Her debut album, Kaleidoscope, was released in December 1999 and charted at number 144 on the Billboard 200, and has sold 249,000 copies in the country to date.

[4] The album was not released in the United States, however, and the only single, "Young, Fresh n' New", charted poorly.

The album debuted at number ten on the US Billboard 200 and has sold 160,000 copies in the United States to date.

In late 2007, Jive dropped Kelis, and she signed to Interscope Records and will.i.am Music Group in 2009.

Its songs feature crackling horns, brass, earthy guitars, simmering electronics and vocals from Kelis that were noted as being breathy, smoky and sultry.

The album was viewed as a return to Kelis's previous music prior to Flesh Tone, and was described by her as "a kind of unspoken lovefest".