Spotify removed Kelly's music from their playlists after introducing a "hate content and hateful conduct" policy in May 2018, but rescinded the policy in June 2018 after people in the music industry, including Kendrick Lamar's representative, accused the company of censorship. "I Admit" was released on the SoundCloud account of Julius Darrington, CEO of the AudioDream record label, on July 23, 2018. RCA Records, Kelly's primary label, did not confirm whether they were associated with the song. Kelly promoted the release with a post, "Today is the day you've been waiting for", across Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. After the January 2019 broadcast of Surviving R. Kelly, Kelly appeared in a CBS This Morning interview on March 8, 2019, in which Gayle King asked him whether "I Admit" was his "way of confessing". Kelly responded, "That question makes no sense, no offense, but what I'm saying is this: 'I Admit' was me expressing my feelings about the things I was going through. If you're listening to it, you can hear exactly what I'm admitting." Lyrics In "I Admit", Kelly admits to various acts, including dropping out of high school and not attending church. Kelly claims to be dyslexic, and asserts that his inability to read his recording contract caused him to forfeit publishing rights to his music, which contributed to Kelly's financial troubles, including his $20million tax debt to the Internal Revenue Service. In the song, Kelly confesses that he was sexually unfaithful and frequented strip clubs. Kelly reveals that he lost his virginity in his childhood when he was raped by an older female family member, elaborating on the disclosures from his 2012 autobiography, Soulacoaster: The Diary of Me. Despite the song's title and Kelly's repetition of the lyric "I admit it, I did it" in the chorus, "I Admit" does not contain any criminal admissions. Kelly denies accusations of domestic violence, involvement in a "sex cult", and pedophilia in his lyrics, dismissing them as matters of opinion. Kelly does not admit guilt regarding the 2008 acquittal of his sex tape allegations, but maintains that he has been "falsely accused" and sings that his lawyer advised him to "don't say noth'". Although Kelly admits to casual sex with "both older and young ladies", he states that all of them were "over age". The lyrics denounce DeRogatis for profiting from his reports of Kelly's scandals, and John Legend, Steve Harvey, and