Kelis has always been a lucky girl. Coming from a middleclass Harlem family, she learnt violin, piano and saxophone at private school, and ended up in La Guardia School for the Arts (does Fame! ring any bells?). Luckily, a friend also introduced her to The Neptunes, who seem to have the golden touch when it comes to R&B acts (Miss Spears, Mr Timberlake and, of course, Snoop). With their help Kelis luckily shot to fame in 2001 with the memorable shriek, “I hate you so much right now!” Now she’s back, after a weak second album, apparently having left the screaming behind (luckily), with a series of funky pop tunes and collaborations. The sound is more mature, but perhaps at the cost of some of her earlier “kickass” attitude. The singles, of course, are sure to be popular and are undoubtedly radiofriendly. However, after the icecool hits, this album soon melts into bland, saccharine, strawberry flavoured mush: a metaphorical milkshake.
Archive: 0th week HT 2004
Tasty – Kelis
