Kelis | |
|---|---|
 Kelis performing duringManchester Pride in 2010 | |
| Born | Kelis Rogers (1979-08-21)August 21, 1979 (age 45) Manhattan,New York City, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Le Cordon Bleu (BA) |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1997–present |
| Works | |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 3 |
| Awards | Full list |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | |
| Labels | |
| Website | kelisofficial |
Kelis Rogers (/kəˈliːs/;[2] born August 21, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter and chef.[3] She attendedNew York'sFiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts,[4] where she played saxophone and was selected for the Girls Choir of Harlem.[5] Upon graduation, Rogers landed a role as abacking vocalist for the hip hop groupGravediggaz. She then began working with music producersPharrell Williams andChad Hugo—collectively known asthe Neptunes—who led her to sign withVirgin Records in 1998.[6][7]
Rogers' debut studio album,Kaleidoscope (1999), was inspired by jazz and disco music from the 1970s. Despite critical acclaim, the album was met with domestic commercial failure; it instead found moderate success on international charts.[8] Supported by her firstBillboard Hot 100 entry with its lead single "Caught Out There", the album peaked at number 43 on theUK Albums Chart and earned gold certification by the country'sBritish Phonographic Industry (BPI).[9] She parted ways with Virgin Records after her second album,Wanderland (2001) also received poor sales—not seeing a domestic release until 2019. After signing with the Neptunes'Star Trak Entertainment, Rogers third studio album,Tasty (2003), served as her commercialbreakthrough and was met with continued critical praise. Its lead single, "Milkshake", peaked at number three on theBillboard Hot 100; the song and its follow-up, "Trick Me", both peaked at number two on theUK singles chart. Her fourth album,Kelis Was Here (2006)—preceded by the US top 20 single "Bossy" (featuringToo Short)—peaked number ten on theBillboard 200. Following its release, she took a hiatus from recording and ventured into culinary arts atLe Cordon Bleu.
She later signed withwill.i.am Music Group to release her fifth album,Flesh Tone (2010), which exploredelectronic music. Two of its singles, "Acapella" and "4th of July (Fireworks)" found success on the USHot Dance Club Songs chart and theUK Dance Singles Chart. Tying-in with her culinary career, she released her sixth studio albumFood (2014), which became her second top-20 album in the UK and spawned three singles: "Jerk Ribs", "Rumble" and "Friday Fish Fry". The album explored aneo soul recording style.[10][11][12]
Rogers has been recognized at theBrit Awards,Q Awards,NME Awards, andGrammy Awards.[13] Her musical output as a lead and featured artist encompasses various genres. She has collaborated with R&B and hip hop acts includingNas (whom she married in 2003),Busta Rhymes,Outkast, andPuff Daddy; electronic and dance producers such asCalvin Harris,Disclosure,Giorgio Moroder,Timo Maas, andRichard X; pop and rock actsEnrique Iglesias,Duran Duran, andNo Doubt; and indie and alternative musicians includingBjörk andDave Sitek. She has sold 6 million records worldwide[14] and has had particular success in the United Kingdom, where ten of her singles have peaked within the top ten of the UK singles chart.
Rogers was born and raised in theFrederick Douglass Houses in theHarlem neighborhood ofManhattan. Her first name is a portmanteau of her father's name, Kenneth (1944–2000), and her mother's name, Eveliss. Her father Kenneth was an African-Americanjazz musician andPentecostal minister and was formerly a professor at Wesleyan University.[15] Her mother Eveliss is a Chinese-Puerto Rican fashion designer who inspired Rogers to pursue her singing career. She has three sisters, two older and one younger.[16]
As a child, Rogers sang in church choirs and played violin, piano, and saxophone while attendingManhattan Country School, a private school. At 13, she shaved off all of her hair. In an interview, Rogers says she was kicked out of her parents' house at 16 for bad behavior, stating that she would sometimes clash with her mother,[15] but continued her education at theFiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, where she formed the R&B trio BLU (Black Ladies United). She was also a bartender and a sales associate at a clothing store before graduating high school.
