Kelis has shown how deviating from the norm can get you pegged falsely -- in her case, as an extraterrestrial being
the Neptunes had beamed down from another planet. Maybe the orange-hair-and-body-paint photo on the cover of
Kaleidoscope didn't help. And it's safe to say that none of her contemporaries would've ever thought of screaming something like "I hate you so much right now -- uuuugh!" for the chorus of a debut single. Otherwise,
Kelis is as down-to-earth as they come; she just doesn't fit the mold of what has been expected in a female R&B artist the past few years (or ever). From a commercial standpoint, this has worked to a disadvantage:
Wanderland, her second album, wasn't even released in the U.S. by Virgin, even though it was every bit as fresh and rainbow-dappled as her debut. Just before slipping completely out of view,
the Neptunes set her up with Star Trak and dusted off
Wanderland's "Popular Thug" -- with
Pusha T wiped off in favor of new verses from new fiancé
Nas -- for their
Clones compilation. That set the table for
Tasty, which actually involves less
Chad and
Pharrell, who produce only five tracks this time around;
Dame Grease,
Dallas Austin,
Raphael Saadiq,
Rockwilder, and
Andre 3000 pick up most of the production duties. Despite all the new assistance,
Tasty is formatted much like
Kaleidoscope and
Wanderland, constantly swinging back and forth between bouncy pop and laid-back (not throwback) soul. Just the same, the favorable quality level is another recurring characteristic, with only a couple miscues thwarting perfection (you're hereby advised to skip past "In Public"). Lead single "Milkshake," a coquettish playground tease, is the brightest moment of all; built around blaring synth-funk stun riffs, pitter-patter hand percussion, and a singalong taunt of a chorus, it's every bit as suggestive as
Vanity 6's "Nasty Girl,"
the Mary Jane Girls' "In My House," and
Monifah's "Touch It," with all three serving as musical -- not just lyrical -- points of reference. On some other planet, at least ten other songs here hit the Top Ten. Regardless of whether or not
Kelis is one of us, we clearly don't appreciate her enough. [
Tasty was also made available in a clean version, with all explicit material removed.] ~ Andy Kellman