R. Kelly 'Honored' to Work with Kanye West on 'Cruel Summer'

It may be a G.O.O.D. Music album, but it’s R. Kelly who kicks off Cruel Summer on the defiant anthem “To the World.” The R&B veteran is relishing over the opportunity to connect with fellow Chicagoan Kanye West.

He explained how the collaboration came together. “Kanye sent me a track he was working on. I sent it back. He sent it back to me, I sent it back to him… until we had something,” Kellz told Billboard.com. “It felt good to both of us. He trusts my talent and I trust his talent.”

While this is their first time working together, they go way back. “I knew Kanye way before he was known. We’ve always had fun in the clubs or wherever we were, just kickin’ it, but we never had a chance to get in the studio before and hook up like this, and I’m just glad we finally got that chance,” he said. “I’m just very honored to be on this track working with him.”

The Pied Piper promises to cater to his female fans when he embarks on his “Single Ladies” tour on October 13 in Columbia, South Carolina.

“I know there’s going to be couples in the audience, which is great,” said Kelly, who named the tour after his Write Me Back single “Feelin’ Single.” “At the same time, I feel like wherever there’s a single ladies party, there’s gonna be a whole bunch of single guys, so we’ll just call it one big dating game.”