In 1997, Kelis provided background vocals on "Fairytalez", a track on hip hop groupGravediggaz's albumThe Pick, the Sickle and the Shovel. Afterward, a friend introduced Kelis toThe Neptunes (Pharrell Williams andChad Hugo); they formed a strong bond, and with their support she landed a record deal withVirgin Records. According to Kelis, Virgin Records advised her that publishing royalties would be split evenly among Williams, Hugo, and herself; however, Kelis made no money from sales of her first two albums on the label.[17][18] Kelis has said that Williams was credited as a songwriter on songs of hers that he had not written.[19]
Kelis began recording her debut albumKaleidoscope in mid-1998 and was finished within a year.[citation needed] Produced by The Neptunes and released by Virgin Records in 1999,Kaleidoscope peaked at number 144 on the U.S.Billboard 200 chart and reached the top five on theTop Heatseekers chart.[20] As of 2006, the album has sold 249,000 copies, according toNielsen SoundScan.[21] Its lead and most notable single "Caught Out There" became a top 10Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs hit and peaked at number 54 on theBillboard Hot 100.[20] During this time, Kelis featured onOl' Dirty Bastard's U.S. top 40 single "Got Your Money".
The album performed better in Europe, where "Caught Out There" was a moderate hit in most European countries except the United Kingdom, where the song saw massive success, peaking at number four on theUK Singles Chart. The single "Good Stuff" (featuringPusha T ofClipse) reached number 19; another single "Get Along with You" was less successful, reaching number 51.[22] TheBritish Phonographic Industry certifiedKaleidoscope gold for sales of 100,000 copies in the United Kingdom,[23] where it reached number 43 on the UK Albums Chart.
In 2001, Kelis won theBrit Award for International Breakthrough Act and theNME Award for Best R&B/Soul Act, then joinedMoby andU2 on theArea:One andElevation tours, respectively. Kelis and the Neptunes' output at this time was heralded as foreshadowing an innovation incontemporary R&B, but she later said "I was never an R&B artist. People coined me one but that's because, especially if you're in the States, if you're black and you sing, then you're R&B".[13] Her colorful style in both clothing and hair received considerable attention.[24]
Kelis's second albumWanderland was released in 2001 in Europe, Asia, and Latin America but did not receive a North American release until 2019.[25] According to Kelis, Virgin Records, her U.S. record company at the time, had laid off those that worked onKaleidoscope; their replacements did not understand or believe inWanderland. Eventually, Kelis was dropped from Virgin around the time of the album's European release, but she remained on the label's roster in Europe.[26][27] A commercial failure,Wanderland peaked at number 78 in the UK; its only single "Young, Fresh n' New" managed to crack the top 40 on the UK Singles Chart.[28][22] The album, which was produced in its entirety by the Neptunes and features collaborations with members of Clipse andNo Doubt, received a subdued critical response.[29]NME wrote: "In our collective fantasies, Kelis Rogers is already the ghetto-fabulous sex-queen of discodelic future-funk pop-rock-soul...But beyond the initial shopping-and-funking dazzle, there is way too much filler here for a hotly hyped alterna-soul princess with her eyes on the big prize".[30]The Fader later referred toWanderland as "Kelis's long lost masterpiece".[31]
In 2002, Kelis recorded "So Be It" for theRed Hot Organization'sFela Kuti tribute CDRed Hot and Riot, from which all proceeds were donated to AIDS-awareness charities. The same year, she had a top 20 U.S. club hit with a remix of "Young, Fresh 'n' New", produced byTimo Maas, who featured Kelis on his single "Help Me".[20][22] She hosted the DanceStar USA Awards ceremony at that year'sWinter Music Conference.[28]
