What If: Kelis Can Channel back to 1997-2002?

Today I was driving and unfortunately I had to skip Mike and Mike because of the static and the wind. So I turn to one of my R&B Station which plays the same song every 10 min (you know what I am talking about). It may me wonder the following thought:

How come good artist have crappy music and the most slept on is their best?

The case-in-point scenario goes to R&B artist Kelis. I am sure everybody knew Kelis now as the mother to Nas’s child and also the woman to want a big lump sum of Nas money for child support. I don’t know why after her third album Tasty, she went off on the deep end. Kelis is one of maybe two artists I can recall that that should have stayed the way she was. The other is Whitney circa 96’ (Waiting to Exhale) was her last time she sounded good. Kelis first album and collab with Ol Dirty Bastard was pure genius, plus she was the front woman of StarTrax (see Pharrell and Chad aka The Neptunes). She had a debut that revolutionized the broken and batter woman with “Caught Out There,” and a sensual slow jam with “Get Along With You.” The notary was not just because of her song, but her style. She was a “Mona Lisa in Motion” which is rare because so many R&B women at that time were and still is like robots; same tune, same dance, just different name. Her second album “Wanderland” to some in the U.S. was not really hot here in the U.S. but let me assure you that this album is by far number one in “The most Under-rated Album of All-Time,” bar none. She didn’t fit in with the Beyonces’, the MJB, or the Myas’ at that time. I mean from “Young, Fresh, and New” which can be a jingle if you want to get a product out there for the teens, to “Scared Money” which is seductive with words that are intriguing, to “Lil Suzie” which artist type flow differ and is uniquely visible into the cerebrum. The Neptunes, whether they know it or not, had an album that really is going to stick with children for generations to come. Have you ever heard “Star Wars?” This is a hidden track, but if you listen real good, pure subluminal messaging for the kids.

Now when came out with “Tasty”, Kelis went 180 and thought oh well I can use Nas instead of Clipse in “Popular Thug” (I think Clipse version is the best), or collaborated with big time artist like Andre 3000 and Enrique Iglesias was okay. But now many people felt how she changed her style was not her. “Kelis Was Here” may have produced some hits, but as an artist she just really tanked.

Kelis needs to know that the “Mona Lisa in Motion,” is still there. She has to bring it out of her.

Do you Think Kelis need to channel her 1997-2002 style back?