Kelis: Kelis Was Here
Wednesday, 13 Sep 2006 17:23
Kelis Was Here is Kelis' third album
Jive Records, Out Now.
In a nutshell…
Eclectic, jam-packed, soulful, unique, experimental
What's it all about?
From the sexy songstress that brought us tunes such as booty-shaking Milkshake and angry Caught Out Here comes a new daring album, which shows off the singer's vocal talents while combining them with various different styles. Kelis Was Here takes you on a mammoth 18-track roller-coaster, stopping the listener off at the dancehall stop, through to pumping base lines and occasionally setting you down on a rhythm & blues porch.
The album starts off with an Intro, in which Kelis gets back to her roots, showcasing her raspy gospel tones and making clear that the rest of the album will not be like the monotone, saccharine tones heard in many female singers' R&B tracks. With the help of hubby Nas, she launches into her next song Blindfold Me and is joined by various rap veterans, including Smoke in Aww Sh**!.
The second half of Kelis' roller-coaster ride takes us through mellower and more soulful tracks in which the diva's sultry tones are at their best, with gospel-influenced Appreciate Me a marvellous showcase of her talent.
Who's it by?
Kelis won the Best International Newcomer Award in 2001 following her debut single, Caught Out Here, or fondly remembered as I Hate You So Much Right Now, at the Brit Awards. The raw and edgy feel of her first single made her a force to be reckoned with and she followed this success in 2003 with the launch of Tasty, which saw the singer take more of an R&B direction and went platinum with hit songs from the album including club favourite Trick Me and provocative Milkshake.
Her third album, Kelis Was Here, is the first not to have any songs produced by The Neptunes and sees the singer not choosing one different turn but deciding instead to meander through a host of different music styles, which highlight the fact that Ms Rogers is no bootylicious Beyonce or boring Ashante, but a greater talent, who is not afraid to be alternative and experiment.
As an example…
"I'm bossy, I'm the first girl to scream on a track. I switched up the beat of the drum. That's right I brought all the boys to the yard. And that's right, i'm the one that's tattooed on his arm."
"Movin' fast hit the gas, crash. We gonna move. And remember the wheels fall off. Carry me through."
Likelihood of a trip to the Grammys
With Grammy nominations already to her name for previous attempts, there is no doubt that this daring, mature album could see the star awarded for her efforts.
What the others say
"A bloated 77-minute collection that badly mistakes quantity for quality… If Kelis deserves much better material than this, so too do the people who buy her records." - The Guardian
"Few artists could line up an ode to bondage right next to a love song so sweet that it could be played at a wedding or invoke Joan Jett right after sharing a cosmic trip with Cee-Lo. That's what Kelis does here." – Los Angeles Times
So is it any good?
While critics might bemoan the fact that this album has no less than 18 tracks on it, it's rare to come across a CD which has very few fillers, if any at all. And this is due to the fact that each song attempts to be different, trying out different styles and sounds. While there are tracks for modern R&B lovers, fans of rhythm and blues in its original sense will find there's something for them on this album too. In fact, this is where Kelis does best. There are several tunes on the album, which will undoubtedly be heard up and down clubs in the UK pretty soon, but often these tracks need the raw rap presence of the others she enlists to help out, with husband Nas helping out in Blindfold Me, as well as other stars along the way.
But the singer can stand alone when it comes to the soulful, raspy songs that showcase her brilliant voice, from the dreamy Circus to Lil Star and Appreciate Me, which are by far the best songs on the album.
8/10
Chine Mbubaegbu