In 2003, Kelis achieved a second top 10 hit in the UK as a featured artist onRichard X's "Finest Dreams", a reworking ofthe S.O.S. Band's 1986 single "The Finest", and a European club hit (and UK top 40 single) as a featured artist on "Let's Get Ill" byP. Diddy, her manager for a brief period.[32][22][33] She found mainstream success in the U.S. later in 2003 with herHot Dance Club Play number one,Billboard Hot 100 top three single "Milkshake"; this single helped to propel her third albumTasty to gold status in the U.S., where it peaked at number 27 on theBillboard 200 and has sold 533,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.[20][34][35] "Milkshake" also went gold, selling over 500,000 copies,[34] and earned Kelis aGrammy Award nomination in2004 forBest Urban/Alternative Performance.[36]
Although the Neptunes contributed several tracks toTasty—the album was released by their labelStar Trak Entertainment, a joint venture withArista Records—Kelis also collaborated with other producers such asDallas Austin,André 3000,Rockwilder, andRaphael Saadiq.[37][29] She stated in an interview: "I felt like I had a lot to prove with this album. People had started messing with me along the lines of 'Is she REALLY any good without The Neptunes?' — which I knew was ridiculous. And so I was like 'I'll take that challenge'."[33] The album was well-received critically;Entertainment Weekly wrote thatTasty is "Kelis' past—big beats, out-there imagery, and sex appeal—refined...much of the beauty ofTasty is in witnessing Kelis rise to the challenge of working with multiple imaginative maestros."[38][39]
"Milkshake" andTasty immediately found success in Europe. According to the BPI,Tasty went platinum in the United Kingdom, selling over 300,000 copies, and "Milkshake" went silver, selling over 200,000 units.[40][41] The Dallas Austin-produced "Trick Me", the album's second single, went to the top 10 in many European countries during mid-2004; it did not, however, garner success in the U.S. in the absence of promotion byJive Records, the label Kelis had been transferred to after Arista Records folded at the time ofTasty's release.[27] Kelis' success grew in Australia, whereTasty went gold and where "Milkshake" and "Trick Me" went platinum.[citation needed] Kelis followed the success of the thirdTasty single, the BPI silver-certified "Millionaire" (featuring André 3000), with the Rockwilder-produced track "In Public" (featuring Nas), which reached number 17 on the UK chart.[42][22]
"Not in Love", Kelis's collaboration withEnrique Iglesias from his 2003 album7, was released as a single the following year, reaching the UK top five.[22] Although the single failed to chart on the U.S.Billboard Hot 100, it topped the country's Hot Dance Club Play chart.[43] Also in 2004, Kelis collaborated withBjörk on a remix of the latter's track "Oceania" (from Björk's albumMedúlla), which appeared as a B-side to the single "Who Is It".[44] Kelis toured as the opening act for fellow Jive artistBritney Spears'sThe Onyx Hotel Tour[citation needed], then headlined her own tour of Australia and New Zealand.[45] In 2005, she was featured on the soundtrack to the filmJust Like Heaven with a cover version ofThe Pretenders' "Brass in Pocket".[46]
Kelis contributed a track titled "80's Joint" tothe soundtrack of the 2006 dance filmStep Up. She collaborated withBusta Rhymes andwill.i.am on the track "I Love My Bitch", the second single from Rhymes's 2006 albumThe Big Bang. This was the second time Kelis collaborated with Rhymes, the first being his 2001 song "What It Is".
