Kelis

Kelis Rogers, who goes by her first name only, is an R&B style pop singer with has a highly distinctive raspy voice and relaxed delivery that matches the overall loose feel of her music that has been a constant in her career. She has been releasing albums on and off since 1999, having gone through a few phases along the way. 2014's Food more or less redefined the style of her current work, which draws a great deal from funk, soul, blues, and some Afrobeat. Her early work was guided by her collaboration with The Neptunes, i.e., Chad Hugo and Pharrell Williams, where her music displayed similar diversity in style. She took a few detours into hip-hop and dance music for a while after that until she found her footing with Food again. Incidentally, the persistence of food references is not just a quirk: Kelis also developed another full career as a chef and a restaurateur between her albums.