Kelis – ‘Milkshake’

29 January 2004

‘Milkshake’ popped up in the news unexpectedly in 2022, in circumstances best described as sour. A snippet of it was interpolated by Beyoncé in ‘Energy’, from her blockbusting album Renaissance, where ‘Milkshake’ was credited as “written by Pharrell Williams, Chad Hugo and performed by Kelis.” Kelis had previously criticised the Neptunes as not giving her what she felt was her agreed share of royalties and credit. When ‘Milkshake’ floated up again on Beyoncé’s album, Kelis commented that she hadn’t been told or asked in advance. The ‘Milkshake’ interpolation on ‘Energy’ was subsequently removed. (We’ll see Pharrell again on a 2010s number one that’s the big dog of music royalty disputes and other controversy.)

No fault of Kelis, but at the time ‘Milkshake’ left me cold and I haven’t warmed to it since. As a single it felt like a one-trick pony: that playground catchphrase chorus and its overheated innuendo. Recurring microwave ‘ding!’ aside, there’s less of the Neptunes’ bells and whistles: it’s actually quite a subdued-sounding track. As if to hard-sell such a flimsy song, the video (below) is far less subtle, with its singer at the pointy end of yet more early-’00s crude, leery male ogling and single entendres. If I were Kelis I’d be unhappy too.