Kelis Was Here was released in 2006, and it debuted and peaked at number 10 on theBillboard 200. Despite the career-high debut, the album has sold only 157,000 copies in the United States as of 2007, according to Nielsen SoundScan.[20][35] In the UK,Kelis Was Here charted at number 41 and has sold 60,000 copies, earning a silver certification from the BPI.[22][47] The album was Kelis's first not to feature contributions from The Neptunes, as she had left Star Trak by this time; instead, she recorded withCee-Lo Green,Max Martin,Raphael Saadiq,Scott Storch, and will.i.ams.[48][27][49] According to Kelis, she received no support fromJive Records for the recording or promotion ofKelis Was Here and argued heavily with the label, later describing the period as "[not] the most creative atmosphere" and "the only time where I felt like I was being pulled in different directions. There were too many cooks in the kitchen".[26][50][51] MTV characterised critical consensus of the album as "intriguingly intelligent, if unjustifiably disjointed and long" and wrote in 2016 that "it remains her most creatively anarchic project".[49]Kelis Was Here was nominated forBest Contemporary R&B Album at the2007 Grammy Awards.[36]
"Bossy" (featuringToo Short),Kelis Was Here's lead single, was a moderate hit in the U.S., peaking at number 16; it additionally went multi-platinum as a mobile phoneringtone, according to the RIAA.[20][34] The single "Blindfold Me" (featuring Nas) reached number 91 on the R&B chart and did not chart on theBillboard Hot 100.[20] Kelis's European label, Virgin, instead released the Cee-Lo-featuring "Lil Star", which was another top 10 hit for Kelis in the United Kingdom (peaking at number three on theUK Singles Chart).[22] During mid 2007, Kelis toured in Europe, appearing in numerous festivals across the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, such asWireless,Rise andGurtenfestival.[citation needed]Ford chose Kelis to help advertise the 2007Ford Edge, and she recorded a theme song for the commercial, titled "Push It to the Edge", with help from producer Scott Storch.[52]
Jive Records dropped Kelis in late 2007.[53] Her manager at the time said that the singer was working with Cee-Lo Green on analternative dance album and would be shopping a pop album produced by songwriterGuy Chambers.[53] Scottishelectronica producerCalvin Harris was said to be collaborating with her.[54] Kelis took a hiatus from music: "I was like 'I will never put out another record again, I hate this business, I hate all these people.' I was in this race that I didn't even realise that I was in. I woke up and ten years had passed. That was never my plan".[13]
After Kelis left Jive, the label released a 14-track greatest hits album titledThe Hits in 2008. The album does not contain any previously unreleased songs;Ol' Dirty Bastard's "Got Your Money",N.E.R.D's "Truth or Dare", andRichard X's "Finest Dreams" appear on the album with every charted Kelis single to that date, with the exception of "Blindfold Me". Also in 2008, theKelis Was Here album track "I Don't Think So" became a top 40 hit in Australia after being used in promotion for the2008 season of the reality seriesBig Brother Australia.[55][56]
In 2009, Kelis signed toInterscope Records via thewill.i.am Music Group to releaseFlesh Tone, which included production fromAmmo, Free School,Benny Benassi,Burns,Boys Noize,DJ Tocadisco, will.i.am, andDavid Guetta.[57][58][32]Flesh Tone marked Kelis' transition intodance music. Kelis said she was hesitant to sign to another major label after her experiences with Jive Records but did not want the album to be "swept under the rug with a smaller label".[58] Coinciding with her change in musical direction, Kelis appeared onBasement Jaxx's 2009 albumScars on the title track, on Benassi's 2010 single "Spaceship" (withapl.de.ap and Jean Baptiste)—a top 40 U.S. and UK club hit[20][59]—and on theCrookers single "No Security" from their debut albumTons of Friends.[60][61]
Critical reception toFlesh Tone was generally positive, withPitchfork naming the album Kelis's best since her debutKaleidoscope.[38][62] "Acapella" (produced by David Guetta), the first single fromFlesh Tone, debuted in the top five on the UK Singles Chart and reached number one on the U.S.Hot Dance Club Songs and the UK Dance Chart, eventually receiving a BPI silver certification.[22][20][63][64]Flesh Tone peaked at number 48 on theBillboard 200 and at number five on theDance/Electronic Albums.[20] The single "4th of July (Fireworks)" was accompanied by a video co-directed by Kelis (withRankin andNicole Ehrlich) and became a top 10 club hit in America and Britain.[20][65] The singles "Scream" and "Brave" made minimal chart impact.
