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.
Have A Nice Day
Kelis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But I must admit, I still enjoy the grind
Now traffic doesn't bother me at all
'Cause for once, I'm at place and time
Questions I used to ask myself
Answers I needed now
Problems seem so unsolvable
Nothing bothers me at all
I'm falling down again
But it seems this time, I can't break my fall
But if I hurt myself, I'll put my band-aid on
And I'll fall, fall again
Questions I used to ask myself
Answers I needed now
Problems seem so unsolvable
But nothing much bothers me now
Nothing bothers me at all
Nothing's perfect
But today is close as it will ever, ever be
Makin' songs is hard when you're happy
No one wants to hear about your lovely, lovely days
But why should I be bothered at all
When everyday, I have a ball
Why should I care what you think about my songs?
Why would I be bothered by the things you say at all?
Told my manager I had nothing scandalous to say
Told my publicist no thrills, okay
Leave me by the beach today so I can feel the breeze
And watch the children play
But why would I be bothered at all
When everyday, I have a ball
Why should I care what you think about my songs?
Why would I be bothered by the things you say at all?
No meetings, no phone calls
The only birds I'm catchin'
Are the ones I see flying up above me
Hope they have a very, very, very, very, very, very nice day!
Kelis's song "Have a Nice Day" aims to express her newfound sense of peace and joy as she navigates through the daily grind. In the first stanza, Kelis asserts that she is not necessarily seeking to achieve success solely for monetary gain but rather finds satisfaction in the pursuit itself. Moreover, being in the right place at the right time has allowed her to appreciate her surroundings more, such as slowing down to enjoy traffic rather than being in a rush.
The chorus touches on the idea that life is not perfect, but the current moment is as close as it will ever be. Kelis believes that making music can be challenging when you are happy since people tend to prefer more emotional and relatable songs. However, she won't change her style or how she feels to accommodate the opinions of others.
In the second verse, Kelis sings about how she is not immune to falling down or making mistakes. But this time, she is confident that she can pick herself back up and is not afraid of pain or learning from it. She is content with living in the moment and does not worry about what others think of her songs, life, or choices. The outro highlights her desire for a relaxed lifestyle without distractions and how she hopes that even the birds she sees flying above her have a nice day.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm not really on a hustle
I am not really in a rush
But I must admit, I still enjoy the grind
But I must admit, I still enjoy working hard
Now traffic doesn't bother me at all
I don't get frustrated by traffic anymore
'Cause for once, I'm at place and time
Because for once, I'm in the right place at the right time
I'm falling down again
I'm in a bad situation again
But it seems this time, I can't break my fall
But it seems like I can't fix it this time
But if I hurt myself, I'll put my band-aid on
But if I get hurt, I'll patch myself up
And I'll fall, fall again
And it will happen again
Nothing's perfect
Nothing is perfect
But today is close as it will ever, ever be
But today is close as it can get
Makin' songs is hard when you're happy
It's hard to make songs when you are happy
No one wants to hear about your lovely, lovely days
No one wants to hear about your happy days
But why should I be bothered at all
But why should I be upset at all
When everyday, I have a ball
When every day is fun for me
Why should I care what you think about my songs?
Why should I care about your opinion of my songs?
Why would I be bothered by the things you say at all?
Why would I be upset with you at all?
Told my manager I had nothing scandalous to say
I told my manager I had nothing shocking to say
Told my publicist no thrills, okay
I told my publicist not to do anything too exciting
Leave me by the beach today so I can feel the breeze
Let me stay by the beach today so I can feel the wind
And watch the children play
And watch the children play
No meetings, no phone calls
No meetings or phone calls for me
The only birds I'm catchin'
The only birds I'm looking at
Are the ones I see flying up above me
Are the ones I see flying over me
Hope they have a very, very, very, very, very, very nice day!
I hope they have a great day!
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Grecco Buratto, Damon Elliott
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind