After a short spell working as a model, 5'10" Kelis began appearing on songs by Neptunes produced rappers such as 'Got Your Money' by the late rapper Ol' Dirty Bastard. Soon afterwards, she released her debut album, Kaleidoscope in 1999 of which the first single was 'Caught Out There,' a song based on the time she caught her boyfriend cheating on her, and she beat him. The video feautures Kelis leading a pack of angry women down the street screaming 'I hate you so much right now!'. The album was released in USA, Europe and Asia, but did not find much audience in the USA. Not a great success, it only sold 249,000 copies to date.
After finding her largest audience in Europe, Kelis released her second album titled Wanderland (2001) in Europe only, which like her first album did not fare well. It only sold 80,000 copies and was entirely produced by The Neptunes (Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo) again, similarly to her debut. Only one single was released 'Young Fresh N New'.
In 2003 Kelis finally found fame in her country with the single 'Milkshake,' which was a massive success in Europe, Asia and USA, and she began dating rapper Nas (born Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones). The single was from the album 'Tasty' which did not feature the Neptunes as heavily as her previous albums. Singles included the popular Dallas Austin produced 'Trick Me' and 'Millionaire', a collaboration with OutKast's Andre 3000. 'In Public's duet with Nas was the fourth single from the album, becoming a top twenty hit in the U.K. without a video.
In 2006, Kelis presented a new album to her fans, entitled Kelis Was Here, which was originally to be called 'The Puppeteer' which was released on 22 August but was due Fall 2005. No Neptunes tracks appeared on this album, but Kelis used other producers such as Max Martin, Will.I.Am (Black Eyed Peas) and Raphael Saadiq. Singles are the huge 'Bossy', 'Blindfold Me', and 'Lil Star'. Kelis wrote more of the material on this album than she did for Tasty, and carries off the sci-fi, electronica sounds so often considered Neptunes material without them. This is most evident on the brilliant 'Trilogy'. Kelis has said she wants to make her mark with this album, as it will be the last 'album like this' she will make.
In October 2007, Kelis was dumped by Jive Records, for poor sales of Kelis Was Here but a new album is in the pipeline. The Hits - a greatest hits collection - was released in March 2008, including tracks where she was a featured artist, eg, Got Your Money by Ol' Dirty Bastard , N.E.R.D's Truth or Dare, and Richard X's Finest Dreams.
Kelis then signed to Interscope Records, and released her fifth studio album entitled Flesh Tone in May 2010. The David Guetta-produced Acapella preceded the LP in February of that year. Other singles released from the album include '4th of July (Fireworks)', 'Scream' and 'Brave'. The following year, Kelis appeared on Calvin Harris' 'Bounce'.
In the beginning of 2010, Kelis received a letter by animal rights organization PETA, in which she was informed about the cruelty that comes along with the production of fur coats. She pointed out that the organization seems to have little concern about the treatment of people of color and that she will continue wearing fur and eating meat.
Songfacts reported that 'Distance', the planned first single from Kelis’ sixth studio album received its first play during the June 30, 2012 show of The Beatnik Mix on London's Reprezent 107.3FM. At the time, the album was set to be house/dance-inspired, but sessions with TV on The Radio's Dave Sitek led to it taking a soul-like direction.
Kelis completed her sixth album in April 2013, and her new label Ninja Tune confirmed details regarding the album in January the following year, 'Jerk Ribs' served as the lead single for the album; the track had however been previously released as a free download the previous year.
Food was released in April 2014 to critical acclaim. Kelis also appeared for the first time at the annual South by Southwest festival, both performing and serving meals to attendees from her food truck.
Game Show
KELIS Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
They were talking 'bout marriage
And that stuff you know
I found myself laughing
Cause those couples were queer
And then here he comes with this bright idea
So I said to him
You're genuine I can tell
Besides you and me
I know that we would soar
But are you ready?
You gotta be sure you gotta be sure
Oh no I know you got the feeling, hold on
Baby, you're price ain't right, hold on
I know you got the feeling, hold on
Hey this is my life, hold on
I know you got the feeling, hold on
Baby you're price ain't right, I know
You feel like hitting the ceiling, hold on
Hey this is my life, hold on
So we're arguing
Talking about it back and forth
And forth and back as if there is no source
And now I'm wondering
Is this what he had in mind?
Cause if I thought we'd get through that door
Tell me what's gonna be my price
So I said to him
[Repeat: x7]
Game show, game show, game show
I know you mean well
You're genuine I can tell
Besides you and me
I know that we would soar
But are you ready?
You gotta be sure you gotta be sure
Oh no I know you got the feeling, hold on
Baby, you're price ain't right, hold on
I know you got the feeling, hold on
Hey this is my life, hold on
I know you got the feeling, hold on
Baby you're price ain't right, I know
You feel like hitting the ceiling, hold on
Hey this is my life, hold on
Baby, you're price ain't right, hold on
Hey this is my life hold on
I know you got the feeling, hold on
Baby you're price ain't right, I know
You feel like hitting the ceiling, hold on
Hey this is my life
Game show, game show, game show
Game show, game show, game show
Game show, game show, game show
Game show, game show, game show
Game show, game show, game show
In Kelis's song "Game Show," the singer describes a situation where she and her partner are watching a game show about marriage. After laughing at the couples on the show, her partner has a sudden idea that they should get married. She is hesitant and wants to make sure that he is serious and committed to the idea. She tells him that she knows he means well and that she believes they could "soar" together, but she needs him to be sure before they take the plunge.
The repeated lyrics of "hold on" and "game show" seem to symbolize the idea of taking a step back and reassessing a situation before making a big decision. The game show can represent the societal pressure to conform to certain expectations, such as getting married, but the singer is cautioning against making a decision based solely on outside influence. She emphasizes that her life is her own and her partner needs to be aware of and respectful of that.
Line by Line Meaning
Last night we were watching this game show
Last night, we watched a game show on TV.
They were talking 'bout marriage
The game show was about marriage.
And that stuff you know
They talked about marriage and all its components.
I found myself laughing
I laughed at what I saw on the game show.
Cause those couples were queer
I found the couples on the game show strange.
And then here he comes with this bright idea
Then he came up with an idea.
So I said to him
I spoke to him.
I know you mean well
I understand you have good intentions.
You're genuine I can tell
I know you're sincere.
Besides you and me
We understand each other.
I know that we would soar
I'm confident that we can succeed.
But are you ready?
But are you prepared?
You gotta be sure you gotta be sure
You need to be certain.
Oh no I know you got the feeling, hold on
I understand that you have emotions, but wait.
Baby, you're price ain't right, hold on
You're not offering what I need, wait.
Hey this is my life, hold on
This is my life, so hold on.
So we're arguing
We started arguing.
Talking about it back and forth
We spoke about it back and forth.
And forth and back as if there is no source
We kept going as if there was no solution.
And now I'm wondering
Now I'm curious.
Is this what he had in mind?
Did he plan for us to argue like this?
Cause if I thought we'd get through that door
If I thought we could overcome that obstacle.
Tell me what's gonna be my price
What will I have to pay to make it happen?
Game show, game show, game show
Repeating the name of the game show.
Baby, you're price ain't right, hold on
You're still not offering what I need, wait.
Hey this is my life hold on
This is my life, so hold on.
Game show, game show, game show
Repeating the name of the game show.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: CHAD HUGO, PHARRELL WILLIAMS, PHARRELL L WILLIAMS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind