15 Things You Never Knew About Kelis

Her Reaction to the “Life Is Good” Album Cover

“I knew it was coming, so I didn’t really have any feelings about it. It wasn’t really my dress, it was a green slip. My dress was fabulous.”

But she was a little upset that Nas’ stunt meant she had to re-discuss a lot of old ish.

On Her Musical Influences

“I grew up listening to a lot of Jazz & a lot of Gospel – so everything from Betty Carter to Sarah Vaughan, Nancy Wilson and Gloria Lynne, Tremaine Hawkins, later on I fell in love with Roberta Flack and Sheryl Crow, I just love female songwriters.”

Her Songwriting Method

“I think a lot of times as writers, you have an idea, it’s something you can’t get out of your head, so you keep it – it’s something that’s good, even if it’s just a thought, it’s almost like not wanting to waste an outfit…”

Why You Shouldn’t Hold Your Breath For Her Next Album

“I never make plans about what I am going to do next. I generally take 3-4 years to make an album, so I have no idea what my next record is going to sound like.”

She Originally Wanted to Pursue Musical Theater

“I went to LaGuardia, I was a drama major, my original plan was to do musical theater. And then I got offered a deal with Virgin, and here we are.

“I don’t know that I’ve seen the musical that I would want to do yet, but in school I would love August Wilson and Tennessee Williams, the classics, because that was my introduction.”

How She Feels About the “Ban Bossy” Movement

“I don’t really feel anything about it. I get asked about it a lot, but I think it’s really neither here nor there to me.”

Her Childhood Regrets

“Well, my mother told me but I didn’t listen, I should have started wearing a bra years ago.”

Her Favorite Rock Bands

“Favorite rock band… well I love the Doors. And I love Pink Floyd. I love Queen.
I have a thing for Wetzel Pretzel. It’s my dirty little secret. They’re the work of the devil but soooo good.”

Her Mother’s Good Advice

“Well, the realest things that have ever been said to me have come from my mother. She is direct, and poignant, and usually she’s right. Even though I don’t tell her that often. I mean, everything she says.

“‘Nurture your natural talents’ was one of her philosophies in life, and she raised us all that way. I think that’s why all of my sisters are successfully very comfortable in their own skin.”

On Why She Decided to Become a Chef

“It was the first time, as an adult, that I had my own time. I signed my first deal when I was 17, and my time wasn’t my own for a long time.

Until one day I woke up and I wasn’t signed anymore, and I was able to do something that was just for me.”

Her Favorite TV Shows

“Oh my goodness, I have so many. I love television. I was a Game of Thrones fan until the second season, I loved Khaleesi obviously. I love House of Cards, The Newsroom is one of my favorite shows, I love Orange is the New Black, I love Call the Midwife, I’m obsessed with The Mindy Project. Love Boardwalk, Shameless, Gray’s (I’m still a Gray’s fan), I watch Scandal because I have to. The funny thing is, I get anxiety watching cooking shows, but I love HGTV. OBSESSED. Like, LOVE IT.”

Her Feelings On Rap Music

“I don’t listen to a lot of rap right now, to be honest.”

The History of Milkshake

“We worked Milkshake for so long. We plugged that record for over a year, and it seemed like an overnight thing, but we fought for it and pushed it and it took literally over a year for that song to break. So when it did, I was EXHAUSTED and relieved and tired.

“It’s funny, and I think it’s great that I think it has a lot to say just about what that record meant – like it’s kitschy, and funny, but the reality is that it helped segue music into a different direction, and it’s great that I was a part of that.”

Her New Food Truck Won’t Serve Milkshakes

Well that feels like a missed marketing opportunity.