A music writer who spent decades raising awareness about sexual misconduct allegations against R. Kelly is fighting a bid to force him to testify at the R&B singer’s federal trial on child pornography and trial-fixing charges, according to a Tuesday court filing.

Lawyers for Jim DeRogatis, who in 2019 released his book Soulless: The Case Against R. Kelly, invoked constitutional and other protections for the press in asking Judge Harry Leinenweber to rule that DeRogatis need not testify.

DeRogatis was a reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times in the early 2000s when he anonymously received a video that he gave to police that helped lead to Kelly’s child pornography trial in 2008 in state court. Video evidence entered at that 2008 trial is also part of the current trial.

Lawyers for Kelly’s former business manager, Derrel McDavid, who with Kelly is charged with a conspiracy to rig that 2008 child pornography trial, subpoenaed DeRogatis to testify. Kelly’s lawyers also would be able to question DeRogatis if he takes the stand.

Kelly, who was acquitted in the 2008 state trial, also faces charges of enticing minors for sex at the federal trial in the Grammy Award winner’s hometown. Both McDavid and Kelly also face pornography charges.

The trial was scheduled to resume Wednesday — after the Labor Day holiday and after the unexpected closure of the courthouse Tuesday due to “operational issues.” Leinenweber is expected to decide Wednesday morning about whether DeRogatis, who co-hosts the public radio show “Sound Opinions,” will have to testify.

Prosecutors rested last week and the defense could wrap up by the end of this week. The trial follows a separate federal trial in New York, where Kelly, 55, was sentenced to 30 years in June.

It’s not clear what defense lawyers at Kelly’s current trial would ask DeRogatis. But in filings and public statements they raised chain-of-custody questions about how video evidence got into police hands. They also say there were indications DeRogatis shared a draft of his book about Kelly with prosecutors.

Tuesday’s filing, also submitted on behalf of The New Yorker magazine, for whom DeRogatis writes, points to rulings by a Chicago-based U.S. appellate court that forcing reporters to testify in cases they’ve covered should be done rarely and only when there are no alternatives to introducing the same information.

The filing says a Chicago police detective already testified for the prosecution to explain the chain of custody of video evidence. It says another key government witness, using the pseudonym “Jane” also testified that she and Kelly were the people in several video excerpts.

Calling the outspoken Kelly critic to testify could amount to “harassment or intimidation,” given that there are other ways to work the same facts into evidence, the filing argues. It also cites reports that a window at the DeRogatis family home was shot out after the Sun-Times reported on Kelly.

Four years ago, Kelly released a song called “I Admit,” in which he sought to call out the writer, singing: “To Jim DeRogatis, whatever your name is/You been tryna destroy me for 25 whole years.” Kelly described himself as “so falsely accused” but added, “I admit I have made some mistakes/And I have some imperfect ways.”

DeRogatis took the stand at Kelly’s 2008 trial, but refused to answer questions, citing an Illinois law that shields reporters’ rights, as well the U.S. Constitution’s free press rights and right against self-incrimination.

Camilo has a knack for writing songs that instantly become earworms, without sacrificing good lyricism and depth. The songs on his new album, De Adentro Pa Afuera, are no exception. On the new album, released Tuesday (Sept. 6), the Colombian singer-songwriter allows each song to breathe lyrically and sonically, putting listeners on a roller coaster of emotions with each track.

The wide-ranging sounds of the album, which can go from urban pop to banda and cumbia villera, also keep fans on the edge of their seat wondering what the next song will sound like, and then being pleasantly surprised with how different each one is, making Camilo one of the most exciting artists in Latin music today.

De Adentro Pa Afuera kicks off with “Aeropuerto,” a soft pop anthem that puts Camilo’s romanticism on full display. The album then picks up rhythmically, transitioning to a bachata featuring Camila Cabello. Other notable collabs include Myke Towers and previously released team-ups with Grupo Firme, Nicki Nicole and Alejandro Sanz.

For this new album, Camilo looked inward as he awaited the arrival of his baby girl, Índigo — his first child with his wife, fellow artist Evaluna Montaner. “That process of waiting for Índigo’s arrival inspired me to look inward and to close doors. It became a process of giving birth times two (baby and album). I am a completely different person now,” Camilo previously told Billboard. “My last album, Mis Manos, found a Camilo that started believing in who he was. In this new album, it’s a Camilo that is releasing everything.”

Stream the entire album here and below, the Billboard Latin editors recommend six essential tracks on De Adentro Pa Afuera:

“Bebiendo Sola” ft. Myke Towers

If there’s any hip-hop artist who can perfectly lace his vocals with pop music it’s Myke Towers, and this collaboration is proof of that. In “Bebiendo Sola,” Camilo reeled in the Puerto Rican artist to tell the story of a girl who doesn’t believe in love anymore and is out and about, drinking alone and hanging out by herself. In true fairy tale fashion, Camilo and Myke tap their inner prince charming and promise to capture the lady’s heart and not leave her side. Most notably, the pop track is backed by a Mellotron sound (keyboard-meets-orchestra) giving off a soothing melody a la “Strawberry Fields Forever” by The Beatles.

“Ambulancia” ft. Camila Cabello

This flirty slow-tempo bachata marks the first collaboration between the Cuban-American singer and Camilo. It narrates the story of a connection that cannot be explained, the ones that are pure magic and magnetic. Moreover, it perfectly combines Camilo’s melodic vocals with Camila’s raspy voice. “I had turned off my heart, but when he saw you alone, he decided to turn back on,” she sings in a verse.

“Alaska” ft. Grupo Firme

Name a better duo than Camilo and Grupo Firme … we’ll wait. This highly-anticipated collaboration did not disappoint and instantly became a banda anthem has been soundtracking heartbreaks since it dropped in August. Powered by traditional banda instruments such as the tuba and accordion, “Alaska” is Camilo’s second time experimenting with the genre after his norteña track with Los Dos Carnales released in 2021. In this track, the sound is just as fun as the song’s lyrics, which are a play on words about drinking your sorrows away.

“Pegao”

A modern-day cumbia villera but make it pop with intense synthesizer sound effects and keyboards. In “Pegao,” penned by Camilo, Edgar Barrera, and Andrés Castro, the Colombian artist reflects the happiness he’s living as a first-time father, becoming his first song after the birth of his and wife Evaluna’s baby, Indigo. The lyrics cleverly describe his desire to be permanently attached (pegao) to his newborn daughter. The song earned him his third No. 1 on Billboard’s Tropical Airplay chart (dated Aug. 13), and his first champ on a lead role, unaccompanied by any other act.

“NASA” ft. Alejandro Sanz

The collaboration of his dreams is presented in this ballad with flamenco flairs and classical instrumentation. Its deep and honest lyrics are carried by the strings of an electric guitar where Camilo and Sanz meet vocally to sing in a subtle way to jealousy. The most honest form of asking someone for forgiveness for overthinking or imagining things that haven’t happened.

“Naturaleza” ft. Nicki Nicole

Camilo and Nicki Nicole embrace individuality in “Naturaleza,” a hypnotizing head-bobbing pop song fused with a subtle reggaeton drum beat. The beauty of the track lies within the message of its lyrics, which highlight the importance of living our authentic lives and taking pride in who we are. “I think I see life differently, because they call me crazy frequently,” the Argentine star starts off the song. “Dale, all is fair in this party until the sun rises. We are real. Only instinct, like animals,” they both sing in the chorus.