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"I Can't Sleep Baby (If I)"
"I Can't Sleep Baby (If I)"
	Artwork for UK and Dutch commercial releases
Single by R. Kelly
from the album R. Kelly
Released	June 21, 1996
Genre	R&B
Length	5:31 (album edit); 4:41 (radio edit);
Label	Jive
Songwriter(s)	Robert Kelly
Producer(s)	R. Kelly
R. Kelly singles chronology

"I Can't Sleep Baby (If I)" is a single by American R&B singer R. Kelly from his 1995 eponymous album. The song spent two weeks at number one on the US Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart (Kelly's sixth number-one R&B hit) and peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100. Outside the US, the single reached the top 20 in New Zealand, peaking at number 14.

Background

Kelly wrote this song after he split from his girlfriend at that time, whom he was deeply in love with. In 2010, Kelly said he still has not gotten over this girl, who remained anonymous. He ranked this song as one of his favorites that he has recorded.^[2]

In his autobiography, Kelly states that he originally intended the song to be recorded by Toni Braxton. However, Braxton was unhappy about the fact that they would not be writing together, and she disagreed with Kelly over how the melody would be sung. They agreed to disagree, and Kelly recorded the song himself.^[3]

Critical reception

A reviewer from Music Week rated the song three out of five, adding, "Sounding more like Boyz II Men than R Kelly, this sickly-sweet ballad will nevertheless attract the usual crowd."^[4] The magazine's Alan Jones wrote that it is "a tender ballad softly sung by Kelly (until the ad-lib outro, where he emotes more forcefully, but no less tastefully) with a restrained groin-grinding backing. Fragile but powerful, it floats in on a breeze, and deserves to be a huge summer hit."^[5]

Music video

The music video for both the original and the remix is directed by Hype Williams.^[6] The music video for the original song opens with R. Kelly, driving on a snowy road. He is then shown singing outside a house and then inside the house. He drives to a phone booth, finishing the song outside. Finally, wearing a fur coat, he sees a helicopter, boards it, and it flies away. Puff Daddy features on the video of the remix.^[7]^[8]

Live performance

R. Kelly does not often perform this song despite its huge success. The first time he performed this song was at "The Down Low Top Secret Tour" in 1996.^[9]

Legacy

The song was number one on the R&B/hip hop charts for two weeks and peaked at number five on the Pop Chart. In 2011, Gospel singer Genita Pugh sampled this song for her single "Can't Live" on her album My Purpose. In 2017, American hip hop rapper PnB Rock sampled this song for his song "Hanging Up My Jersey" (featuring Ty Dolla Sign) on his album GTTM: Goin Thru the Motions.

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1996)	Peak position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)^[10]	37
Germany (GfK)^[11]	63
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)^[12]	33
Netherlands (Single Top 100)^[13]	42
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)^[14]	14
US Billboard Hot 100^[15]	5
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)^[16]	1
US Pop Airplay (Billboard)^[17]	17
US Rhythmic (Billboard)^[18]	3

Year-end charts

Chart (1996)	Position
US Billboard Hot 100^[19]	27
US Hot R&B Singles (Billboard)^[20]	16
US Top 40/Mainstream (Billboard)^[21]	59
US Top 40/Rhythm-Crossover (Billboard)^[22]	12