/sploitation2.htm New Millennium Theatre Company of Chicago ] ]
* In 2005, a parody of the song titled "Out of the Closet" appeared on the web site [http://nofilmschool.com/2005/08/out-of-the-closet/ No Film School] . The parody consisted of sound clips from Chapters 1 through 5 of "Trapped in the Closet" as well as excerpts from other R. Kelly songs and Chappelle's Show, re-edited to create a new story in which the narrator is arrested and, after encounters with a gay inmate and a gay policeman, eventually admits that he, too, is a homosexual.
* On the September 10, 2007 episode of "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart", a segment covering the scandal surrounding Senator Larry Craig allegedly soliciting sex in the men's restroom (called "Trapped in the Men's Room") featured an R. Kelly look- and sound-alike singing a version of the song with modified lyrics to cover the scandal.

Earlier parallels to "Trapped in the Closet" can be found in the webwork novels of fellow Chicagoan Harry Stephen Keeler. [ [http://mysteriousmri2.googlepages.com/65kn.pdf William Poundstone, "Trapped in the Closet: The Webwork Opera," Keeler News no. 65, December 2007.] ]

References

External links

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* [http://ifc.com/static/sections/kelly/trapped.html Trapped in the Closet on IFC]
* [http://www.somethingawful.com/articles.php?a=3100 SomethingAwful's Notes on Chapters 1-5]
* [http://www.somethingawful.com/articles.php?a=3337 SomethingAwful's Notes on Chapters 6-12]
* [http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/kelly_r/artist.jhtml#/news/articles/1554181/20070308/kelly_r.jhtml MTV.com article with information on when next chapters of the series will be released]
* [http://flagpole.com/News/Features/TrappedInTheCloset/2005-11-30 "Flagpole" essay] linking Trapped in the Closet to Renaissance concept of sprezzatura
* [http://www.alternatetakes.co.uk/?2006,5,75 Essay on Trapped in the Closet]
* [http://youtube.com/watch?v=xwIeAkEnWlg A quick introduction to Trapped in the Closet] by Charlie Brooker
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StdMQ5IK188 A clip from Brently Heilbron's live retelling of Trapped.] ]