
Although comparisons to Neneh Cherry are inevitable, she does carve out a niche for herself, armed with undeniable talent." NME called Kaleidoscope a "futuristic, visionary, multi-layered work of R&B, funk, soul and rap, furnished with an inspirational, psychedelic spirituality, rarely seen but desperately needed in these cynical times" and concluded: "Uplifting, magical, genre-bending music, if there’s a better debut album this year, bring it on. AllMusic editor Jaime Sunao Ikeda rated the album four and a half out of five stars and remarked that 'the album "showcases the development of a great talent It's when Kelis and her production team create tracks that best fit her voice and uniqueness that the end results are outstanding. Kaleidoscope received widespread acclaim from music critics.

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Critical reception Professional ratings Review scores The physical edition was pressed to translucent orange vinyl and was released in a two-set on March 6, 2020. The extended digital release features edits and club remixes, including a Neptunes extended remix of " Caught Out There". Kaleidoscope was reissued on February 21, 2020, in celebration of its 20th anniversary. Despite underperforming in the United States, the album saw mild success in certain international markets, including the United Kingdom, where it charted at number 43 and was certified gold. It was released on December 7, 1999, by Virgin Records, and was produced entirely by the Neptunes. To that end it is one of the most exciting albums of its time, and although subsequently emulated it still sounds fresh and surprising.Kaleidoscope is the debut studio album by American singer Kelis. Kaleidoscope is a perfect combination of a young, ambitious singer and a production team unafraid to experiment.
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In 2003 she broke free from any such typecasting with the release of her Milkshake single, and in doing so confirmed her reputation as one of the premier vocalists of the 00s. Williams and Hugo would soon be ubiquitous, writing and overseeing a run of era-defining records for the likes of Snoop Dogg, Justin Timberlake and Beyoncé but for a while it looked like Kelis would forever be the “I hate you so much right now” singer. Although it dabbles in a lot of genres, Kaleidoscope sidesteps cliché – the doo-wop heavy soul of Suspended, the AOR of Mars, and the sing-song strangeness of Mafia all possess sufficient individuality. Ghetto Children, which features Williams’ and Hugo’s band N*E*R*D, is swooning, urban RnB that owes something to the Fugees. Caught Out There broke Kelis in the UK, with its “I hate you so much right now” refrain – it still steals the show today, and was one of those songs that was heard everywhere at the time. There is no formula here – considering its time, Kaleidoscope offers little sultry swing beat or neo-soul, instead featuring The Neptunes’ acoustic hip hop beats with their touches of otherworldly, Middle Eastern and Arabic influences. Kelis retains this sassy forthright attitude throughout the album. The Intro sends up the autobiographical skits of the era: we hear a minute or so of nostalgic mumbo jumbo, when she cuts in with, “Yeah, yeah, and now I’m grown up”. With Kaleidoscope, Kelis appeared as if from outer space with her shock of brightly coloured hair and sang with experience seemingly beyond her years. This marriage of the two creative forces forged an album that rewrote the RnB rulebook.

Kaleidoscope was not simply the first time many heard the smoky, rich voice of 20-year-old Harlem-born Kelis Rogers it was also their first encounter with the wizardry of young production team Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, aka The Neptunes.
