Kelis
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Biography
Kelis Rogers Jones, was born on August 21, 1979 in Harlem, Manhattan, New York. Her father was a jazz musician and a Pentecostal minister, her mother was a fashion designer. It was her mother who first convinced her to pursue a singing career. She is half African American on her father's side and half Puerto Rican/Chinese on her mother's side. Her name is a combination of both her father and mother's names, Kenneth and Eveliss, respectively.
In her childhood years she sang in her church's choir and she also played numerous instruments, including: violin, piano and the saxophone. She left home at age thirteen, but continued her education at age sixteen at the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music, Art and Performing Arts. It was at LaGuardia that she formed the Rhythm and Blues band called BLU (Black Ladies United). Upon graduation she formed another band with The Neptunes and soon after landed a record deal.
She has collaborated with many musicians and groups including: Gravediggaz, Busta Rhymes, Foxy Brown, Lil' Kim, OutKast, P. Diddy, Usher, Moby, Richard X, Timo Mass, Björk, No Doubt, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Too $hort, and Enrique Iglesias. Her work had particular success in Europe, thus, Kelis decided to move there and began touring with U2 on their European tour. She came back to the states briefly to tour with Moby in his Area:One tour. During her stint with Moby she met and fell in love with rapper and Hip Hop star Nas. The pair married on January 8, 2005.
Her first album entitled Kaleidoscope was released in 1999 and did well on the charts. It eventually ended up going Gold. Her second album, Wanderland was released two years later in 2001. Her third album, Tasty was released in 2003 and went multi-platinum in the UK; her fourth, Kelis Was Here was released in 2006.
Tidbits
- Her track Bossy features Too $hort
- Her name is pronounced Kuh-Lessé
- One of her most popular singles is Milkshake
- Her nickname is Kel
- She was a drama major at NYC's renowned La Guardia School for the Arts
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