world in 1999. Since then, she's memorably backed up Ol' Dirty Bastard (on 1999's "Got Your Money"), become a bona fide celebrity in the United Kingdom and is engaged to the rapper Nas. Now her new single, the Neptunes-produced "Milkshake," is the superfreakiest song on the charts this winter. Her voice is only average, and she's a bit of a creation -- the words she sings about sexual prowess and self-determination are often wholly penned by her male writers. But in another year where hip-hop is the Neptunes' company store and R&B still hasn't found anybody to replace R. Kelly, Kelis' sass and uptown style shine.
Tasty, her third album, is her best work -- lighter and more cohesive than her ill-fated second album, 2001's Wanderland, more focused and mature than her 2000 debut, Kaleidoscope. Take away the Dallas Austin-produced tracks ("Trick Me" and "Keep It Down"), two Neptunes rock attempts and "Milkshake," and you have a solid R&B album, one that's thickly speckled with hip-hop influences and nods to early Prince and Eighties Latin freestyle music. Raphael Saadiq -- the former Tony! Toni! Tone! leadman and still one of the best R&B songwriters and producers currently working -- brings exquisite craftsmanship to the tracks "Glow," "Attention" and "Marathon," gently interlacing backing and lead vocals with catchy hooks and funky verses.The Neptunes-produced "Flashback" and "Protect My Heart" are straight homages to the Eighties disco outfit Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam -- deceptively breezy house-party tracks with a sucker-punch emotional urgency. Kelis gets sexy with Nas on "In Public," sounding like Donna Summer with an action plan ("I'll make your toes curl up and make your body scream/Come take a walk with me"). "Millionaire," produced by Andre 3000, who shares lead vocals with Kelis, revives Prince's Minneapolis New Wave sound and features raggedly sexy singing from Kelis; it's her best performance on the album.
As the disc progresses, its mood darkens. The disposability of "Milkshake" and retro vibe of "Glow" give way to more pained songs such as "Rolling Through the Hood," where the singer, for all her attitude, is paralyzed after seeing her man with another woman. You realize that without forcing or overplaying its hand, Tasty has taken you on the proverbial emotional journey. Kelis has created an audio portrait of a smart, layered, sexy woman -- one with fantastic taste in male collaborators.
ERNEST HARDY
(RS 940, January 22, 2004)
