Kaleidoscope (EXPLICIT) (CD)

Part hip-hop, part alternative pop-rock, the sound of Harlem native Kelis turned heads with the singer's 1999 debut release, KALEIDOSCOPE. Her striking image (she sported a multi-colored Afro) didn't hurt her high profile, either. While mixing rock and hip-hop had been done before (Neneh Cherry, etc.), Kelis updated it all new millennium-style, scoring a signature hit with the provocative "Milkshake," and in the process proving herself to be one of rap's most promising and groundbreaking artists. In a marriage of true hip-hop minds, the MC wed Queens wordsmith Nas in 2005 (despite much mutual serenading, they parted by 2009).

• Category:  Music  »  R&B  »  Contemporary R&B
• Format: CD   Learn more about the CD format using Tower WIKI.
• Release Date: December 7, 1999
• Label: Virgin Records (USA)
• UPC: 724384791124
• WAPI (Tower ID): 105788325
• Average Customer Review:    (1 customer review)
• Tower.com Sales Rank: #53810 in Music (See Top 100 Music Bestsellers)
• #2634 in R&B (See Top 100 R&B Bestsellers)
• #370 in Contemporary R&B (See Top 100 Contemporary R&B Bestsellers)

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Rolling Stone (1/4/01, p.113) - Included in Rolling Stone's "Top 50 Albums of 2000".
Rolling Stone (2/17/00, pp.53-4) - 3.5 stars out of 5 - "...[her] background in jazz, gospel, rock and r&b brings a deeply felt sonic futurism....this interplanetary power-girl mix sounds both danceably down-to-earth and shockingly new."
Spin (2/00, p.109) - 6 out of 10 - "...Kelis is...a cool sound on an album full of them....[The album's] production standout is 'Mars' where the chorus impossibly melds slow keyboards, fast bully chants, stutter drums, and Kelis' angled wailings with lyrics that involve refusing to leave the planet..."
Entertainment Weekly (1/7/00, p.68) - "...fleshes out her persona with petulant sass and roller-rink whimsy, pegging her romantic maturity halfway between Brandy and Mary J....what lingers are the minimalist staccato beats from production duo the Neptunes..." - Rating: B+
Q (1/01, p.93) - Included in Q's "50 Best Albums of 2000" - "...Refreshing, vibrant and replete with futuristic flourishes..."
Q (4/00, p.88) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...an inspired debut....[She] establishes herself as a solo artist with an album that packs punches of the Mike Tyson variety and oozes confidence from every beat..."
CMJ (12/20/99, p.21) - "...one of the hottest R&B debuts of 1999....a full spectrum of moods and tempos...bound together by Kelis' reflective lyrics and the rubber soul production of the Neptunes..."
Melody Maker (3/28/00, p.48) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...Pop's best mad psycho-bitch from hell. She does possess a demonic godzilla-with-toothache roar....brilliantly futuristic..."
Mojo (Publisher) (5/00, p.96) - "...The producers possibly see themselves as the new Jimmy Jam-Terry Lewis. She is their Mary Davis. The material veers from hard looks at rocky relationships...to, oh dear, UFOs....Best track is 'Ghetto Children', a positive, uptempo song with catchy chorus, crisp rap and a strong echo of Stevie Wonder."
NME (Magazine) (12/30/00, p.77) - Ranked #10 in NME's "Top 50 Albums Of The Year".
NME (Magazine) (2/26/00, p.35) - 9 out of 10 - "...a futuristic, visionary, multi-layered work of R&B, funk, soul and rap, furnished with an inspirational, psychedelic spirituality, rarely seen but desperately needed in these cynical times....We need more like this."

Personnel includes: Kelis, Terrar, Markita, Marc Dorsey, N.E.R.D., Justin Vince; Pharrell Williams, Chad Hugo (various instruments).

Recorded at Mastersound Recording Studios and Windmark Recordings, Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Personnel: Kelis, Terrar, Markita, Marc Dorsey, N.E.R.D., Justin Vince (vocals); Pharrell Williams, Chad Hugo (various instruments).

Recorded at Mastersound Recording Studios and Windmark Recordings, Virginia Beach, Virginia.

If the name Kelis doesn't instantly ring a bell, there's a good chance you've still heard her. For one, you may have heard her sweetly defiant voice singing "hey, I said hey, baby I got your money, dont'cha worry" on ODB's obnoxiously catchy hit "I Got Your Money." Then there's the voice all over the radio screaming "I hate you so much right now....aaaargh," which is also Kelis on the lead single from KALEIDOSCOPE, "Caught Out There." Think Mary J.Blige set slightly askew and injected with a touch of Billie Holiday and you can begin to imagine the sound of Kelis on her delightful debut.

Her greatest asset is her flexible, multipurpose voice, which shifts from smooth and sultry to a scream with swift efficiency on "Caught Out There," and can range from sweet and sensual on the trip-hoppy "Suspended" to singsong simplicity on "Game Show." On songs like "Game Show," she recalls Stevie Wonder in his '70s heyday with her ability to twist notes around hooks with expert precision--every vocal turn has its place and washes over your body as sweet as Ohio Player honey. Kelis introduces herself as a chanteuse to be reckoned with on KALEIDOSCOPE.

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