Early-aughts pop music isn't something you'd typically call profound. Unlike '60s rock or '80s R&B, the decade wasn't fraught with anti-government anthems or profound power ballads. But that doesn't mean it came and went without lessons learned. Case in point: A milkshake — delicious as it may be — is nothing if it doesn't bring all the boys to the yard. The takeaway comes from Kelis' euphemism-laden track, aptly named "Milkshake," and in the 14 years since it was released, she still hasn't shaken the attachment to the frothy dessert. Here's a refresher, as if you need it:
"People really think I'm at home making milkshakes all day," the hip hop singer laughed when we caught up on the phone. "Let's be real — that doesn't happen." A more accurate day-to-day, if a little less exciting: "I've got kids," she shared. "I'm making smoothies for them and trying to sneak in healthy things that they'll eat."
If you're wondering why Kelis would write what, on the surface, is essentially a love song about milkshakes when they're not part of her day-to-day (or even year-to-year), this might blow your mind: "Milkshake" was never actually about milkshakes. "It means a lot of things," she shared, adding, "I think that's why the song has lasted so long, because, like any other art, you can turn the metaphor into whatever you want."
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The music video was enough to throw most people off the scent — three minutes of Kelis sipping shakes in a diner — but the singer admits she chose the single because of the tone it would set for her as an artist, not its seductive visual potential. "It was really important for me to do something different than all the other female artists coming out at that time," she revealed. "It was important that it made the noise that it did. That was the plan, though."
There's only one place that noise has ever eluded Kelis: cooking school. The irony is obvious, but during her stint at Le Cordon Bleu, Kelis never heard one quip about her milkshake skills. Many of the people in the class were already working chefs, and the vibe was serious not teasing. "Plus, we all wore these heinous uniforms. It was very neutralizing," Kelis joked.
With one cookbook, My Life on a Plate, under her belt, Kelis is finally ready to revisit her milkshake fame — this time developing her first-ever recipe for one. Yep — we're serious. She's never made an original milkshake in her life. She teamed up with Baileys to do so in honor of National Chocolate Milkshake Day on Sept. 12, finally answering the million-dollar question: How does Kelis bring all those boys to the yard?!
Step one: Mix 3 oz. Baileys Original Irish Cream Liqueuer, 8 oz. ginger ber, 4 scoops of ice cream, 5 pieces of candied ginger, and ½ tsp. of cayenne pepper in a blender.
Step two: Pour it in a glass rimmed with chili cinnamon sugar.
Step three: Top with ginger-infused whipped cream and a piece of candied ginger.
Step four — obvi: Check the yard.
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