Earlier this week, AllHipHop exclusively reported that R. Kelly is back in the hole at his North Carolina federal prison. Now we know why: a phone number that belonged to a retired warden.

Prison officials at FCI Butner Medium 1 placed the R&B singer in the Special Housing Unit while they investigate how he got the contact info. His lawyer, Beau Brindley, claimed the whole thing is a misunderstanding.

The drama started when Kelly joined a mentor program at the prison. The program was designed to help inmates guide other prisoners. The warden who ran the program gave Kelly his personal cell phone number before retiring.

“He gave Kelly his cell phone number in case the convicted felon needed to reach out to him to seek advice about the mentor program,” Brindley said.

But Kelly’s cellmate got busted with a contraband mobile phone. That’s when everything went sideways. Prison guards searched their shared cell after finding the illegal phone.

They discovered the retired warden’s number written in Kelly’s notebook. Officials immediately moved Kelly to solitary confinement.

The Special Housing Unit is prison slang for “the hole.” Inmates spend up to 23 hours a day locked in a cell with severe restrictions.

R. Kelly is serving 30 years in 2021 for racketeering, bribery and illegal sex with minors in New York. Then Chicago federal court hit him with 20 more years in 2022 for child pornography and enticing a minor.

The 58-year-old singer maintains his innocence. His legal team continues fighting both convictions through appeals.

The timing disrupted preparation for R. Kelly’s motion for a new trial in Chicago federal court. His legal team accuses prosecutors of misconduct in that case.