When Kelis spoke to ABC News, she was doing so from Kenya in East Africa, where a short visit has grown to seven months and counting.
She had been to Africa before, about six years ago.
“I just felt drawn to it,” Kelis said.
“It feels like it’s so rich and going through this kind of resurgence of energy and excitement.
“And I just think it’s time.
“I wanted to be a part of its growth and of this new era that I believe is coming here.
“It’s already starting.”
The star is known for the hit Milkshake and has a catalogue that includes earworm singles such as Bossy, Trick Me, and Caught Out There, as well as the critically acclaimed album Food.
She says her trip to Kenya was only supposed to last a month.
“I brought my whole family, like, literally, my whole family, like my mum, my auntie, my kids, my sister,” she laughed.
“I was like, ‘we’re all going’ and then, yeah, you know, now it’s seven months later, and I’m still here.
“I think that as Black people, we all should be here at some point in our lives, even if it’s just to visit, but just to put your feet in the dirt and on the ground.
“This is kind of where everything started. And I love that.
“And I’ve just learned so much, and I’ve fallen in love with the people and with all the different cultures and foods and languages, and it’s really just so robust here, you know?”
Kelis has spent the majority of the year in Kenya. (Supplied: Estevan Oriol)
‘It’s never been farmed or anything’
This is an artist with her finger on the pulse.
The UN estimates that by 2050, one in four people will be African, and many from the diaspora are taking the opportunity to journey to the motherland.
Kelis, who is also a farmer, has bought land in Kenya.
“It’s just raw land now and it’s never been farmed or anything,” she said.
“We need more farmers that look like us.
“And, yeah, you just gotta do it. You gotta get your hands in the dirt. So that’s what I’m doing.”
Kelis has bought farming land in Kenya. (Supplied)
When she’s not in Kenya, she’s is in Temecula, California, where she lives with her family on a 26-acre farm.
Kelis Rogers was born and raised in Harlem in New York City to an African American jazz musician, then Pentecostal minister father Kenneth and a Chinese-Puerto Rican fashion designer mother Eveliss.
Her name is a portmanteau of their names.
Faith, ‘the centre’ of her life
Kelis grew up in the church.
“I am a woman of faith now, not Christian the way that I grew up, but definitely clear about what I believe,” she said.
“I’m Hebrew and so for me, how I position myself and how I see myself, and how I understand human beings and creation and where we come from, and all of that stuff is definitely a huge part of my life.
“It’s the centre of my life, really.”
The 45-year-old is still celebrating her August 21 birthday, as she was in the lead-up to it.
“I think as a woman, the older we get … I think you get really solid, and you get really clear,” she said.
“I think no-one ever talks about that either. We talk about looking young and feeling good, which is also really important.
“But I think, the older we get, if you’re doing things the right way, I think the goal is to be really settled and really clear and really confident and really comfortable in your own skin.
“And faith and all those things are all a part of that.”
Musician, farmer, chef, author
The musician is blending more than just milkshakes these days. She’s a Le Cordon Bleu-trained chef, and author of My Life on a Plate: Recipes from Around the World.
Kelis is the author of My Life on a Plate: Recipes from Around the World. (Supplied)
“I’m a chef, so I’m a sponge, I learn things every day,” she said.
“I’m trying new ingredients all the time.
“I think being a chef is like being a translator, right?
“So, it’s like I’m translating how I understand this particular ingredient or this particular culture or this particular sentiment.
“And it’s like, how do I see it?
“And I think those are the best chefs that are able to take things and present them in a way that is personal.”
Kelis says food connects us all. (Supplied)
She says travelling the world has re-iterated to her that we’re all the same.
“We all eat the same food, right?” she said.
“Especially as Black and brown people around the world. We eat the same food, and we have the same sensibilities, I think.
“By design, we’ve been so separated that we don’t realise how we are all one people and how we have so many similarities, right?
“And we have so many things that connect us.
“And I always say that food and music, they are really the universal language. I used to think it was music first, but it’s not. It’s food.
“Food is the one solitary thing that connects us the very most.”
Kelis says food and music are part of the universal language. (Supplied)
Fans can rest assured there’s new music coming from the artist who has sold millions of albums and been nominated for two Grammys, with her song Midnight Snacks a potential taster for what’s to come.
“I do have an album coming out,” she said.
“I’m working on it. I’m about 80 per cent done.”
On returning to Australia
Kelis’s travels will continue when she heads to Australia to deliver the major keynote at BIGSOUND, which has a massive conference and festival schedule planned.
She’ll also perform live at Sweet Relief! in an Australian exclusive.
“Australia is definitely one of those places that … it always feels special,” she said.
Kelis is “excited” to be heading back to Australia. (Supplied)
“To me, Australia has always been such a welcoming and interesting place.
“I’ve always had such a good time there.
“So, to be able to do something in both mediums of my life is really dope.
“I love that.
“Being able to talk about the things I care about and the things that I love and the lifestyle choices that I’ve made, I think is really exciting.
“And then obviously being able to perform is always great.”
It’s been a while since she was in town. She calculates exactly how long by invoking the ages of her children.
“My middle son was probably about two [when I was last in Australia], and he’s eight now,” she laughs.
“To put that in perspective.”
Kelis is headed to Brisbane for BIGSOUND September 3-6 and Sweet Relief! September 7.
