Kelis Was Here (Jive)

On “Bossy” off her latest album, Kelis Rogers haughtily announces: “You don’t have to love me, you don’t even have to like me, but you will respect me.” And respect her we do.

Kelis is an anomaly in the music industry: she’s seemingly uninterested in catering to America’s fetish for submissive sexpots. The Harlem songstress isn’t out there shaking her ass and selling her soul to move units. At the same time, Kelis doesn’t pretend that she’s asexual. With tracks like the smash “Milkshake” off her previous disc, Tasty, the R&B singer resists objectification by mocking her admirers and asserting her own desire.

Many of the tracks on Kelis Was Here tread similar ground. “Bossy” sees Kelis alternating smoky vocals in the verses with brash, domineering chant-raps in the chorus. With “I Don’t Think So”, the MC lets it be known that she’s not interested in being fodder for anyone’s wet dream. “You think you might have a chance, I don’t think so,” she jeers in the chorus. “You telling me to be nice, I don’t think so/You wanna get in my pants, I don’t think so.” Time and time again, Kelis opts for playful and cheeky as opposed to plastic and crass—insisting on expressing her sexuality on her own terms. Sexy Beast, indeed.