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Published in r&b ·

Kelis

Rolling Through The Hood

A Neptunes production from Kelis's third album Tasty, written by Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo: bruised soul in which a lover's woes and a citizen's social concerns share one lyric.

By korczis 2 min read
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Review

Genre and Mood

Kelis sings Rolling Through The Hood as R&B with the weight of soul: bittersweet in its hurt, reflective in the way it looks beyond the singer, and spiritual at its core. Hot Press called it the excellent bruised soul of Tasty.

Song Summary

Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo wrote the song and produced it as The Neptunes. Hot Press heard Kelis voicing her hurt after seeing her man behave badly; Apple Music’s editors noted that the lyric fits both a lover’s woes and a citizen’s social concerns; and Plugged In heard spirituality fuelling its optimism, a reminder that He cares. At 4:45 it is one of the longest songs on the album.

Musical Breakdown

No review we found describes the sound of this track or walks through it, so this review does not invent its structure. What the sources give is its voice and its words.

The Voice

The song is carried by what Grantland’s Molly Lambert called Kelis’s down-to-earth, extremely expressive voice, here turned to hurt.

The Words

The lyric moves between a personal wound and the life of the neighbourhood its title rolls through, and, for one reviewer, finds its optimism in faith.

Concepts in Focus

The album credits separate the stages of making the record, a useful lesson in mixing. Andrew “Drew” Coleman recorded the track; Phil Tan mixed it, balancing and shaping the recorded parts into the final stereo song. The writers, producers, engineer and mixer are four different jobs, even when two of the names belong to one production duo.

Kelis is also a useful counter-example to the stage persona. Lambert argues that “Kelis” is not a pop persona but a genuine extension of her real self, and that however futuristic the beat, her songs stay grounded in her voice. Compare the lighter Kelis – Sugar Honey Iced Tea from the same album.

Artistic Context

Tasty, Kelis’s third album, was released by Star Trak Entertainment and Arista in December 2003. Beside the Neptunes it drew on Dallas Austin, André 3000, Raphael Saadiq and Rockwilder. Its lead single, Milkshake, reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100, and Rolling Through The Hood is the album’s twelfth track.

Impact and Reception

Tasty reached number 27 on the Billboard 200 and number 11 in the UK, her highest there at the time, and holds a Metacritic score of 80. This song was never a single; it is the kind of album track that rewards a full listen. Start at the beginning of Tasty and let it arrive.

Learn from this track

Introductory

What you will learn

  • Explain how one lyric can hold a private hurt and a public, social concern at the same time.
  • Distinguish the stages of recording and mixing, and name who did each on this track.
  • Discuss why a critic might call Kelis's voice an extension of her real self rather than a pop persona.

Listening guide

  1. the vocal Kelis voicing her hurt after watching her man behave badly, the bruised soul Hot Press heard.
  2. the lyric A lover's woes and a citizen's social concerns sharing one song, as Apple Music's editors put it.
  3. the message The spirituality that, for one reviewer, fuels the song's optimism and reminds listeners that He cares.

Concepts in this track

stage persona

10 tracks

An invented identity that a musician performs as: a mask, a character, a cartoon band or a pair of robots. A persona lets artists play with fame and image, keep their private selves hidden, and make the character part of the music's meaning.

mixing

31 tracks

The stage of making a record where all the recorded parts are balanced into one finished stereo track: their levels, placement, tone and effects. Mixing comes after recording and before mastering, and is often done by a specialist rather than by the producer.

Listen next, and why

Questions for discussion

  1. Why would a song about a cheating partner also look out at the neighbourhood around it?
  2. Tasty is best known for Milkshake. What does a quiet album track tell you about an artist that a hit cannot?
  3. If you can only describe a song by its words and its voice, what do you miss about how it was produced?

References

  1. Wikipedia. Tasty (Kelis album). Encyclopedia
  2. Hot Press. Tasty (2004). Review
  3. Apple Music. Tasty by Kelis. Review
  4. Plugged In. Tasty. Review
  5. Grantland. A Brief History of Kelis, Musical Omnivore. Article
  6. Discogs. Kelis - Tasty (CD, Europe, 2003), credits (2003). Database

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