Kelis Was Here

by Kelis

Overview

"That milkshake song" ("Milkshake") brought Kelis to the mainstream for a couple months during 2003 and 2004. The singer's follow-up -- Kelis Was Here, her fourth album -- bears no retreads. Though lead single "Bossy" makes lyrical references to her number three hit and the moderate breakout "Caught Out There," the song is as distinct as anything she has done before, featuring another variation on her don't-give-a-damn assertiveness, this time over an ornamental and plinky production from Shondrae. The album, like the others before it, deals a number of stylistic curveballs, all of which are handled by the singer like lobs down the middle of the plate. What makes it less successful than 1999's Kaleidoscope and 2003's Tasty is that it's extremely choppy and excessively long, and it doesn't have the range of emotions to match the varied backdrops. There is too much and not enough Kelis; too much material is second rate, and the tougher sides of her character dominate the album -- there are too few equivalents to the softer likes of "Get Along with You," "Flash Back," and "Protect My Heart." Minus the intro, there are 17 songs, which are sequenced in a way that snags any sense of momentum. "Bossy" leads into the plodding and brainless "What's That Right There," an inert club track that relies far too much on an overused Funkadelic song and a tossed-off call-and-response nonsense initiated by producer will.i.am. "Blindfold Me"'s anthemic kink drops directly into a misty-eyed ballad, one of a few instances where Kelis' collaborators ape old Neptunes moves (such as the ones made on Kelis' first three albums), though Scott Storch deserves a commendation for his clone job on "Trilogy." While Kelis Was Here cannot be disregarded, it's more like a lot of songs thrown onto a disc at random than an album. It's more demanding of your deleting and resequencing skills than any other Kelis release. Beware the baffling three-minute jam that ends "Have a Nice Day" and stay for the untitled bonus track, actually titled "F*ck Them Bitches," which continues to prove that any Kelis song involving cursing and putdowns is a brilliant Kelis song. ~ Andy Kellman

Product Details

Release Date:	08/22/2006
Label:	Laface
UPC:	0828768325827
Rank:	95639

Tracks

1. Intro
2. Bossy
3. What's That Right There
4. Till the Wheels Fall Off
5. Living Proof
6. Blindfold Me
7. Goodbyes
8. Trilogy
9. Circus
10. Weekend
11. Like You
12. Aww S***!
13. Lil Star
14. I Don't Think So
15. Handful
16. Appreciate Me
17. Have a Nice Day
18. [Untitled Track]

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Kelis   Primary Artist
CeeLo Green   Primary Artist,Guest Artist
will.i.am   Primary Artist,Clavinet,Keyboards,Moog Bass,Synthesizer,Guitar (Bass),Featured Artist,Drums,Guitar
Smoke   Primary Artist,Featured Artist,Featured Artist
Too $hort   Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Featured Artist
Nas   Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Featured Artist
Spragga Benz   Primary Artist
Keith Harris   Moog Bass,Fender Rhodes,Guitar,Keyboards,Keyboards,Guitar (Bass)
George Pajon Jr.   Guitar
Sandra Riley   Vocals,Choir/Chorus
Renato Brasa   Percussion
Jason Boyd   Co-Producer
Erika Schmidt   Vocals
Julio Hanson   Vocals
John Patrick   Vocals,Choir/Chorus
Robert Ozuna   Percussion,Turntables,Drums
Sean Garrett   Co-Producer
Cheryl Evans   Vocals (Background)
Charles Jones   Piano,Keyboards,Piano,Keyboards
Meneradini "Bridge" Timothee   Piano,Keyboards
Dawn Beckman   Vocals,Choir/Chorus
Jason Paul Brown   Choir/Chorus
Jake & the Phatman   Co-Producer
Renee Bowers   Vocals,Choir/Chorus
Kerry Braxton   Vocals,Choir/Chorus
Joseph Edwards Jr.   Vocals
Teddy Bear   Keyboards,Co-Producer
Jason Brown   Vocals
Jim Gilstrap   Vocals,Choir/Chorus
Printz Board   Trumpet
Bobby Ozuna   Drums,Percussion
Joseph Edwards   Choir/Chorus
Julio A. Hanson   Choir/Chorus
Chuck Prada   Percussion
Raphael Saadiq   Bass,Guitar,Guitar (Bass)