During mid-2010, Kelis embarked on her first U.S. tour, titledAll Hearts withRobyn,[66] amid a selection of club, festival, and solo dates that continued through 2011 – these includedGlastonbury,The Big Chill, Good Vibrations Festival, andLovebox. Kelis appears on theMark Ronson-produced track "The Man Who Stole a Leopard" from the 2010Duran Duran albumAll You Need Is Now, a song she and the band performed in a concert directed by filmmakerDavid Lynch.[67] She co-wrote the song "Waiting" for British pop singerCheryl Cole'sMessy Little Raindrops.[68] Kelis then collaborated withCalvin Harris on the 2011 single "Bounce", the lead single from Harris' album18 Months.[69] "Bounce" debuted at number two on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Kelis's tenth UK top 10 single and her biggest selling in the country (as of 2017).[22][70] It eventually received a platinum certification from the BPI.[71]
In 2012, Kelis's management firm at the time announced that her sixth studio album would be released in late 2012 and feature production fromSkream,Burns, Tom Neville,Dan Black, andCaspa.[72] The first single, the Skream-produced "Distance", received its UK radio premiere in mid 2012.[73] Kelis said of the album, "I've been on a real 1990s vibe with this record, it's kind oftrip-hoppish...it's moreelectro, it's a little deeper and darker".[74] Kelis was featured on Dan Black's single "Hearts" and Skream's "Copy Cat" (both 2013), the latter of which led to a dispute after Kelis alleged that Skream refused to have her appear in the music video.[75][76] She opted to move on from dance music: "when everyone else starts doing it, it's not as much fun...too much time went by. That [sound] wasn't a new idea any more".[77] The rest of the material from these recording sessions remains unreleased.[78]
By 2013, Kelis was working with producerDave Sitek, and it was announced that she would release two albums via Sitek's label Federal Prism.[75][79][80] The single "Jerk Ribs" premiered online.[81] Kelis then signed to British independent labelNinja Tune for the release of the albumFood in 2014.[82] Produced entirely by Sitek,Food entered the UK Albums Chart at number 20, becoming Kelis' second highest-peaking album afterTasty in 2004.[83] In the U.S., it reached number 73 on theBillboard 200 and the top 20 on theIndependent Albums.[20] Subsequent singles were "Rumble" (a top 40 hit on the UK Independent Singles Chart) and "Friday Fish Fry".[84][85]Food received positive reviews from critics, including a five-star review inThe Independent: "Kelis's sixth album is a moveable feast...If music be the food of love, Kelis has cooked up something tasty enough to satisfy all but the hungriest of hearts."[86] Mic namedFood the best album of 2014 and of Kelis's career, andRolling Stone listed it as one of the year's best R&B albums.[87]
A limited edition version ofFood included remixes by electronic producers such asActress,Mount Kimbie,Ben Pearce,Breach,Machinedrum, andWill Saul.[88] Breach reworked his remix of "Rumble" into "The Key", a track featuring Kelis, released as a single later in 2014.[89] Kelis' performance at London'sSomerset House was recorded and released as the albumLive in London in late 2014.[90] In 2015, Kelis featured on veteran disco producerGiorgio Moroder's albumDéjà Vu, singing on the track "Back and Forth".[91] In 2017, she was featured with rapperSage The Gemini on English house DJTCTS' single "Do It Like Me (Icy Feet)"[92] and onDan Black's single "Farewell". Also in 2017, she released the song "Who's Lovin' You" (originally sung byThe Miracles), on theDanger Mouse-produced compilationResistance Radio: The Man in The High Castle for the television showThe Man in the High Castle.[93]
Kelis contributed vocals to the dance track "My Milkshake", a rework of her 2003 single "Milkshake" by British producer Freejak, in 2018.[94] Kelis embarked on theKaleidoscope 20th Anniversary Tour, a UK and European tour celebrating the 20th-anniversary release of her debut albumKaleidoscope, in March 2020, though this was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[95][96] Kelis was featured on aDisclosure song titled "Watch Your Step" in 2020 and on "Deal with It", a track onDemidevil, the debut mixtape byAshnikko, in 2021. The former single, from Disclosure'sGrammy Award-nominated albumEnergy, received frequent airplay on radio stations in the UK and reached the UK dance chart top 40.[97][98] In October 2020, a biographical animated short about her life as a singer and chef was released on YouTube.[citation needed]
Kelis revealed toi-D magazine in 2019 that she was working on an EP that, at the time of the interview, was intended for release in 2020;[99] in 2021, she said an album,Dirt, would be released in 2022.[100][unreliable source?] Kelis released the single "Midnight Snacks" in 2021 and "Feed Them" in 2022, the latter in collaboration with the meal delivery service Daily Harvest.[101][102][103]
An interpolation of Kelis's "Milkshake" was used in theBeyoncé song "Energy" on her 2022 albumRenaissance. The song was updated on some streaming services to remove the interpolation after Kelis said that she was not notified nor asked for approval for the song's use. Kelis said that Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo of the Neptunes, the credited songwriters on "Milkshake", had "stolen" and "swindled" her publishing rights for the song.[104]
In February 2023, Kelis appeared on a commercial to advertise that year'sSuper Bowl; the commercial also featuredDiddy,Montell Jordan andDonna Lewis, among others.[105] In March 2023, Kelis announced she would be performing on the West Holts stage at that year'sGlastonbury Festival.[106][107][108] That same month, she announced tour dates for a European-only tour.[109] On June 3, 2023, Kelis performed at theMighty Hoopla music festival in London.[110][111] On September 12, 2023, Kelis released "Milkshake 20" (Alex Wann Remix), which she co-produced.[112][113]
From 2006 to 2010, Kelis trained part-time as asaucier, eventually graduating fromLe Cordon Bleu.[13][114] In 2013, Kelis debuted her sauce line, Feast, at the Beverly Hills Food & Wine Festival.[115] Kelis has described sauce as "what accessories are to a woman's outfit. Sauce defines where the dish is from and who's making it...I think everything is better smothered, poured, or dipped."[116] The line went on general sale in 2015 under the new name of Bounty & Full.[117] Kelis's first cookbook,My Life on a Plate, was also released in 2015; Kelis describes it as "an exploration of tastes and cultures, and my experience as a chef, musician, mother and wife".[118] Kelis had previously written an unreleased cookbook with Lauren Pesavento in 2006.[119]
In March 2014, Kelis set up a food truck to cook for attendees of the American music festivalSXSW.[120] She promoted her 2014 albumFood by sharing her recipes for apple farro, jerk ribs, New York vanilla bean cheesecake, and more on theSpotify appSupper.[121] That same year, theCooking Channel aired a cooking television series starring Kelis, titledSaucy and Sweet.[122] In 2016, Kelis and cooking duo Le Bun opened a pop-up restaurant in London that she adapted as a food truck to tour around UK music festivals.[3] In September 2017, she released a milkshake recipe in collaboration withBaileys.[123] In 2019, Kelis developed an exclusive menu with a local street food vendor for Jam on Rye Festival in London.[124] She also appears inCooked with Cannabis, a competition cooking series that Netflix launched onApril 20, 2020.[125]
In 2006, Kelis designed her own line of fashion accessories, titled Cake.[126] In 2007, she was in talks to host aProject Runway-esque show for VH1 and auditioned for various film and TV roles.[35][53]
In 2017, Kelis joined BBC One's singing contestPitch Battle as a judge of the competition withGareth Malone.[127] In 2020, Kelis competed as the Daisy in the British version ofThe Masked Singer, where she was eliminated in the fifth episode.[128]
Kelis met rapperNas at anMTV Video Music Awards party in 2002. Soon after, they became engaged, and married in acivil ceremony in July 2003, followed by a lavish wedding in January 2005.[129][130] In April 2009, she filed for divorce, citingirreconcilable differences. She was seven months pregnant at the time.[131] In July 2009, Kelis gave birth to her first son.[132] The couple's divorce was finalized in May 2010.[133] Kelis has described her relationship with Nas as physically and mentally abusive, crediting the anticipated birth of her child as a factor in her decision to end her marriage.[134] Kelis also recalled that thedomestic violence incident betweenRihanna andChris Brown influenced her decision to leave Nas.[134] After she saw pictures of Rihanna battered, she felt embarrassed because she also had bruises all over her body, but she was hesitant to speak about it.