Way Back: Tasty (2003)

 Kelis’ career probably should’ve played out differently. Prior to her US album debut, “Tasty”, in late 2003, she already crafted a resume that most would kill for. She started with a number of high-profile features alongside Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Busta Rhymes, Angie Martinez, Foxy Brown, N.E.R.D., The Clipse, Richard X, and others. She scored two international hits with “Caught Out There” in 1999 and “Young, Fresh n’ New” in 2001. Yet, she was still viewed as the project artist of the super producers, the Neptunes. That affiliation should’ve netted her more hype by 2003, but Virgin Records didn’t bother to release her first two studio albums in the US. She soon left Virgin and signed with the Neptunes label, Star Trak, to begin work on her third album, “Tasty”.

The album was a departure from her first two efforts, that were entirely produced by Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo. She felt she “had a lot to prove” to doubters and enlisted the help of Dallas Austin, Rockwilder, Raphael Saadiq, Andre 3000, and Blackmon on production to accompany the Neptunes tracks.

The first track is “Trick Me” a fast-pitched groove that shows off Kelis’ eclectic style. She sings with a blues delivery over a 90’s dance-inspired drum sequence. The guitar screams country while the intermittent record scratching keeps it hip-hop. “Trick Me” was eventually included in the 2008 video game, Saints Row 2.

The lead single was the Neptunes-produced, Milkshake. The lyrics had everyone wondering what the symbolism behind the sweet drink was. Kelis’ low tone fit the unique beat perfectly. The track didn’t feature the typical drum set or 808s, it was all done with different pitched congas and bongos. That was all capped off by one of the Neptunes’ signature sawtooth basslines. Kelis’ ex-husband, Nas, made a subtle cameo in the music video.

Nas would also be featured on the last single, “In Public”, where they openly discussed al fresco sex. Kelis managed to get an Andre 3000 feature back when those weren’t so rare on “Millionaire” and tapped Raphael Saadiq on both “Glow” and “Attention”.

She took on the rest of the vocal work alone. She sang over Pharrell and Chad’s latin jazz vibes on “Protect My Heart” and may’ve given hints to her future career as a chef over the panning tom drums of “Sugar Honey Iced Tea”. She closed out the album with “Stick Up” and “Marathon”, more traditional R&B songs that round out a really solid project.

Give “Tasty” a listen today on its 15th birthday. It has aged well and helps to shows how Kelis helped pave the way for some of today’s Pop and R&B songstresses.