This article is part of a series in celebration of a new, dynamic voice in Black America: the NUBIANO Exchange. Brace yourself for the NUBIANO experience.
When music critics talk about contemporary R&B divas, Kelis is never mentioned and, for many, hardly an afterthought. It is quite a shame though, considering the body of work she has created over the past ten years.
As an artist that refused to be defined by the music industry's "cookie-cutter" labels, Kelis was a dynamic and charismatic artist who came before her time. And despite being an American singer, who set many of today's music and fashion trends, much of Kelis' success was attained overseas, especially in the United Kingdom, where she garnered six top-ten hits.
Her lackadaisical acceptance in the United States was due, in part, to her unabashed and forward-thinking experimentations with genres generally unassociated with traditional R&B music. To date, true appreciation of her artistic talents has failed to be recognized by American radio outlets, promoters and music lovers, although Kelis has been nominated by the Recording Academy for two GRAMMY awards.
In 1999, Kelis broke into the music industry with a bang, as the featured singer on "Got Your Money," a collaboration with Ol' Dirty Bastard (Russell Tyrone Jones), one of the founding members of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan. The success of "Got Your Money" brought Kelis global attention, along with the Neptunes, the production duo behind her first solo effort, Kaleidoscope (Virgin, 1999). In the wake of her newfound stardom, Kelis released "Caught Out There," the lead single off of Kaleidoscope. "Caught Out There" was a modest radio hit, eventually peaking at #9 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and #54 on the Hot 100. The song was very successful in Europe, though—eventually becoming a top five hit.
The overall response to "Caught Out There" would begin a checkered history between Kelis and her American audience. The song created quite a ruckus amongst music lovers of all stripes, since Kelis' artistry and colorful style differed from the R&B fare offered by her contemporaries at the time: Deborah Cox's "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here," Whitney Houston's "Heartbreak Hotel," Faith Evans' "Never Gonna Let You Go" and Mariah Carey's "Heartbreaker." Her divergence from artistic norms failed to translate into sales, with Kaleidoscope debuting at #144 on the Billboard 200, on the sale of 10,736 copies during the first week of release.
In hindsight, one would expect a single, let alone an album, produced by the Neptunes (Chad Hugo and Pharrell Williams) to chart well, considering Kaleidoscope's sonic novelty at the time. In 1998, the production duo was just starting to gain widespread notoriety in the music business and Kelis had become their muse, an honor and appreciation the Neptunes have not bestowed on a female singer ever since.
Unfortunately, for Kelis, the fate of Kaleidoscope was doomed, with poor sales leading to half-hearted promotion inside the United States. Two additional singles followed: "Good Stuff" (featuring Terrar of Clipse) and "Get Along with You." Alas, neither single managed to chart on the Billboard's Hot 100 and, with that, the writing was on the wall for Kelis' relationship with her label, Virgin Records. Although "Get Along with You" was a remarkable ballad, the song's stark change in artistic direction muddled Kelis' image, when compared against "Caught Out There," and never generated enough steam in the United States, regardless of the fact that the song peaked at #6 on the U.K. R&B Singles chart.
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