After the ''Wanderland'' debacle, Kelis started work on what would become ''Tasty.'' She covered much of the studio cost herself. Producers like OutKast's Andre 3000, Atlanta R&B kingpin Dallas Austin, hip-hop heavy Dame Grease, and neo-soul guru Raphael Saadiq offered their services--many for free. ''Everyone I approached was really excited to work with me,'' Kelis says. ''People see me as someone they can take chances with. Producers like the challenge.''
Eventually she scored a new contract, but she says with pride that ''before I even signed with Arista I had almost 75 percent of the album done.'' The resulting batch of beats is warm and funky, but without the histrionic melisma and sappy ballads that bog down many contemporary soul CDs. On the other hand, she's not afraid to indulge her romantic side: On ''Glow,'' she sings, ''One plus you just equals me.''
The ''you'' in this case is rapper Nas, whom Kelis began dating two years ago. They're now engaged and, according to Kelis, leading a truly ''dorky'' lifestyle that involves listening to old Gil Scott-Heron records and watching Pedro Almodovar movies at home in Manhattan. ''At first he wasn't into the whole subtitle thing,'' she says. ''But now he's totally down.''
But isn't that homebody, boho-bride-to-be image at odds with the skin-baring sex kitten seen in the salacious video for ''Milkshake''? ''There's a fine line between slut and smart,'' she says. ''That song is fun and silly and not to be taken too seriously. But on the flip side, I can be as powerful, interesting, and smart as I wanna be and still be enticing and sexy.'' And what could be cooler than that?
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