[135] Nas replied to the accusations on social media, accusing Kelis of attempting toslander him in the time of a custody battle and accusing Kelis of abusing his daughter.[136] In addition to the domestic abuse claims, she alleged that Nas' drinking habit began to damage their relationship, and he had been having adulterous affairs for two years.[137] They are involved in an ongoing custody battle over their son. In April 2018, Kelis claimed that until 2012, she had not seen "a single cent" from Nas in child support and he has not been an active parent. She said "He doesn't participate. He shows up when it's fun, he shows up when there's a good photo-op...I don't think it should be 50/50 just because you had sperm involved."[138]
In March 2007, Kelis was detained by police in Miami Beach, Florida and charged with disorderly conduct. The arrest report said an operation in which officers posed as prostitutes in the South Beach nightclub district was disrupted when Kelis started screaming racial profanities at them. She was sent to Miami-Dade County Jail and was later released on a $1,500 bond.[139] In September 2008, Kelis was acquitted of the charges. A spokesman for Kelis further commented that the singer would file a lawsuit against the Miami Beach Police, claiming unlawful arrest and the violation of her civil rights.[140]
Kelis married photographer Mike Mora in 2014,[141] and gave birth to her second son in November 2015.[142] Since January 2020, Kelis has been living on a remote farm outside Los Angeles that she manages.[143] In September 2020, she gave birth to her and Mora's second child, a daughter.[144] In September 2021, Mora revealed publicly that he had stage IV stomach cancer. In an Instagram post, he stated he had been diagnosed with advanced gastric adenocarcinoma in September 2020 and given eighteen months to live.[145][146] Mora died on March 14, 2022, at age 37.[147][148]
AXS called Kelis a "punky, rebellious" singer-songwriter.[149]The New York Times considered Kelis's vocals "dynamic" and commended her for being "well schooled in the intricacies of heartache".[150] IGN described Kelis as being "strange, weird, and eccentric".[151] TheChicago Tribune stated that Kelis made the most of "a voice that lives in the basement".[152]
Kelis's debut albumKaleidoscope took influence from a variety of 1970s genres,[153] which includedurban, rock, jazz,hip hop, R&B,soul, anddisco music.[154][155][156][157][158] Kelis cited earlySarah Vaughan,Ella Fitzgerald andDinah Washington as major influences for the album.[150] Several of the album's tracks were designed for clubs, and contained electro beats meant for dancing.[159] Her second studio albumWanderland resembles musically its predecessor while exploring more modernfunk sounds, dabbling heavily into genres such assoul andrap.[160][161][162] It carried on the same themes developed inKaleidoscope, and was criticized for doing so.[163]
Food (2014) contains influences of soul, funk,gospel, andAfrobeat—Kelis said of the album "You know, those records in your life that your parents played and they resonate with who you are? They make you nostalgic. I wanted to find out how to get that feeling."[77]
Headlining
| Supporting act
|
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Volcano High | Song (voiceover) | MTV dub TV movie |
| 2004 | Saturday Night Live | Musical Guest (Herself) | "Drew Barrymore/Kelis" (Season 29, Episode 12) |
| 2007 | Me and Mr. Jones | Herself | Reality television/Executive producer |
| 2010 | Freaknik: The Musical | Tyra Banks (voice) | TV movie |
| 2011 | Duran Duran:Unstaged | Herself | Direct-to-Video documentary |
| 2011 | Top Chef Masters | Quickfire Judge (Herself) | "Everything Old Is New Again" (Season 3, Episode 2) |
| 2012 | Fashion Police | Herself | Guest judge |
| 2013 | Brazzaville Teen-Ager | Herself | Short film |
| 2014 | Saucy & Sweet | Herself | Cooking special |
| 2014 | Hell's Kitchen | Herself | "12 Chef's Compete" (Season 13, Episode 7) |
| 2014 | Holiday Feast with Kelis | Herself | Cooking special |
| 2017 | Pitch Battle | Herself | Judge |
| 2020 | The Masked Singer | Herself / Daisy | Contestant, UK version |
| 2020 | Cooked with Cannabis | Herself | Host/Judge |
| 2021 | Selena + Chef | Herself | Guest star |
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | BRIT Award for Best International Breakthrough Act 2001 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
