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.

 

Who are the four record labels that BMG found that paid Black artists paid 3.4% less than white artists during their audit of legacy contracts?  

Did Michael Jackson really want Pharrell to do produce songs like the ones he did for N.O.R.E. instead of the music given to Justin Timberlake for the Justified album?

[youtube id=”3AszPTJXIgM”]Usher’s “U Don’t Have To Call” embraced the feelings of relationship disappointment with a pep that reclaimed freedom in being single. Pharrell and Chad Hugo wrote the song as The Neptunes for Michael Jackson but Usher recorded it after Jackson’s management declined it. Usher had much success with “U Don’t Have To Call” winning another Grammy for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance and it charted well in the United States and the UK.

It was ironic that Usher recorded the song despite the original intentions because he was considered Jackson’s entertainment heir. Usher’s 8701 album was another major achievement in asserting his place as the biggest male R&B star at the time only second to R.Kelly. He won several awards for 8701 including Soul Train, Billboard and BET distinctions. Some of his greatest singles (“U Got It Bad” “U Remind Me”) were on 8701 and its triple platinum status within six months led to it becoming the 18th best-selling album of the year. The video is seen as a reflection of 2001 but also futuristic because Usher has a Facetime-like phonecall with Diddy long before the technology was available. “U Don’t Have To Call” stands as one of Usher’s best moments and it spread the influence of The Neptunes.  

In 2019, Usher posted videos to his Instagram account indicating that he was working with Jermaine Dupri on Confessions 2. 

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