Urban World

Kelis - Flesh Tone

After a four-year wait, superstar Kelis is back with her latest album, entitled Flesh Tone. After her last instalment, Kelis’ fans are getting something they have not heard quite before.

If you have heard any of Kelis’ previous work, such as Kaleidoscope, Tasty or Kelis Was Here, you will know how different Kelis’ sound has always been, and will also remember the way she managed to mix different genres of music and create something amazing, (think “Millionaire” with Andre 3000, “Milkshake” and “Caught Out There”). The singer and songwriter said she wanted to have a pop and dance element to her new music, and she has certainly done what she set out to do. Flesh Tone is an LP that oozes a fresh new sound that only someone as versatile as Kelis could pull off.

You only need to listen to the first few seconds of each track for it to be clear that the former Mrs Nasir Jones has gone for the Electro sound, which is now becoming more and more popular in nightclubs. Kelis’ voice is still as good, with a rough yet soothing tone to it. With a short playlist of nine songs, it makes for easy listening. The stand-out tracks, for me personally, were “4th of July (Fireworks)” – her current release – and “Acapella”, her first single from the album. The latter is about her newborn son and is produced by hot producer David Guetta. Another track to look out for is “22nd Century”.

Unfortunately, most of the songs sound very similar and most are very repetitive, with “Emancipate” being the worst offender. Though of course, what I consider repetitive, another might just call ‘catchy’, and thankfully, the short playlist makes up for this. Summing up, Flesh Tone is definitely an album that different types of people can enjoy: from old to new fans, ravers, and just general Electro and House lovers. Kelis has swiftly, and very cleverly, made a transition from R’n’B to a current genre that is getting bigger and bigger around the world, and this new album will no doubt win her an army of new fans.