Kelis Biography

Birth Name : Kelis Rogers

Date of Birth : 21 August 1979, Harlem, New York, USA

Height : 5' 10" (1.78 m)

Occupations : Singer-songwriter

Kelis was born and raised in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City, New York. Her first name is a Portmanteau of her father's name, Kenneth, and her mother's name, Eveliss. Kenneth is an African American jazz musician, Pentecostal minister, and professor at Wesleyan University. Eveliss is a Chinese-Puerto Rican fashion designer who inspired Kelis to pursue her singing career.

As a child, she sang in church choirs and played violin, piano, and saxophone while attending Manhattan Country School, a private school. Kelis left home at age sixteen, but continued her education at age sixteen when she went to the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, where she formed the R&B trio BLU (Black Ladies United). After graduation, she formed a band with The Neptunes and, with their support, landed herself a record deal.

Kelis captured feminist desires on her debut, Kaleidoscope, released in December 1999. Two years later, she teamed up with the Neptunes once again for Wanderland. The sophomore effort was issued in Europe only (political reworkings within the U.S. wing of Virgin prevented a stateside release), which compelled Kelis to leave for Arista. Released in 2003, Tasty followed and yielded the Top Ten hit "Milkshake," another Neptunes production. After Kelis married Nas (a relationship that would last roughly four years), Kelis Was Here was released in 2006 through Jive and was led by the duly assertive "Bossy." The album spawned no other hits, and it would be her last studio work for the label. Jive subsequently packaged The Hits, a mix of singles and album cuts that also featured some of the singer's most popular collaborations ("Get Your Money," N.E.R.D.'s "Truth or Dare," Richard X's "Finest Dreams"). Signed to Interscope through the will.i.am music group, Kelis released Fleshtone (2010), a dance-flavored set featuring productions from David Guetta, Benny Benassi, Boys Noize, Diplo, and Jean Baptiste.