Mia
Regarding the R&B genre of music, R Kelly is a name that doesn’t require any introduction. He has dominated the industry for some time and gotten himself into controversies.
However, one topic that is quite prevalent around R Kelly is his middle child, Jaya Kelly, aka Jaah Kelly. Kindly understand that we have addressed Jaya Kelly with “He/Him” pronouns throughout the article. Any required changes to that will be updated in the future.
This article will explore Jaah or Jaya Kelly, his early life, transition, and his relationship with his father, R Kelly.
Jaya Kelly Brief Bio
Name: Jaah Kelly (after transition)
Gender: Trans Male
Born: 2000
Age: 22
Nationality: African-American
Religion: Not specified
Marital Status: Unmarried
Net worth: Unknown
Profession: Musician
Social media handles: Not popular on social media
Early Life and Growing Up
Jaya Kelly got stardom and recognition initially due to his father’s profound popularity in the music industry. Besides his father, his mother, Andrea Lee, is also a famous actress, further putting him in the limelight.
One striking news about Jaya Kelly is that he was assigned female at birth. However, following a lot of self-exploration, Jaya came out as transgender in 2014 and changed his name to Jaah Kelly, which is what he goes by now.
We will address him as “Jaah Kelly” for the remainder of the article since that’s his chosen name.
Jaah was born in 2000, making him 22+ years at present. He comes from an African-American heritage and has American citizenship.
Jaah has two siblings, Robert Kelly, Jr., and Joann Kelly, from the same parents as himself. Since Jaah was born to a famous singer and actress, it isn’t surprising that he had a pretty prosperous life growing up. However, despite his fame, R Kelly has found himself in many notorious controversies throughout his career.
Coming Out and Controversies
Jaah’s struggle with his sexuality started when he was pretty young. He didn’t correlate to his assigned gender at birth, which was female. In several interviews with his fans, he exclaimed that he didn’t find comfort in dressing up as a woman or even having feminine organs.
Following his struggles with his gender and sexuality, Jaah finally underwent gender reaffirmation surgery and is on medications to help him feel like himself.
Jaah revealed the decision about his transition to DailyMail, confirming that he underwent surgeries and is currently on hormones to make himself happier and at peace with who he is.
Soon after his transition surgery, Jaah came out as trans male, leaving a lot of speculations at play. However, the most significant part was that he felt more confident in his skin.
How did Jaah’s Family React to his Coming Out?
Despite the issues that are quite prevalent surrounding the orthodox thinking in several American families, that isn’t something Jaah had to experience following his coming out.
His family and friends were very accepting of his sexuality and gender identity. Even Jaah’s mother, Andrea, had her son’s best interests in mind.
In one of his interviews, Jaah revealed that his mother said, “You know I love you if you were bi, homosexual, lesbian, you name it, and I would still love you so much,” following his coming out. This was a breath of fresh air for him because he could be himself unapologetically.
Besides his mother, Jaah also exclaimed that his siblings welcomed him with open arms. He said he felt heard and appreciated when his sister complicated her brothers.
Past History of Abuse Between R Kelly and Drea Kelly
Despite such positive influence in his life and the support he acquired following his coming out at 14, Jaah has had to experience his fair share of trauma.
According to reports, Jaah’s father, famous American singer R Kelly was abusive towards their mother, Drea Kelly.
Following years of experiencing the abuse, Drea finally came out and exposed R Kelly for who he was. She exclaimed that throughout their several years of marriage, she had experienced verbal, physical, and even psychological abuse by her husband.
Given that she had to take care of three children by herself, it wasn’t surprising that Andrea Kelly often hid her pain and her suffering from the public eye. Besides, R Kelly was extremely influential during the peak of his career, which was another reason Andrea Kelly couldn’t come out and report the abuse.
After relenting to the abuse for several years, Andrea finally filed for divorce in 2006, and the couple has been separated since then.
Jaah’s Relationship with His Parents
For those who don’t keep up with R&B music and American musicians, you might not know that R Kelly is currently in prison.
That said, Jaah Kelly, who came in front of the spotlight due to his parents, isn’t close to his father – for obvious reasons. R Kelly was not a great husband and a very okayish father. Given that Jaah had to witness his mother’s struggle with domestic abuse, it isn’t surprising that he isn’t close to his father.
During the initial years of Jaah’s life, R Kelly tried to upkeep his presence in his son’s life. However, once the news broke about the abuse, Kelly’s children severed ties with their father.
As for Jaah’s relationship with his mother, both of them are very close. They currently stay together and have a very peaceful life. Andrea has even exclaimed that nothing in this world means more to her than her children, which is reflected in her actions.
History of Bullying
With the criminal records and the controversies that R Kelly has gotten himself into, it isn’t surprising that there are potent reports of bullying that Jaah and his siblings had to experience during their school years.
Their friends or classmates used to call Jaah and his siblings “offsprings of criminals,” which led to a lot of trauma and unsettling experience.
However, after enduring bullying initially, Jaah and his siblings started not to care and instead focused on their studies.
Personal life of Jaah Kelly
Despite his turmoil with his father, Jaah has inherited his father’s passion for music and songwriting. Currently, Jaah lives with his mother and is exploring a music career.
Jaah has expressed on multiple occasions that he plans to become a successful musician.
Following sharing one of his life’s biggest milestones, Jaah has focused on keeping his private life hidden away from the shackles of media. Since he doesn’t like to discuss his personal life and relationships, it isn’t surprising that there isn’t much information online about who he is dating.
In one of his early interviews, he exclaimed that he likes someone, but there are no reports on who.
At What Age Did Jaya Kelly Start Transitioning?
Jaah Kelly realized that he didn’t conform to his gender assigned at birth when he was 6 or 7 years old. However, he started to come out as transgender when he was 14.
What was his family’s reaction to him doing surgery?
Jaah doesn’t share a good bond with his father, R Kelly, especially after the criminal records and the abuse he inflicted on their mother. Although Jaah didn’t have a good support system from his father, his mother, Drea Kelly, was extremely supportive of his decisions and choices.
How is Jaya Kelly’s Relationship with His Parents?
Jaah is close to his mother, Drea Kelly, and the two live together while he is working on his career in music. He doesn’t share a good bond with his father, R Kelly.
What is Jaya Kelly’s Net Worth?
Jaah Kelly was born into a family of popular singer and songwriter R Kelly and actress Andrea Kelly. However, despite leading a prosperous life, there is no information about Jaah’s net worth.
According to reports, Andrea Kelly has a net worth of $5 million, while R Kelly has a net worth of $10 million. Jaah is set to inherit properties and money from both his parents.
Since Jaah is currently establishing himself as a singer and musician, he doesn’t have any prominent song credits or albums to his name to generate a steady income.
We’ll update this part of the article with further reports as he progresses in his career.
Conclusion
Jaah Kelly is a young and aspiring musician who is the son of famous singers R Kelly and Drea Kelly. He came out his transgender when he was 14 and soon enough started pursuing things he loved. He didn’t feel at peace with his assigned gender at birth, leading to his coming out as a transgender male.
