SONG OF THE WEEK: Kelis / "Rumble" ++ Interview

Watch Kelis’s music video for “Rumble” off her 2014 album FOOD, and you can see why she might be known as the electric, eclectic, quirky and soulful muse of the music scene. Kelis, clad in a red leather jacket and army fisherman waders, sits in a vintage chair in a pond, surrounded by trumpet playing fisherman, while singing lines, “you got so many issues, but I guess something’s up with me too…” and pleading with her lover to stay. It is a brilliant video and song and thats why it’s our song of the week!
When she released “Milkshake” in 2003, the hyper-sexual R&B-electro fusion of synth-funk, rap, and dance song, it went on to dominate the radio, clubs, and thousands of sweet sixteens over the next few years. Kelis would go on to solidify her place as a major force in the music industry, earning Grammy nominations and more hits across the board. She maintained a certain poise and grace behind the scenes as the paparazzi documented her fashion sense, family life and chronicled her marriage to hip-hop legend Nas. Kelis, a self professed foodie and graduate of Le Cordon Bleu Culinary School, made strides in the culinary world as well and has a line of sauces called FEAST. This year at SXSW, she had a food truck, where she took over the streets of Austin serving dishes named after track titles from her sixth studio album aptly titled FOOD.

With her current album, Kelis comes at us with a lot of soul and musical fared track titles. Produced entirely by Dave Sitek of TV On The Radio, Food is different than anything Kelis has released before with smooth soul and jazz-heavy chords and voices and finds the cooking aficionado exploring more funk, soul and Afrobeat influences.
The album seems to be an album with many muses and an ode to genuine love. “Breakfast” is a standout song, a thankful song making reference to the real thing. Is this a love confession? When I ask her if she is currently in love, she laughs and says, “something like that.” When I am more direct and ask who “Breakfast” might be inspired by, she says, “a lot of my songs don’t just describe just one thing. Breakfast in a complication, my love for the Lord, my love, my child, the love of a man. When it’s right, it’s right, that is the premise of the song. When it’s real, it’s real. When you are genuine, you require everything else around you to be that way, and that’s the real thing.”
Kelis goes on to say, “I am in love with life right now. I feel really blessed. God has been so good and so consistent and faithful, and I’m really content. I’m a mother; I’m madly in love with my little guy. Overall, I’m in a really good place. I’m feeling good”