Is Beyoncé “soulless” for sampling Kelis’s “Get Along With You” on “Energy” from her Renaissance album without contacting Kelis first? 

Did the Grammys get it wrong when they said Afrobeats has African-American influences? 

Kelis recorded “Popular Thug” for her 2001 album Wanderland. The quirky song about a woman falling for the proverbial bad boy was humorous and sounded like no other R&B singer at the time. Pusha T of The Clipse was the featured rapper who provided the comeback to Kelis’s complaint. The Neptunes’ midtempo arrangement of lazy rhythm guitar, church organ and a spacey synthesizer made Kelis sound like a sensual android. Unfortunately Virgin Records did not understand Wanderland and the album would only be released in Europe until 2019 when it became officially available in the United States. Music critics praised her sophomore album and European fans embraced the sucession of her unique style introduced on her 1999 Kaleidoscope debut. American fans would later express disappointment at having to wait so long to be able to buy the album. Kelis recorded “Popular Thug” a second time with ex-husband Nas for The Neptunes Present…Clones album released in 2003. Fans have argued over which version is better but they all agree on it being an underappreciated album cut.

Kelis’s last studio album was Food released in 2014. In May of 2021 she revealed on Instagram that she she may title her seventh album Sound Mind. The singer became a chef in 2006 and has released a cookbook, line of sauces and in 2020 appeared on the Netflix series Cooked With Cannabis.

 

Kelis is releasing her first cookbook, My Life On A Plate, September 7th via Kyle Books. She says,”It includes my version of recipes I grew up eating and things I’ve picked up that have inspired me along the way. It’s an exploration of tastes and cultures, and my experience as a chef, musician, mother and wife. It’s a lifestyle, and I couldn’t be more excited to share it with you.” Food has taken center stage in her professional life lately as she is hosting her Saucy And Sweet Cooking Channel show and has her own line of sauces called Bounty And Full.

Paid/Earned Tickets Available For 11th Annual Festival Available Wednesday June 3rd

afropunkfest2015.eventbrite.com

AFROPUNK FEST, the now world renowned Festival that just took place in Paris last month, has announced the lineup up for its flagship Festival, AFROPUNK FEST Brooklyn to take place August 22nd & 23rd at Brooklyn’s Commodore Barry Park. The 2015 AFROPUNK Festival, whose lineup includes Grace Jones, Lenny Kravitz, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Kelis, Danny Brown, Suicidal Tendencies, Thundercat, GoldLink, Kaytranada, Curtis Harding and many more (full lineup below) will be the biggest undertaking of the critically acclaimed festival yet. In advance of the fest AFROPUNK will be throwing their first annual AFROPUNK FANCY DRESS BALL w/ special guest Grace Jones, Cakes Da Killa & MikeQ with Special Guest to raise funds for their AFROPUNK Global Initiative: an alliance dedicated to moving the needle of progress closer to a holistic, democratic and enlightened representation of people of color within all facets of society with the goal to create unique programming that encourages diversity in media. The AFROPUNK FANCY DRESS BALL will take place August 21st at Commodore Barry Park.

Due to the amount of attendees (60,000 last year) the festival has now moved to an affordable paid and earned ticket program to the event to assure entry. AFROPUNK has been long known as an advocate of cultural change as well as change directly in the Brooklyn community. The earned ticket program, called AFROPUNK Army, expounds upon that giving fans the chance to volunteer for an earned ticket. AFROPUNK will work closely with partners to provide low barrier volunteer activities and projects for youth to complete in exchange for a ticket to the festival. The volunteer program will create awareness for organizations in need, provide access to an engaged pool of valuable resources and help deliver a sustainable impact to communities. Sample projects include landscaping (beautification, painting), packing supplies (meal prep, serving) and advocacy via social promotion.

Additionally AFROPUNK will be bringing the 2 day festival to Atlanta’s Central Park on Saturday, October 3rd & Sunday, October 4th. You can sign up at afropunkfest.com to receive more info as it comes, volunteer programs for an earned ticket and for the AFROPUNK ATL lineup announcement coming soon.