Kelis is an American singer-songwriter from New York City, United States. The core of her music embraces a pop structure; however, it can often be experimental, incorporating styles ranging from neo-soul, electronic, house, rap, and R&B. In addition to music she is also a chef and model.
Kelis Rogers was born 21 August 1979 and grew up in Harlem, New York with her father Kenneth, mother Eveliss and three sisters. Her father is a former professor at Wesleyan University as well as a jazz musician and Pentecostal minister. Her mother is a Chinese/Puerto Rican fashion designer and one of the sole sources of encouragement for Kelis’ musical pursuit.
Kelis was involved with music at a young age. During her time at Manhattan Country School she learned the violin, piano and saxophone and later progressed to Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts. During her attendance in high school she joined an R&B collective called BLU and from there went on to cross paths with the Neptunes, a group consisting of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo. She eventually formed an amicable and musical relation with them and scored a recording contract with their help.
Kelis‘ debut studio album “Kaleidoscope” was produced by the Neptunes and saw release on 7 December 1999. It entered the US Billboard 200 at No. 149 and featured the three singles “Good Stuff”, “Get Along” and “Caught Out There” (a track which was later sampled by the British electronic artist James Blake for his single CMYK). The album did reasonably well in Europe. As a result of the positive response overseas she released her 2nd album “Wanderland” exclusively to a European, Asian, and Latin American market. This release was widely eclectic in nature referencing genres from bossa nova, disco, and freak funk. The album’s only single was “Young, Fresh n‘ New”. Despite it’s relatively weak sales performance it was herald in media outlets like NME and the Guardian.
Kelis finally found her way into the mainstream in 2003 with her single “Milkshake” and did so without compromising a shred of her artistry. The song proved to be one of her strangest and most minimal releases to date, opting in detuned monophonic bass lines for the elaborate instrumentation that grace her prior releases. “Milkshake” hit No.1 on the Hot Dance Club party Chart and No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was also included in the movie Dodgeball (though many may wish to forget that scene) and was monumental in boosting the sales for her 3rd studio album “Tasty”. Likewise the single was a critical feat for Kelis earning her a grammy nomination and was named the top single of 2004 by the Observer and the 8th best single by Pitchfork. The album “Tasty” contained three additional singles “Trick Me”, “Millionaire (feat. Andre 3000)”, and “In Public (feat. Nas)”. Around this time Kelis released the collaborative hit “Not In Love” with Enrique Iglesias” and remixed Bjork’s single “Oceania”. In 2004 Kelis supported the release of “Tasty” opening for Britney Spears on her Onyx Hotel Tour.
On 22 August 2006 she put out her 4th studio album “Kelis Was Here” through the label, Jive. The album was both a critical and commercial success, reaching No. 10 on the US Billboard 200 and receiving a Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary R&B Album. Kelis issued a compilation album entitled “Hits” in 2008, which marked her last release through Jive.
From 2006 to 2010 Kelis took a short break from her music career to focus on her dream of pursuing the culinary arts. During her time off she enrolled at the Le Cordon Bleu cooking school through which she obtained certification as a chef. After her break she entered a recording contract with the label Interscope and released “Flesh Tone”. This album was strongly geared toward electronic dance music and reflected influences spanning from David Bowie, Donna Summer, Bjork, and Basement Jaxx. Kelis supported this release with her “All Hearts Tour”, performing alongside Swedish pop star Robyn.
In 2011 Kelis scored a No. 2 UK charting single with Calvin Harris called “Bounce” and in 2013 signed to the cult British electronica label Ninja Tune. A year later Kelis released her 6th studio album “Food”. The album was produced by TV on the Radio’s Dave Sitek and emanated a style more subtle and to a degree more stark than her previous releases; however, it still carries on in her traditional use of soul and electronic forms.
Trevor Wallace
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