Technical Credits

Damon Elliott   Audio Production,Arranger,Composer,Lyricist,Producer
Max Martin   Audio Production,Composer,Lyricist,Producer,Instrumentation
Knobody   Audio Production,Producer
Cool & Dre   Audio Production,Producer
Shondrae Crawford   Audio Production,Producer,Composer,Engineer,Lyricist
Raphael Saadiq   Audio Production,Composer,Lyricist,Producer
Marcello Valenzano   Composer,Lyricist
George Pajon Jr.   Composer,Lyricist
Wesley Morrow   Production Coordination,Coordination
Mike Makowski   Assistant Engineer
M. Bell   Composer
Shanell Woodgett   Composer,Lyricist
Keith Harris   Composer,Lyricist
will.i.am   Producer,Drum Programming
Kelis Rogers   Composer,Lyricist
Lukasz Gottwald   Composer,Lyricist,Instrumentation
Neal H. Pogue   Mixing Engineer
William Adams   Composer
Ben H. Allen III   Engineer
Scott Storch   Composer,Lyricist,Producer
Jason Boyd   Composer,Lyricist,Producer
Brian Stanley   Mixing,Mixing Engineer
Stephen Garrett   Composer
Tamika Means   Composer,Lyricist
Neal Pogue   Mixing Engineer
Robert Ozuna   Lyricist,Composer
Tatsuya Sato   Engineer
Danny Romero   Mixing Engineer,Engineer
Sean Garrett   Composer,Lyricist,Producer
Carlton Grant   Composer
CeeLo Green   Producer
Thomas Callaway   Composer,Lyricist
David Mattix   Assistant Engineer
Nathan Connelly   Assistant Engineer
C. Karlsson   Composer
Darien Gap   Mixing
Will Adams   Composer,Lyricist
Jonn Hanes   Digital Editing
Robert "Big Briz" Brisbane   Engineer
Mark Pitts   A&R,Executive Producer
James Roach   Assistant,Assistant Engineer
Denise Trorman   Design,Art Direction
Andrea Liberman   Stylist
Padraic Kerin   Engineer
James Tanksley   Assistant,Assistant Engineer
Sharon Gault   Make-Up
Jake & the Phatman   Producer
Kasz Money   Producer
Michael M. Mikowski   Assistant
Brian Sumner   Engineer
William Durst   Assistant Engineer
K. Harris   Composer
Polow da Don   Producer
John Frye   Mixing Engineer,Mixing
Ethan Willoughby   Mixing Engineer,Mixing Assistant,Mixing,Engineer
Wayne "The Brain" Allison   Engineer
Blitzburg Group   Assistant Engineer
Phil Tan   Mixing,Mixing Engineer
Printz Board   Composer,Lyricist
Marc Lee   Engineer
Dave Pensado   Mixing,Mixing Engineer
Fabian Marasciullo   Mixing,Mixing Engineer
Neil Pogue   Mixing
Conrad Golding   Engineer
Andre Lyon   Composer,Lyricist
Joe Peluso   Mixing,Mixing Assistant,Assistant Engineer
Renson Mateo   Engineer
Christian Karlsson   Composer
Pontus Winnberg   Composer
Colin Miller   Assistant,Assistant Engineer
Too $hort   Engineer
John Jones   Composer,Lyricist
Charles McCrorey   Engineer
Dr. Luke   Producer
Markus Klinko   Photography
Jerome Foster   Composer,Lyricist
Chris Athens   Mastering,Mastering Engineer
John Tanksley   Engineer,Digital Editing
Jean-Marie Horvat   Mixing,Mixing Engineer
Shondrae   Engineer
Dre   Producer
Doug Wilson   Engineer,Mixing Engineer
John Hanes   Engineer,Producer
Philippe Wynne   Composer,Lyricist
Michelle Bell   Composer
Josh Houghkirk   Mixing Assistant,Assistant Engineer
George Clinton   Composer,Lyricist
Chad Jolley   Assistant,Assistant Engineer
Tim Roberts   Assistant,Assistant Engineer
Todd Shaw   Composer,Lyricist
Wayne Allison   Engineer
Vadim Chislov   Assistant,Assistant Engineer
Serban Ghenea   Mixing,Mixing Engineer
Grecco Buratto   Arranger,Composer,Lyricist
Henrik Jonback   Composer
Kevin Crouse   Engineer